Abhanga 258

This is one of Tukaram's most-democratically-radical abhangs. Three claims:

The verse

Literal translation

What it means

A radically anti-purity-of-origin abhang. Tukaram lists cosmic-deities, sages, saints with irregular / impure pasts — to argue that purity-of-origin is not the bhakti-criterion. Five movements:

1. Cosmic-deities have irregular pasts. Gandharva-Agni-Soma — enjoy maidens; Gāyatrī eats filth. The highest cosmic-deities have irregularities-in-their-puranic-stories. (E.g., the puranic narrative that the first time a young woman menstruates, the menstrual-flow is enjoyed by Gandharva-Agni-Soma in succession; Gāyatrī-mantra has stories of ritual-impurity.)

2. The pippal-tree from crow-droppings; Pandavas have doṣa. Kāgācyā viṣṭhē janma pippaḷāsi — Pāṇḍava-kuḷāsi pāhātām doṣa. Even the pippal (the holy tree) has its origin in a crow's droppings; even the Pāṇḍavas (the puranic-righteous-heroes) have doṣa* on examination.

3. Sages with irregular pasts whose names destroy sins*. Shakuntalā, Sūta, Karṇa, Śṛngī, Vyāsa — all born irregularly (Shakuntalā from apsarā, Sūta the chariot-driver, Karṇa from unmarried-Kuntī, Śṛngī the deer-haired sage, Vyāsa from Satyavatī before her marriage). And yet their names destroy sins. The irregular-past did not disqualify their name's purifying-power*.

4. Saints with low / un-orthodox pasts: Gaṇikā, Ajāmiḷa, Kubjā, Vidura, Pingalā, Vālmīki, Viśvāmitra, Vasiṣṭha, Nārada*. Each: Gaṇikā (courtesan), Ajāmiḷa (sinner-name-saved-by-calling-his-son-Nārāyaṇa), Kubjā (deformed maid loved by Krishna, 100), Vidura (low-caste Krishna-bhakta), Pingalā (courtesan-turned-saint), Vālmīki (former-bandit), Viśvāmitra (kṣatriya-turned-rishi after great-failures), Vasiṣṭha (had-impurity-stories), Nārada* (varied-past).

5. Tukaram's structural-claim: na vhāvī tīm jālīm; anutāpē-hari-smaraṇa frees; Hari does not remember the past; he-who-utters-the-past goes to naraka*.*

6. That-which-should-not-have-been became — in men-and-women. The irregularities are real in everyone.
7. With anutāpa (repentance-heat) and remembering Hari, they were freed.
8. Hari does not remember the past — the past is not held against the bhakta.
9. But he who utters the past (= reminds, recounts, brings-up another's past) — goes to naraka. The past-utterance is what brings the karma to the utterer.

[T] [Major warkari claim]

For someone today

This is one of Tukaram's most-democratically-radical abhangs. Three claims:

1. Purity-of-origin is not the bhakti-criterion. Look at the list: cosmic-deities, sages, saints — all with irregular pasts. If they qualified for bhakti / sage-status / sin-destroying name-power with irregular pasts, then no one is disqualified by their past. (Compare 100's gopa-Vidura-Kubjā low-status-bhakta examples.)

2. Anutāpa with hari-smaraṇa frees. Anutāpē harī smaratām mukta. The liberation-mechanism is anutāpa (repentance / heat-of-contrition) combined with hari-smaraṇa (remembering Hari). Both are required. The anutāpa-without-hari-smaraṇa is incomplete; the hari-smaraṇa-without-anutāpa is also incomplete.

3. Hari doesn't remember the past — and he who utters it goes to naraka. Pūrva nāṭhavī Śrī-Harī — mūla jō uccārī naraka tyāsi. This is the closing rule. The deity does not hold the past against the bhakta. But the one who reminds-and-recounts another's past — goes to naraka. This is structurally important: it makes the past-utterance itself the punishable-act, not the past-itself. Don't bring up someone's past; Hari has forgotten it; you should not remember it for them.

For today: - Don't disqualify yourself or others by past. The list of saints includes everyone-irregular. - Anutāpa + hari-smaraṇa is the path. Both required. - Don't utter (recount, remind, bring up) others' pasts. The utterance carries the karma to you.

This abhang is foundational for warkari democratic-bhakti. It is the doctrinal-basis for the warkari claim that anyone can become a sant and that sant-status is not gated by birth, caste, gender, prior-conduct. Tukaram's list is the textual-evidence.

मराठी: ही तुकारामांच्या most-democratically-radical abhangs पैकी एक. तीन claims:

1. Purity-of-origin bhakti-criterion नाही. List पाहा: cosmic-deities, sages, saints — सर्व irregular pasts सह. त्यांना irregular pasts असून bhakti / sage-status / sin-destroying name-power मिळाली तर कोणीही past-ने disqualified नाही.

2. Anutāpa सह hari-smaraṇa free करतं. अनुतापें हरी स्मरतां मुक्त. Liberation-mechanism — anutāpa (repentance / heat-of-contrition) आणि hari-smaraṇa (Hari-remember). दोन्ही लागतात. Anutāpa without hari-smaraṇa incomplete; hari-smaraṇa without anutāpa पण incomplete.

3. Hari past आठवत नाही — पण जो past उच्चारतो* तो naraka मध्ये जातो. पूर्व नाठवी श्रीहरी — मूळ जो उच्चारी नरक त्यासि. Closing rule. देव bhakta च्या past ला धरून ठेवत नाही. पण जो दुसऱ्याचा past remind-and-recount करतो — naraka मध्ये जातो. Structurally महत्त्वाचं: past-utterance स्वतः punishable-act, past नाही. कोणाचा past आणू नका; Hari ने विसरलाय; तुम्ही पण त्यांच्यासाठी आठवू नका*.

आज: - स्वतःला किंवा इतरांना past-ने disqualify करू नका. - Anutāpa + hari-smaraṇa — path. दोन्ही लागतात. - इतरांचे pasts utter (recount, remind, bring up) करू नका. Utterance तुम्हाला karma आणते.

ही ओवी warkari democratic-bhakti साठी foundational. कोणीही sant बनू शकतो आणि sant-status birth, caste, gender, prior-conduct ने gated नाही — या warkari claim साठी doctrinal-basis. तुकारामांची list textual-evidence.

Where this applies

• Don't disqualify by past. The puranic-list includes all-irregular.
• Anutāpa + hari-smaraṇa is the path. Both required.
• Hari forgets the past; you should too. Don't utter others' pasts; naraka to the utterer.

Related verses

• Abhanga 2464
• Abhanga 2490
• Abhanga 2494
• Abhanga 4481