Abhanga 4386
It is better to lose a sense entirely than let it lead you into sin, and true devotion means wanting your eyes, ears, and mouth to serve love rather than wrongdoing.
The verse
पापाची वासना नको दावूं डोळां । त्याहुनि अंधळा बराच मी ॥१॥
निंदेचें श्रवण नको माझे कानीं । बधिर करोनि ठेवीं देवा ॥ध्रु.॥
अपवित्र वाणी नको माझ्या मुखा । त्याजहुनि मुका बराच मी ॥२॥
नको मज कधीं परस्त्रीसंगति । जनांतुन माती उठतां भली ॥३॥
तुका म्हणे मज अवघ्याचा कांटाळा । तूं एक गोपाळा आवडसी ॥४॥
Literal translation
No-pāpa-vāsanā-eye — better-andhaḷa. No-nindā-śravaṇa-ear — make-deaf. No-apavitra-vāṇī-mouth — better-mūka. No-paranārī-samgati — better-māti-from-people. Tukā: kāṇṭāḷā-of-all — only-Gōpāḷa-love.
What it means
THE canonical 4-veto anti-vice prayer (companion to 2630). Don't show the sinful-desire to my eye — I'd rather be blind. Don't let slander-hearing come to my ear — Deva, make me deaf and keep me (so). Don't let impure speech come to my mouth — I'd rather be mute. Don't (give) me, ever, the company of another-man's-woman — rather (let me have) the despising-talk that rises from people when I get up. Tukā says: I'm disgusted of everything — you alone, Gōpāḷa, I love. The 4-veto-structure with self-anti-image alternatives: - Eye: rather blind than seeing-sin-desire - Ear: rather deaf than hearing-slander - Mouth: rather mute than speaking-impure - Body: rather despised-by-people than having-other-man's-woman
Pair with 2630 (vyasana-prārthanā 5-verse anti-vice prayer canonical).
For someone today
Tukaram prays with striking honesty here, saying he would rather lose a sense entirely than have it lead him into wrongdoing. He would rather be blind than have his eyes drawn toward sinful desire, rather be deaf than let slander into his ears, and rather be mute than let impure words leave his mouth. He goes further still, saying he would rather face public shame and gossip than ever be involved with someone else's spouse. He closes by admitting he has grown weary of everything except one thing, his love for Gopal, showing that this whole prayer is really about wanting his senses to serve his devotion instead of pulling him away from it.
मराठी: तुकाराम इथे अत्यंत प्रामाणिकपणे प्रार्थना करतात, म्हणतात की एखादी इंद्रिय पूर्णपणे गमावणे बरे, पण तिने मला वाईट मार्गावर नेणे नको. डोळे पापी वासनेकडे ओढले जाण्यापेक्षा आंधळे होणे बरे, कान निंदा ऐकण्यापेक्षा बहिरे होणे बरे, आणि तोंडातून अपवित्र शब्द निघण्यापेक्षा मुके होणे बरे असे ते म्हणतात. ते इथेही थांबत नाहीत, म्हणतात की परस्त्रीशी संबंध ठेवण्यापेक्षा लोकांची निंदा आणि बदनामी सहन करणे त्यांना जास्त पसंत आहे. शेवटी ते कबूल करतात की एका गोष्टीशिवाय, गोपाळावरील प्रेमाशिवाय, त्यांना बाकी सगळ्याचा कंटाळा आला आहे — यातूनच कळते की ही संपूर्ण प्रार्थना आपल्या इंद्रियांनी भक्तीपासून दूर न नेता तिची सेवा करावी अशी आहे.
Where this applies
- Tukārām's THE 4-veto anti-vice prayer canonical companion-to-2630