Abhanga 4426
The vices surround a person from every side, like hunters, and naming exactly how each one traps you is the first step toward breaking free.
The verse
सकळ हे माया नागवे कवणा । भांबाविलें जना दाही दिशा ॥१॥
आशा तृष्णा दंभ लागलीं हीं पाठी । नेदी बैसों हाटीं मोह ठायीं ॥ध्रु.॥
काम क्रोध घरा लावितील आगी । निंदा हिंसा दोघी पळतां खाती ॥२॥
लाज पुढें उभी राहिली आडवी । ते करी गाढवी थोर घात ॥३॥
तुका म्हणे चिंता घाली गर्भवासीं । ओढोनियां पाशीं चहूंकडे ॥४॥
Literal translation
All-māyā-no-one-tames — bhāmbāvilē-dāhī-diśā. Āśā-trṣṇā-dambha-on-back — mōha-blocks-place. Kāma-krōdha-fire-house — nindā-himsā-eat-fleeing. Lāja-blocks — gāḍhavī-ghāta. Tukā: chinta-garbha-vāsa — pulling-pāśa-4-sides.
What it means
THE canonical 4-verse vices-as-hunters text. All this māyā — no one tames — people are bewildered in the ten directions. Desire, thirst, hypocrisy — these have stuck on the back — they don't let one sit in the place; delusion blocks the spot. Desire, anger — they set fire to the house; slander, violence — these two eat (you) even while you flee. Shame stands ahead, blocking — that female-donkey (vice) does great destruction. Tukā says: anxiety throws (you) into the womb — pulling with nooses on all four sides. The vices-as-hunters cascade: each-vice does-a-different-function in trapping-the-bhakta: - Back-stuck: āśā-trṣṇā-dambha (constant-following) - Place-blocker: mōha - House-fire: kāma-krōdha - Eat-while-fleeing: nindā-himsā - Path-blocker-across-way: lāja (the gāḍhavī) - Womb-thrower-with-nooses: chinta
Striking-wildlife-imagery for the inner-conflict. Pair with 4392 (6-vairī-leave-with-saha).
For someone today
Tukārām describes māyā, the great illusion, as something no one can tame, leaving people bewildered in every direction. He lists the vices like hunters closing in from all sides: craving and pride cling to your back and won't let you rest, delusion blocks the very spot where you try to sit still, desire and anger set your own house on fire, and slander and violence chase you down even as you try to run. Shame stands squarely in your path ahead, doing great damage, and worry itself drags you back into rebirth, pulling on you with ropes from every direction. The picture is deliberately frightening, because Tukārām wants you to see clearly how surrounded you are before you can find a way out.
मराठी: तुकाराम माया म्हणजे कोणालाही न आवरणारी एक भ्रामक शक्ती असल्याचे सांगतात, जिच्यामुळे माणूस चारही दिशांना गोंधळून जातो. ते दुर्गुणांना जणू शिकाऱ्यांसारखे चारही बाजूंनी घेरणारे चित्रित करतात: हाव आणि गर्व पाठीला चिकटून विश्रांती घेऊ देत नाहीत, मोह तुम्ही जिथे थांबू पाहता तीच जागा अडवतो, काम आणि क्रोध तुमच्याच घराला आग लावतात, आणि निंदा व हिंसा तुम्ही पळत असतानाही तुम्हाला खाऊन टाकतात. लाज तुमच्या समोर उभी राहून मोठे नुकसान करते, आणि चिंता तुम्हाला पुन्हा जन्ममृत्यूच्या फेऱ्यात ओढते, चारही बाजूंनी दोरखंडाने खेचत. हे चित्र मुद्दाम भीतीदायक आहे, कारण तुकारामांना आधी हे स्पष्ट दाखवायचे आहे की तुम्ही किती घेरलेले आहात, तेव्हाच सुटकेचा मार्ग सापडेल.
Where this applies
- When you feel pulled in every direction by competing desires and can't find a moment of peace
- When ambition or pride keeps you restless even after you've achieved what you wanted
- When gossip or cruelty from others seems to follow you no matter how much you try to avoid conflict
- When embarrassment or shame stops you from taking a step you know you need to take