Abhanga 331
At the joyous Kartiki procession to Pandharpur, heaven itself feels close, and unlike other holy places that offer only partial relief, devotion at Vitthal's feet clears every debt completely, so trust that the divine giver never overlooks those who come.
The verse
कार्तिकीचा सोहळा । चला जाऊं पाहूं डोळां । आले वैकुंठ जवळां । सन्निध पंढरीये ॥१॥ पीक पिकलें घुमरी । प्रेम न समाये अंबरीं । अवघी मातली पंढरी । घरोघरीं सुकाळ ॥ध्रु.॥ चालती स्थिर स्थिर । गरुड टकयांचे भार । गर्जती गंभीर । टाळ श्रुति मृदंग ॥२॥ मळिालिया भद्रजाती । कैशा आनंदें डुलती । शूर उठावती । एका एक आगळे ॥३॥ नामामृत कल्लोळ । वृंदें कोंदलीं सकळ । आले वैष्णवदळ । कळिकाळ कांपती ॥४॥ आस करिती ब्रम्हादिक । देखुनि वाळवंटीचें सुख । धन्य धन्य मृत्युलोक । म्हणती भाग्याचे कैसे ॥५॥ मरण मुक वाराणसी । पितृॠण गया नासी । उधार नाहीं पंढरीसि । पायापाशीं विठोबाच्या ॥६॥ तुका म्हणे आतां । काय करणें आम्हां चिंता । सकळ सिद्धींचा दाता । तो सर्वथा नुपेक्षी ॥७॥
Literal translation
The Kārtikī sōhaḷā — let's go see with the ḍoḷā. Vaikuntha came near — sannidha to Pandhari. The pīka pikalē — prema doesn't fit in ambara; all Pandhari mātalī — sukāḷa house-to-house. Walk slowly — mass of garuḍa-ṭakē; roar gambhīra — tāḷ, śruti, mridanga. Bhadra-jāti — sway in ānanda — śūras rise — one greater than the other. Nāmāmṛta-kallōḷa — vṛndas all kondalī; vaiṣṇava-daḷa came — kali-kāḷa tremble. Brahmādiks long — seeing wāḷavanṭa-sukha; dhanya dhanya mṛtyu-loka. Death silent at Vārāṇasī; pitṛ-ṛiṇa cleared at Gayā; no udhāra at Pandhari at Viṭhobā's pāya-pāśī. Tuka says: now what cintā for us? — the sakaḷa-siddhi-dātā — fully — doesn't upekṣā.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| कार्तिकीचा सोहळा | "the Kārtikī sōhaḷā" |
| आले वैकुंठ जवळां सन्निध पंढरीये | "Vaikuntha came near — sannidha to Pandhari" |
| पीक पिकलें घुमरी | "the harvest matured-ripening" |
| प्रेम न समाये अंबरीं | "prema doesn't fit inambara" |
| अवघी मातली पंढरी घरोघरीं सुकाळ | "all Pandhari mātalī — sukāḷa house-to-house" |
| गरुड टकयांचे भार | "mass of garuḍa-ṭakē" |
| टाळ श्रुति मृदंग | "tāḷ, śruti, mridanga" |
| भद्रजाती आनंदें डुलती | "bhadra-jāti — sway in ānanda" |
| नामामृत कल्लोळ वृंदें कोंदलीं सकळ | "nāma-amṛta waves — vṛndas all densely-filled" |
| आले वैष्णवदळ कळिकाळ कांपती | "vaiṣṇava-daḷa came — kali-kāḷa tremble" |
| आस करिती ब्रम्हादिक देखुनि वाळवंटीचें सुख | "Brahmādiks long — seeing wāḷavanṭa-sukha" |
| धन्य धन्य मृत्युलोक | "dhanya dhanya mṛtyu-loka" |
| मरण मुक वाराणसी पितृॠण गया नासी | "death silent at Vārāṇasī; pitṛ-ṛiṇa cleared at Gayā" |
| उधार नाहीं पंढरीसि पायापाशीं विठोबाच्या | "noudhāraat Pandhari — at Viṭhobā'spāya-pāśī" |
| सकळ सिद्धींचा दाता तो सर्वथा नुपेक्षी | "thesakaḷa-siddhi-dātā— fully — doesn't overlook" |
What it means
The most-cited Kārtikī-Pandhari-procession abhang. Kārtikī Ekādaśī (eleventh of the bright-half of Kārtika) is the climactic warkari-pilgrimage to Pandhari. Seven verses describing the procession:
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Kārtikī-sōhaḷā — Vaikuntha came near. The festival. Vaikuntha came near, sannidha to Pandhari. (Compare 198 Pandhari rejects Vaikuntha; here Vaikuntha comes-to-Pandhari.)
