संत साहित्य
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संत साहित्य · Tukārām · Abhanga 362 of 4582

Abhanga 362

English: What was not-to-be has been — I have seen the pāya — now what to turn back, deva?

When the feet have been seen and there is no turning back — and you have to recognize this register
When the samsāra-snare must be unwound — and you accept this resolve
When grasping the pītāmbara's hem — He is the boat — and you receive this image

The verse

न व्हावें तें जालें देखियेले पाय । आतां फिरूं काय मागें देवा ॥१॥ बहु दिस होतों करीत हे आस । तें आलें सायासें फळ आजि ॥ध्रु.॥ कोठवरि जिणें संसाराच्या आशा । उगवो हा फांसा येथूनियां ॥२॥ बुडालीं तयांचा मूळ ना मारग । लागे तो लाग सांडूनियां ॥३॥ पुढें उलंघितां दुःखाचे डोंगर । नाहीं अंतपार गर्भवासा ॥४॥ तुका म्हणे कास धरीन पीतांबरीं । तूं भवसागरीं तारूं देवा ॥५॥

Literal translation

English: What was not-to-be has been — I have seen the pāya — now what to turn back, deva? For many days I held this āśā — by sāyāsa the fruit came today. How long this living — the samsāra-āśā — let this phāsā be unwound from here. For the drowned — neither mūla nor mārga — leave the trail. Ahead — crossing mountains of duḥkha — no end to garbha-vāsa. Tuka says: I will grasp the hem of the pītāmbara — You are the tārū in the bhava-sāgara.

मराठी: न व्हावें तें जालें — देखियेले पाय — आतां फिरूं काय मागें देवा. बहु दिस होतों करीत हे आस — तें आलें सायासें फळ आजि. कोठवरि जिणें — संसाराच्या आशा — उगवो हा फांसा येथूनियां. बुडालीं तयांचा मूळ ना मारग — लागे तो लाग सांडूनियां. पुढें उलंघितां दुःखाचे डोंगर — नाहीं अंतपार गर्भवासा. तुकाराम म्हणतां — कास धरीन पीतांबरीं — तूं भवसागरीं तारूं देवा.

Word-by-word gloss
Marathi Meaning
न व्हावें तें जालें देखियेले पाय "what was not-to-be — has-been; I have seen the pāya"
आतां फिरूं काय मागें देवा "now what to turn-back, deva"
बहु दिस होतों करीत हे आस "for many days I held this āśā"
तें आलें सायासें फळ आजि "by sāyāsa — that fruit came today"
कोठवरि जिणें संसाराच्या आशा "how long the living — the samsāra-āśā"
उगवो हा फांसा येथूनियां "let this phāsā (snare) be unwound from here"
बुडालीं तयांचा मूळ ना मारग "for the buḍālīm (drowned) — neither mūla nor mārga"
लागे तो लाग सांडूनियां "leave the trail-following"
पुढें उलंघितां दुःखाचे डोंगर "ahead — crossing mountains of duḥkha"
नाहीं अंतपार गर्भवासा "no end to garbha-vāsa"
कास धरीन पीतांबरीं "I will grasp the hem of the pītāmbara"
तूं भवसागरीं तारूं देवा "You are the tārū (boat) in the bhava-sāgara"

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 Your pītāmbara (yellow-silk garment of Viṣṇu); You are the tārū (boat) in the bhava-sāgara. Pītāmbara-grasp = boat-boarding.

[T]

For someone today

This abhang names the seen-the-feet-and-grasp-pītāmbara frame:

  1. When the unlikely happens and you've seen the feet — no turning back. Na hvāvē tē jālē — dēkhiyēlē pāya. Recognize the unlikely-arrival-of-darśana; don't turn back from there.

  2. Acknowledge the long-waiting and the sāyāsa*. Bahu disa hōtōm — sāyāsē phaḷa. The fruit came by long-waiting and effort; don't pretend it was easy*.

  3. Pray for the samsāra-snare to unwind. Samsārācyā āśā — ugavō hā phāsā. Don't go on adding to the snare; pray for it to unwind from here onward.

  4. Recognize: the drowned have no trail; mountains of duḥkha* lie ahead. Buḍālīm — mūla nā mārga — duḥkhācē ḍongara — garbha-vāsa. The honest-look at samsāra: for the drowned, no root, no path; mountains of duḥkha remain; no end to rebirth. Don't romanticize the samsāra*.

  5. Grasp the pītāmbara*'s hem; He is the boat. Kāsa dharīna pītāmbarīm — tūm bhava-sāgarīm tārūm. The grasp-image: the bhakta grasps the hem of the deva's pītāmbara (yellow-silk); the deva is the boat in the bhava-sāgara. The grasp is the boarding*.

For today: recognize when the unlikely-darśana has happened — don't turn back; acknowledge the long-waiting and sāyāsa; pray for the samsāra-snare to unwind; be honest about samsāra (no trail for drowned, mountains of duḥkha ahead); grasp the deva's pītāmbara — He is the boat.

This abhang is one of Tukaram's most-comprehensive on bhava-sāgara-tāru: seen-the-feet, snare-unwinding, drowned-no-trail, duḥkha-mountains, garbha-vāsa-no-end, pītāmbara-grasp. The pītāmbara-hem-grasp is especially-tactile — physically-grasping the deva's clothing as the boat-boarding.

मराठी: ही ओवी seen-the-feet-and-grasp-pītāmbara frame नाव सांगते:

  1. Unlikely झालं आणि feet पाहिली — मागे फिरायचं नाही. न व्हावें तें जालें — देखियेले पाय. Unlikely-arrival-of-darśana ओळखा; तिथून मागे फिरू नका.

  2. Long-waiting आणि sāyāsa* acknowledge करा. बहु दिस होतों — सायासें फळ. Long-waiting and effort ने fruit आलं; easy होतं असं समजू नका*.

  3. Samsāra-snare unwind साठी प्रार्थना करा. संसाराच्या आशा — उगवो हा फांसा. Snare ला आणखी add करू नका; इथून unwind होऊ द्या प्रार्थना.

  4. Drowned ला trail नाही; ahead duḥkha-डोंगर. बुडालीं — मूळ-मार्ग नाही — दुःखाचे डोंगर — गर्भवासा. Samsāra बद्दल honest-look: drowned ला root, path नाही; duḥkha-mountains राहतात; rebirth ला end नाही. Samsāra romanticize करू नका.

  5. Pītāmbara चा हेम पकडा; तो boat आहे. कास धरीन पीतांबरीं — तूं भवसागरीं तारूं. Grasp-image: Bhakta deva च्या pītāmbara (yellow-silk) चा hem पकडतो; deva bhava-sāgara मध्ये boat. Grasp boarding.

आज: Unlikely-darśana झाला — मागे फिरू नका; Long-waiting आणि sāyāsa acknowledge करा; Samsāra-snare unwind साठी प्रार्थना; Samsāra बद्दल honest रहा; Deva चा pītāmbara पकडा — तो boat.

Tukaram च्या bhava-sāgara-tāru वर most-comprehensive पैकी एक: seen-feet, snare-unwinding, drowned-no-trail, duḥkha-mountains, garbha-vāsa-no-end, pītāmbara-grasp. Pītāmbara-hem-grasp especially-tactile — Physically-grasping deva चं clothing म्हणजे boat-boarding.

Where this applies

Cosmology / Avatāra Bhakti seen-the-feet deva-is-the-boat

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