Abhanga 4198
A real pilgrimage needs a mind actually free of household attachments, not just a body that walks as far as the village gate.
The verse
परिसें गे सुनेबाई । नको वेचूं दूध दहीं ॥१॥
आवा चालिली पंढरपुरा । वेसीपासुनि आली घरा ॥ध्रु.॥
ऐकें गोष्टी सादर बाळे । करीं जतन फुटकें पाळें ॥२॥
माझे हातींचा कलवडू । मजवाचुंनि नको फोडूं ॥३॥
वळवटिक्षरीचें लिंपन । नको फोडूं मजवांचून ॥४॥
उखळ मुसळ जातें । माझें मन गुंतलें तेथें ॥५॥
भिक्षुक आल्या घरा । सांग गेली पंढरपुरा ॥६॥
भक्षीं मपित आहारु । नको फारसी वरो सारूं ॥७॥
सून म्हणे बहुत निकें । तुम्ही यात्रेसि जावें सुखें ॥८॥
सासूबाई स्वहित जोडा । सर्व मागील आशा सोडा ॥९॥
सुनमुखीचें वचन कानीं । ऐकोनि सासू विवंची मनीं ॥१०॥
सवतीचे चाळे खोटे । म्यां जावेंसें इला वाटे ॥११॥
अतां कासया यात्रे जाऊं । काय जाउनि तेथें पाहूं॥ १२॥
मुलें लेंकरें घर दार । माझें येथें चि पंढरपूर ॥१३॥
तुका म्हणे ऐसें जन । गोवियेलें मायेंकरून ॥१४॥
Literal translation
Listen-sunabāī — don't-spend-milk-curd. Āvā-set-out-Paṇḍharpura — came-back-from-village-gate. Mind-broken-utensils. Don't-break-without-me kalvaḍū / vaḷavaṭa-plaster / ūkhaḷa-musaḷa-jātēm — my-mind-stuck-there. If-bhikṣuka-comes — say-I-went-Paṇḍharpura. Eat-measured-don't-make-much-of-side-curry. Sūna: very-well, go-in-joy — sāsubāī gather-welfare abandon-past-desire. Sāsū-hearing in-mana: co-wife-tricks-false — she-wants-me-gone. Now-why-yātrā — children-family-house, my-Paṇḍharpura-is-right-here. Tukā: such-people-covered-by-māyā.
What it means
THE canonical 14-verse comic-satirical narrative. Listen, daughter-in-law, don't spend the milk-and-curd. The frame: the mother-in-law (āvā) sets out for Paṇḍharī, but only reaches the village-gate before turning back. Her instructions to the daughter-in-law are domestic-detail-cascade: don't break the broken-utensils; mind the kalvaḍū-pot; don't break the wall-plastering; my-mind-is-stuck-in-the-mortar-pestle-grinder; tell beggars I'm gone; eat-measured. The daughter-in-law's enthusiastic agreement (go in joy, abandon past desire) reads to the mother-in-law as co-wife trickery (the daughter-in-law wants her gone). The mother-in-law then thinks: now why go to the yātrā — children, family, house — my Paṇḍharpura is right here. Tukā's verdict: such people are covered-by-māyā. A rare-Tukārām-comic-narrative-mode that diagnoses false-pilgrimage-resolve — the heart wasn't actually free for Paṇḍharī; the mind-stuck-in-mortar-and-pestle gave it away. Pair with 4178 (worldly-relative's-lament).
For someone today
An old woman announces she is setting out on pilgrimage to Pandharpur, but she barely makes it past the village gate before turning back, burying her daughter-in-law in a long list of household instructions: mind the broken pots, watch the mortar and pestle, tell beggars I have gone. When the daughter-in-law cheerfully agrees and tells her to go enjoy the pilgrimage in peace, the old woman suddenly suspects it is a trick to get rid of her, and decides she does not need to go anywhere at all, since her home and family are already her Pandharpur. Tukaram's dry verdict is that such people are simply wrapped up in attachment. The verse gently mocks anyone who talks about seeking something higher while their mind never actually leaves the kitchen pots.
मराठी: एक सासूबाई पंढरपूरच्या यात्रेला निघते, पण वेशीपर्यंत जाऊन परत येते, आणि सुनेला घरातल्या फुटक्या भांड्यांपासून उखळ-मुसळापर्यंत सगळ्या गोष्टींची काळजी घ्यायला सांगते. सून आनंदाने होकार देऊन तिला सुखाने यात्रेला जायला सांगते, तेव्हा सासूला वाटतं की ही तर तिला घराबाहेर काढायची खेळी आहे, आणि ती ठरवते की आपलं घरदार, मुलंबाळं हेच आपलं पंढरपूर आहे, यात्रेला जायची गरजच नाही. तुकाराम म्हणतात, अशी माणसं मायेने गुरफटलेली असतात. ज्याचं मन घरातल्या भांड्या-कुंड्यांतच अडकलेलं असतं, त्याचं शरीर वेशीपर्यंत गेलं तरी खरी यात्रा घडत नाही, हे या अभंगातून उपहासाने दाखवलं आहे.
Where this applies
- When you plan a retreat or a spiritual practice but keep finding household chores that must be handled first
- When you read someone's genuine encouragement to pursue your goals as a hidden scheme against you
- When you tell yourself your ordinary daily life is already enough spiritual seeking, as a way to avoid the harder inner journey
- When your mind stays fixed on possessions and routines even while you claim to be seeking something higher