Abhanga 285
Hanuman's hidden, foundational work made the whole story possible, and chanting his name is offered as a simple practice for clearing away sin.
The verse
केली सीताशुद्धी । मूळ रामायणा आधीं ॥१॥ ऐसा प्रतापी गहन । सुरां सकळ भक्तांचें भूषण ॥ध्रु.॥ जाऊनि पाताळा । केली देवाची अवकळा ॥२॥ राम लक्षुमण । नेले आणिले चोरून ॥३॥ जोडूनियां कर । उभा सन्मुख समोर ॥४॥ तुका म्हणे जपें । वायुसुता जाती पापें ॥५॥
Literal translation
Sītā-śuddhi — done — before the mūla of the Rāmāyaṇa. Such is his pratāpa — profound — ornament of the suras and all bhaktas. Going to pātāḷa — made the deva's avakaḷā. Rāma-Lakṣmaṇa — taken (by theft) — brought back (from theft). Joining hands, stands sammukha samōra. Tuka says: by japa — to vāyu-suta — sins go away.
मराठी: केली सीताशुद्धी — मूळ रामायणा आधीं. ऐसा प्रतापी गहन — सुरां सकळ भक्तांचें भूषण. जाऊनि पाताळा — केली देवाची अवकळा. राम लक्षुमण — नेले आणिले चोरून. जोडूनियां कर — उभा सन्मुख समोर. तुकाराम म्हणतात — जपें — वायुसुता जाती पापें.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| केली सीताशुद्धी | "Sītā-śuddhi (Sītā-finding) — done" |
| मूळ रामायणा आधीं | "before themūla(root) of the Rāmāyaṇa" |
| ऐसा प्रतापी गहन | "such is hispratāpa—gahana(profound)" |
| सुरां सकळ भक्तांचें भूषण | "ornament of thesurasand allbhaktas" |
| जाऊनि पाताळा | "going topātāḷa" |
| केली देवाची अवकळा | "made the deva'savakaḷā(degraded-state)" |
| राम लक्षुमण नेले आणिले चोरून | "Rāma-Lakṣmaṇa — taken (by theft) — brought back (from theft)" |
| जोडूनियां कर उभा सन्मुख समोर | "joining hands — standssammukha samōra(face-front)" |
| जपें वायुसुता जाती पापें | "by japa — tovāyu-suta— sins go away" |
What it means
A Hanumat-pratāpa-and-japa abhang. Five claims:
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केली सीताशुद्धी — मूळ रामायणा आधीं — Sītā-śuddhi done — before the mūla of the Rāmāyaṇa. The scope-claim. Sītā-śuddhi (Sītā-finding, the Sundara-kāṇḍa search) was accomplished by Hanuman before the rest of the Rāmāyaṇa unfolded. Without Hanuman's Sītā-finding, the Rāma-Rāvaṇa-yuddha could not have happened. The foundation-task was Hanuman's.
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ऐसा प्रतापी गहन — सुरां सकळ भक्तांचें भूषण — such is the profound pratāpa — ornament of suras and all bhaktas. Pratāpa — valor / power-of-deeds — gahana (profound). Hanuman is the bhūṣaṇa (ornament) of both the suras (gods) and all the bhaktas — honored on both sides.
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जाऊनि पाताळा — केली देवाची अवकळा — going to pātāḷa — made the deva's avakaḷā. The Mahirāvaṇa-episode (or similar pātāḷa-leelā). When Rāma-Lakṣmaṇa were captured and taken to pātāḷa, Hanuman went to pātāḷa and rescued them. Avakaḷā — the degraded-state — the moment when even the deva-incarnations were captured. (= the deva's degraded-state was made by Hanuman's going-to-pātāḷa in the sense of Hanuman descended-into-the-place-where-the-deva-was-degraded and resolved-the-situation.)
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राम लक्षुमण — नेले आणिले चोरून — Rāma-Lakṣmaṇa — taken (by theft) — brought-back. They were taken-by-theft (= Mahirāvaṇa stole them) and Hanuman brought-them-back-from-theft. The thief-and-recovery cycle.
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जोडूनियां कर — उभा सन्मुख समोर — joining hands, stands face-front. The sammukha-image. Hanuman stands face-front, hands joined — attentive, ready, in front of Rāma. The standing-stance is the bhakta-stance.
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तुका म्हणे जपें — वायुसुता जाती पापें — Tuka says: by japa — to vāyu-suta — sins go away. The closing-promise. Japa (recitation / chanting) to vāyu-suta (Hanuman, son-of-Vāyu) removes sins. The Hanumat-japa is sin-removing.
[T]
For someone today
Tukaram celebrates Hanuman's role in the Ramayana — before the great war with Ravana could even happen, Hanuman had already accomplished the crucial, often overlooked task of finding Sita, without which nothing else in the story could unfold; that quiet groundwork made him beloved by gods and devotees alike. When Rama and Lakshmana were once stolen away and taken to the underworld, even they, incarnations of God, ended up in a helpless, degraded state — and it was Hanuman who went down into that underworld and brought them safely back. Through it all, Hanuman is pictured standing before Rama with hands joined, alert and ready to serve, which is the very posture Tukaram holds up as the true stance of a devotee. And he closes with a simple promise: chanting Hanuman's name, the son of the wind, is itself enough to wash sins away.
मराठी: तुकाराम रामायणातील हनुमंताच्या भूमिकेचा गौरव करतात — रावणाशी मोठे युद्ध होण्यापूर्वीच हनुमंताने सीतेचा शोध घेण्याचे महत्त्वाचे, अनेकदा दुर्लक्षित काम पूर्ण केले होते, त्याशिवाय पुढची कथाच घडू शकली नसती; या शांतपणे केलेल्या पायाभूत कामामुळेच ते देव आणि भक्त दोघांनाही प्रिय ठरले. एकदा राम-लक्ष्मणाचे अपहरण होऊन त्यांना पाताळात नेण्यात आले, तेव्हा देवाचे अवतार असूनही ते हतबल, हीन अवस्थेत सापडले — आणि हनुमंतानेच पाताळात जाऊन त्यांना सुखरूप परत आणले. या सगळ्यात हनुमंत रामासमोर हात जोडून, सावध आणि सेवेस तत्पर उभे असलेले दाखवले जातात, हीच खरी भक्ताची मुद्रा आहे असे तुकाराम मानतात. आणि शेवटी ते एक साधे वचन देतात — वायुपुत्र हनुमंताचे नामस्मरण करणे हेच पापे धुऊन टाकण्यास पुरेसे आहे.
Where this applies
- Invisible foundation-work like Sītā-śuddhi. May be uncredited but essential.
- Pātāḷa-gowhen the loved-one is inavakaḷā.
- Sammukha-samōra stance, hands joined. Bhakta-stance.
- Hanumat-japa removes pāpa. Practice-promise.