Abhanga 4368
The verse
हरीविण जिणें व्यर्थ चि संसारीं । प्रेत अळंकारीं मिरवत ॥१॥
देवाविण शब्द व्यर्थ चि कारण । भांड रंजवण सभेसि गा ॥ध्रु.॥
आचार करणें देवाविण जो गा । सर्पाचिया अंगा मृदुपण ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे काय बहु बोलों फार । भक्तीविण नर अभाग्य कीं ॥३॥
Literal translation
Hari-vīṇa-jīṇa-vyartha — prēta-with-alankāra. Deva-vīṇa-śabda-vyartha — bhāṇḍa-amuses-sabhā. Āchāra-without-Deva — mrdupaṇa-on-snake-anga. Tukā: bhakti-vīṇa-nara-abhāgya.
What it means
★★ THE canonical 3-image without-Hari-life-vain text. Life without Hari in samsāra is just useless — (it's like) a corpse being paraded in ornaments. Without Deva, speech is useless as cause — (it is) the jester's amusement for the sabhā. Right-conduct without Deva — is giving softness to a snake's body (it stays poisonous). Tukā says: what more to say much — a person without bhakti is just unfortunate. The 3 striking-images for bhakti-less-life-is-disaster: - (1) prēta-with-alankāra: corpse-paraded-in-ornaments — externally-decorated but no-life-inside - (2) bhāṇḍa-amusement-of-sabhā: jester-entertaining-court — words-without-meaning - (3) mrdupaṇa-on-snake-anga: softness/kindness-shown-to-snake — the-snake-remains-poisonous
Pair with 4309 (5-anti-display what-good polemic), 4257 (5-image instructional-futility).
For someone today
Tukārām: life-without-Hari is a corpse-paraded-in-ornaments; speech-without-Deva is jester's-amusement; observance-without-Deva is kindness-to-a-snake's-body.
Where this applies
- ★★ Tukārām's THE without-Hari-life-vain 3-image canonical