Abhanga 4430
Fair-weather support vanishes when trouble comes, even from those closest to you, so build your real strength on something steadier than other people's convenience.
The verse
बरें जालीयाचे अवघें सांगाती । वाइटाचे अंतीं कोणी नाहीं ॥१॥
नोहे मातापिता नोहे कांतासुत । इतरांची मात काय सांगों ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे जन दुतोंडी सावज । सांपडे सहज तिकडे धरी ॥३॥
Literal translation
When-good-all-companions — bad-end-no-one. Not-mother-father-wife-son — what-of-others. Tukā: people-2-faced-savaja — eat-wherever-found.
What it means
A 3-verse fair-weather-friends text. When things are well, all are companions — in bad times at the end, no one. Neither mother-father, neither wife-son — what to say of others? Tukā says: people are 2-faced beasts — wherever (they) find, they grasp naturally. The image dutōṇḍī sāvaja (two-faced beast) is striking — people-as-creatures-with-two-mouths who-eat-from-both-sides.
For someone today
Tukārām names a hard truth here: when life is going well, everyone wants to stand beside you, but when things turn bad, even the people closest to you, mother, father, spouse, or child, may not be there at the end. If your own family can fall away, he asks, what can you expect from everyone else? He compares people to a two-mouthed creature that grabs whatever it can from whichever side offers advantage. This isn't meant to make you bitter, it's meant to stop you from being shocked or shattered when fair-weather support disappears, so you can build your real strength somewhere steadier.
मराठी: तुकाराम इथे एक कठोर सत्य मांडतात, जेव्हा आयुष्य चांगले चालले असते तेव्हा सगळेच सोबती बनतात, पण वाईट काळ आला की जवळचे लोकसुद्धा, आई-वडील, पती-पत्नी किंवा मुले, शेवटी सोबत राहतीलच असे नाही. जर स्वतःचे कुटुंबच साथ सोडू शकते, तर इतरांकडून काय अपेक्षा ठेवावी, असा प्रश्न ते विचारतात. ते लोकांची तुलना दोन तोंडांच्या प्राण्याशी करतात, जो ज्या बाजूने फायदा दिसेल तिकडून पकडतो. हे सांगण्यामागचा हेतू कटुता निर्माण करणे नाही, तर असा फायदा-आधारित पाठिंबा गायब झाल्यावर तुम्ही धक्का बसून कोलमडू नये, आणि त्याऐवजी अधिक स्थिर आधारावर आपली खरी शक्ती उभारावी, हा आहे.
Where this applies
- When friends who were close during good times disappear the moment trouble arrives
- When you feel let down by family members you assumed would always stand by you
- When you're deciding how much to rely on others' support versus building your own inner steadiness
- When you notice someone being kind to you only because it currently benefits them