Abhanga 4170
Words and theories without real lived experience are hollow, like a pretend feast or a toy horse that can never actually fight.
The verse
लटिक्याचें आंवतणें जेविलिया साच । काय त्या विश्वास तो चि खरा ॥१॥
कोल्हांटिणी लागे आकाशीं खेळत । ते काय पावत अमरपद ॥ध्रु.॥
जळमंडपयाचे घोडे राउत नाचती । ते काय तडवती युद्धालागीं ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे तैसें मतवादीयांचें जिणें । दिसे लाजिरवाणें बोलतां चि ॥३॥
Literal translation
Laṭikyāche āmvataṇe jevaliyā sācha — kāya tyā viśvāsa to chi kharā — having-feasted on a false-invitation as-if-real — what trust — is that true. Kōlhāṇṭiṇī lāge ākāśīm kheḷata — te kāya pāvata amarapada — the acrobat-woman leaps in the sky playing — does she attain immortal-station. Jaḷa-maṇḍapayāche ghōḍe rāuta nāchatī — te kāya taḍavatī yuddhālāgīm — the water-pavilion's horses-and-riders dance — do they charge for battle. Tukā mhaṇe taise matavādīyāñche jiṇe — dise lājiravāṇe bōlatām chi — Tukā says: such is the life of opinion-mongers — looks shame-faced in their very speaking.
What it means
A 3-verse anti-mata-vādī polemic. Feasting-on-a-pretend-invitation isn't-real-eating; an-acrobat's-sky-leaps aren't-immortality; water-puppet-horses-and-riders aren't-warhorses-for-battle; the-life-of-mere-opinion-holders is-shame-faced-in-the-very-speaking. The water-pavilion (jaḷa-maṇḍapa) image references festive water-play-scenes with painted horses.
For someone today
Tukaram uses vivid images to expose empty talk: eating a feast that was only imaginary does not actually fill you, so why would you trust it as real? An acrobat leaping playfully through the air is not the same as achieving true spiritual immortality, and decorative toy horses paraded for a festival will never actually charge into real battle. In the same way, he says, people who only argue theories and opinions without any real inner experience end up sounding hollow and embarrassed the moment they open their mouths, because words alone cannot substitute for lived truth.
मराठी: तुकाराम पोकळ बोलण्याचा भांडाफोड करण्यासाठी सुंदर प्रतिमा वापरतात: खोट्या आमंत्रणावर जेवल्यासारखे मानले तरी पोट भरत नाही, मग त्यावर खरा विश्वास कसा ठेवायचा? एखादी कसरतपटू आकाशात खेळत उडी मारते म्हणून तिला अमरपद मिळत नाही, आणि उत्सवासाठी सजवलेले लाकडी घोडे खऱ्या युद्धात कधीच लढू शकत नाहीत. त्याचप्रमाणे, फक्त सिद्धांत आणि मते मांडणारे, ज्यांना प्रत्यक्ष अनुभव नाही, ते बोलू लागताच पोकळ आणि लाजिरवाणे वाटतात, कारण केवळ शब्दांनी जगलेल्या सत्याची जागा घेता येत नाही.
Where this applies
- When you notice someone talking confidently about something they've never actually lived or practiced
- When you're tempted to mistake clever argument for real understanding
- When you want to judge whether a claim is backed by genuine experience or just empty words
- When you catch yourself performing wisdom instead of actually practicing it