Abhanga 180
A real presence that has arrived and spoken needs your recognition to matter, or it is wasted like a useless stone.
The verse
तुम्ही गोपी बाळा मज कैशा नेणा । इंद्र अमरराणा म्यां चि केला ॥१॥ इंद्र चंद्र सूर्य ब्रम्हा तिन्ही लोक । माझे सकळीक यम धर्म ॥ध्रु.॥ मजपासूनिया जाले जीव शिव । देवांचा ही देव मी च कृष्ण ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे त्यांसी बोले नारायण । व्यर्थ मी पाषाण जन्मा आलों ॥३॥
Literal translation
You gopi-kids — how is it you don't know me? I myself made Indra the immortal-king. Indra, Chandra, Sūrya, Brahmā — the three worlds — Yama, Dharma — all are mine. From me, jīva and Śiva were born. I myself am Krishna, the deva-of-devas. Tuka says: Nārāyaṇa speaks to them — (else) I came to this birth as a useless stone.
मराठी: तुम्ही गोपी-बाळं — मला कशा ओळखत नाही? मीच इंद्राला अमर-राणा केला. इंद्र, चंद्र, सूर्य, ब्रम्हा — तिन्ही लोक — माझे सर्व — यम, धर्म. मजपासून जीव-शिव झाले. देवांचाही देव मीच कृष्ण. तुकाराम म्हणतात — नारायण त्यांना सांगतो — (नाहीतर) मी व्यर्थ पाषाण जन्माला आलो.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| तुम्ही गोपी बाळा मज कैशा नेणा | "you gopi-kids — how is it you don't know me?" |
| इंद्र अमरराणा म्यां चि केला | "I myself made Indra the amara-rāṇā (immortal-king)" |
| इंद्र चंद्र सूर्य ब्रम्हा तिन्ही लोक | "Indra, Chandra (moon), Sūrya (sun), Brahmā — the three worlds" |
| माझे सकळीक यम धर्म | "(are) all mine — Yama, Dharma (too)" |
| मजपासूनिया जाले जीव शिव | "from me, jīva and Śiva were born" |
| देवांचा ही देव मी च कृष्ण | "the deva-of-devas — I myself am Krishna" |
| त्यांसी बोले नारायण | "Nārāyaṇa speaks to them" |
| व्यर्थ मी पाषाण जन्मा आलों | "(else) I came to this birth in vain (as a) stone" |
What it means
A Krishna-self-declaration abhang — Krishna naming himself to the gopis after they tried to do Indra-pūjā (continuing the 179 sequence). The cosmic-claim is dense:
- इंद्र अमरराणा म्यां चि केला — I made Indra the immortal-king. The cosmic-establishment is Krishna's appointment, not an independent power.
- तिन्ही लोक माझे सकळीक — all three worlds are mine — including Yama-Dharma (the death-and-justice register).
- मजपासूनिया जाले जीव शिव — jīva and Śiva are born from me. The Vedanta-Shaiva categories are subordinated.
- देवांचा ही देव — deva-of-devas. The standard puranic claim.
But the startling line is the closing: तुका म्हणे त्यांसी बोले नारायण — व्यर्थ मी पाषाण जन्मा आलों — Nārāyaṇa speaks to them: (else) I came to this birth as a useless stone.
The threat is precise: if you (gopis) do not recognize me — my entire avatar-incarnation is wasted; I might as well have been born as an inert stone. Krishna's being-Krishna depends on being-recognized-by-his-bhaktas. This is theologically remarkable — the deity's self has a requirement-of-recognition for its actualization.
The frustration-voice of the deity is rare and important. Tukaram is naming the risk that the avatar carries: if the bhaktas miss the recognition, the avatar wastes itself. [T]
For someone today
This abhang names a surprising, mutual dependence between the deity and the devotee. Usually we think the devotee needs the deity — but here Krishna says the reverse is also true: the deity needs to be recognized by the devotee, or the whole incarnation goes to waste.
For today: if there is a real presence in your life — a teacher, a beloved, a practice that has shown you its true face — recognize it. That recognition isn't optional flattery; failing to give it means the presence's coming and speaking will have been in vain. This isn't a license to demand cosmic recognition for everyone and everything — it's a warning that when something real has actually arrived and spoken to you, it needs to be seen to land. Left unrecognized, even an avatar becomes, in effect, a useless stone.
मराठी: ही ओवी देव आणि भक्तामध्ये असलेल्या एका आश्चर्यकारक परस्परावलंबनाबद्दल सांगते. सामान्यतः आपण असं मानतो की भक्ताला देवाची गरज असते — पण इथे कृष्ण उलट सांगतो: देवालाही भक्ताकडून ओळखलं जाणं गरजेचं आहे, नाहीतर संपूर्ण अवतार वाया जातो.
आजसाठी: तुमच्या आयुष्यात एखादी खरी उपस्थिती असेल — गुरू, प्रिय व्यक्ती, किंवा एखादी साधना जिने तुम्हाला तिचं खरं रूप दाखवलं असेल — तर ती ओळखा. हे ओळखणं म्हणजे केवळ खुशामत नाही; ते न केल्यास ती उपस्थिती येऊन, बोलून, व्यर्थ ठरेल. याचा अर्थ प्रत्येक गोष्टीकडून विश्वव्यापी मान्यतेची मागणी करावी असा नाही — ही एक इशारा आहे की जेव्हा काहीतरी खरं तुमच्याकडे प्रत्यक्ष येऊन बोलतं, तेव्हा ते ओळखलं गेलं तरच त्याचा परिणाम होतो. न ओळखलं गेलेलं, अवतारही अखेर निरुपयोगी दगडासारखा ठरतो.
Where this applies
- Real presence has arrived and is speaking. Recognize.
- Avatar's risk: non-recognition wastes it. Take this seriously.
- Deity's frustration-voice. व्यर्थ मी पाषाण.