Abhanga 362

Once you've truly glimpsed the divine, don't go back to old patterns; admit the struggle it took to get there, and hold on to God directly as the one who carries you through hardship.

The verse

Literal translation

What it means

A seen-the-feet-and-grasp-pītāmbara abhang. Six claims:

1. न व्हावें तें जालें — देखियेले पाय — आतां फिरूं काय मागें देवा — what was not-to-be has been — I have seen the feet — now what to turn back, deva. The opening-celebration: what was unlikely (na hvāvē) has come true; I have seen the feet; no turning back possible.

2. बहु दिस होतों करीत हे आस — तें आलें सायासें फळ आजि — for many days I held this āśā — fruit came today by sāyāsa. The long-waiting and effort acknowledgment: the fruit came after many days, by sāyāsa (effort).

3. कोठवरि जिणें — संसाराच्या आशा — उगवो हा फांसा येथूनियां — how long this living — the samsāra-āśā — let this snare unwind from here. The snare-unwinding-prayer: let the samsāra-āśā-snare be unwound from here onward.

4. बुडालीं तयांचा मूळ ना मारग — लागे तो लाग सांडूनियां — for the drowned — neither root nor path — leave the trail. The drowned-have-no-trail rule: for those drowned in samsāra, neither mūla (root) nor mārga (path) is visible; leave the trail-following (= don't keep following the samsāra-trail).

5. पुढें उलंघितां दुःखाचे डोंगर — नाहीं अंतपार गर्भवासा — ahead — crossing duḥkha-mountains — no end to garbha-vāsa. The ahead-warning: if you keep going (in samsāra), mountains of duḥkha remain to cross; no end to garbha-vāsa (rebirth).

6. तुका म्हणे कास धरीन पीतांबरीं — तूं भवसागरीं तारूं देवा — Tuka says: I'll grasp the pītāmbara's hem — You are the boat in the bhava-sāgara. The closing-grasp-image: I will grasp the hem of Yourpītāmbara(yellow-silk garment of Viṣṇu); You are thetārū(boat) in thebhava-sāgara. Pītāmbara-grasp = boat-boarding.

[T]

For someone today

This verse is a turning point, the moment someone realizes that what once seemed impossible actually happened, they've had a real glimpse of the divine, and there's no going back to how things were before. Tukaram is honest that this wasn't instant; it came after many long days of longing and real effort. Now he prays to be free of the trap of ordinary worldly craving, admitting plainly that once you're pulled under by that current there's no clear path back on your own, and more suffering lies ahead if you keep drifting. So instead of trying to find his own way out, he does something simple and physical: he grabs hold of God's garment, the way you'd grab a lifeline, trusting that God is the boat that will carry him across.

मराठी: ही ओवी एका वळणाच्या क्षणाबद्दल आहे, जेव्हा एखाद्याला जाणवतं की जे अशक्य वाटत होतं ते प्रत्यक्षात घडलं, त्याला परमेश्वराची खरी झलक मिळाली, आणि आता पूर्वीसारखं मागे फिरणं शक्य नाही. तुकाराम प्रामाणिकपणे सांगतात की हे अचानक घडलं नाही, अनेक दिवसांच्या ओढीनंतर आणि खऱ्या मेहनतीनंतर हे फळ आलं. आता ते संसारातल्या सामान्य हव्यासाच्या पाशातून सुटण्यासाठी प्रार्थना करतात, हे स्पष्टपणे मान्य करतात की एकदा त्या प्रवाहात बुडालं की स्वतःहून परतीचा मार्ग सापडत नाही, आणि तसंच वाहत राहिलं तर पुढे आणखी दुःख वाढून ठेवलेलं आहे. म्हणून स्वतःची वाट स्वतः शोधण्याऐवजी ते एक साधी आणि थेट कृती करतात, ते देवाचं वस्त्र घट्ट धरतात, जणू एखादी जीवनरेखा पकडावी तशी, आणि विश्वास ठेवतात की देवच ती नाव आहे जी त्यांना पैलतीरी नेईल.

Where this applies

• Seen the feet — no turning back. Unlikely-darśana.
• Samsāra-snare unwinds from here. Resolve.
• Drowned have no trail. Honest-look.
• Grasp the pītāmbara; He is the boat. Tactile-image.

Related verses

• Abhanga 2467 — What looks like your whole world, like a fig to the insect living inside it, is only a tin
• Abhanga 4481 — Tukaram promises that sincerely calling on the Lord's name, knowingly or unknowingly, with
• Abhanga 4482 — Tukaram teaches that no ritual equals sincerely speaking the Lord's name, that self-center
• Abhanga 4497 — Tukaram describes a life so soaked in devotion that Krishna's presence fills every ordinar