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Pīka-pikalē — prema doesn't fit ambara — Pandhari mātalī — sukāḷa house-to-house. The abundance-image. The harvest is matured; prema is so abundant it doesn't fit in the sky. All-Pandhari is intoxicated; every house has sukāḷa (good-times).
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Walk-slowly mass of garuḍa-ṭakē — gambhīra roar of tāḷ-śruti-mridanga. The procession-imagery. Slow-walking with the eagle-banners; the deep roar of the percussion-music.
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Bhadra-jāti dolī in ānanda — śūras rise. The bhadra-jāti (good-class) sway in ānanda; the śūras (warriors) rise. (Compare 183 we are warrior-strongmen of the cart-procession.)
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Nāmāmṛta-kallōḷa — vaiṣṇava-daḷa came — kali-kāḷa tremble. Name-nectar-waves; vaiṣṇava-army arrives; kali and kāḷa tremble. (Compare 199 Amarāvatī kelī ōsa.)
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Brahmādiks long for vāḷavaṇṭa-sukha — dhanya mṛtyu-loka. Even the cosmic-deities long for the wāḷavanṭa-sukha; dhanya dhanya mṛtyu-loka — what good fortune. (Compare 211 Amarāvatī deserted, devas come to watch the kālā.)
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Death silent at Vārāṇasī; Pitṛ-ṛiṇa cleared at Gayā; no udhāra at Pandhari at Viṭhobā's feet. The closing-comparison. Vārāṇasī kills death; Gayā clears ancestral-debt; Pandhari has no debt-at-all at Viṭhobā's feet. Pandhari is debt-free. (Compare 198 Pandhari rejects Vaikuntha; same Pandhari-superiority.)
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Closing-trust: sakaḷa-siddhi-dātā doesn't overlook. No cintā for us — the giver-of-all-siddhis fully does-not-overlook. (Compare 295 bhakta-ontology — Hari acts through the bhakta's anga.)
[T] [Major warkari celebratory abhang]
For someone today
This is the great celebratory abhang describing the Kartiki festival procession to Pandharpur, in which heaven itself feels as though it has drawn near. Love overflows so abundantly during the procession that it seems too much even for the sky to hold, with banners, drums, and joyful saints and warriors filling the streets. Even the celestial gods above are said to long to witness this joy on the sands of Pandhari, calling the human world fortunate for having it. Unlike other holy places — Varanasi, which only silences the fear of death, or Gaya, which only clears debts owed to ancestors — devotion at Vithoba's feet in Pandhari clears every debt completely, leaving nothing outstanding. So Tukaram concludes: there is nothing left to worry about, because the giver of every blessing never overlooks those who come to him.
मराठी: ही कार्तिकी वारीच्या पंढरपूर मिरवणुकीचे वर्णन करणारी आनंदोत्सवी ओवी आहे, जिथे स्वर्गही जणू जवळ आल्यासारखा भासतो. मिरवणुकीत प्रेम इतके ओसंडून वाहते की जणू आकाशातही मावेनासे होते; पताका, टाळ-मृदंगाचा गंभीर नाद, आणि आनंदाने डोलणारे संत-वीर यांनी रस्ते भरून जातात. वरून पाहणारे ब्रह्मादिक देवही पंढरीच्या वाळवंटावरचे हे सुख पाहायला आतुर होतात आणि मृत्युलोक किती भाग्यवान आहे असे म्हणतात. वाराणसी केवळ मृत्यूची भीती शांत करते, गया केवळ पितृऋणातून मुक्त करते, पण पंढरीत विठोबाच्या चरणी सगळे ऋण पूर्णपणे फिटते, काहीच उधार राहत नाही. म्हणून तुकाराम म्हणतात — आता आम्हाला कसलीच चिंता नाही, कारण सर्व सिद्धी देणारा तो कधीच दुर्लक्ष करत नाही.
Where this applies
- Kārtikī-procession = Vaikuntha-sannidha event.
- Prema overflows the sky. Abundance-marker.
- Pandhari is debt-free at Viṭhobā's feet.
- Sakaḷa-siddhi-dātā doesn't overlook. No cintā.