Abhanga 370

When you hand your burden over completely and trust the outcome to someone greater, the anxious striving can finally stop.

The verse

Literal translation

What it means

A saints-handed-me-over-to-Viṭhobā abhang in the sad-guru-grace cluster (cf. 367 colophon, 368, 369, 371). Five claims:

1. घालुनियां भार राहिलों निश्चितीं — निरविलें संतीं विठोबासि — placed the bhāra — stayed in niścaya — saints handed me over to Viṭhobā. The transfer-image: Tukaram placed his bhāra; stayed in niścaya (resolved-stillness); the saints handed him over (niravilē) to Viṭhobā. (Niravaṇē — to hand over with introduction / transfer of guardianship.)

2. लावूनियां हातें कुरवाळिला माथा — सांगितलें चिंता न करावी — placed His hand, stroked the māthā — said don't worry. The direct-consolation by Viṭhobā: placed His hand on Tukaram's head, stroked it, saiddon't worry. The physical-tactile-consolation.

3. कटीं कर सम चरण साजिरे — राहिला भीवरें तीरीं उभा — hands on hips, equal feet, sājirē — stands on the Bhīvarā-tīra. The iconic Viṭhobā image: hands on hips, equal feet (sama-caraṇa), beautiful (sājirē); stands on the Bhīvarā-tīra (the bank of the Bhīmā river at Pandharpur). (Compare 346 kaṭīm kara ṭhēvūniyām; same icon.)

4. खुंटले सायास अणिकि या जीवा — धरिले केशवा पाय तुझे — sāyāsa exhausted for this jīva — held Your pāya, Keśava. The jīva's-claim: all sāyāsa is exhausted; I have held Your feet. No more striving; the feet are held.

5. तुज वाटे आतां तें करीं अनंता — तुका म्हणे संता लाज माझी — do now what You see fit, Ananta — Tuka says: the saints — my lāja. The closing-surrender: do whatever You see fit, Ananta; and the saints carry my lāja (honor). The honor / shame is in the saints' charge; they handed me over and they bear the lāja.

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For someone today

Tukaram describes putting his burden down for good, resting in quiet certainty, because the saints themselves have handed him over to Vitthal. Vitthal responds not with words alone but with a hand on his head, stroking it gently and telling him not to worry. Tukaram pictures Vitthal exactly as he stands at Pandharpur, hands on hips, feet together, waiting on the bank of the Bhima river. There is nothing left to strive for, he says, because he is holding those feet, and whatever happens next is Vitthal's to decide, while the saints carry the responsibility for his honor.

मराठी: तुकाराम सांगतात की त्यांनी आपला सगळा भार कायमचा खाली ठेवला आहे आणि ते निश्चिंत मनाने राहत आहेत, कारण संतांनीच त्यांना विठोबाच्या स्वाधीन केले आहे. विठोबा नुसत्या शब्दांनी नाही तर हातानेच त्यांच्या डोक्यावरून प्रेमाने हात फिरवून सांगतो, काळजी करू नकोस. तुकाराम विठोबाला जसा पंढरपुरात भीमा नदीच्या तीरावर कमरेवर हात ठेवून, दोन्ही पाय समान ठेवून उभा असतो तसाच आठवतात. आता आणखी काही करण्यासारखे उरले नाही, कारण त्यांनी त्याचे पाय धरले आहेत, आणि पुढे काय करायचे ते विठोबानेच ठरवावे, तर आपली अब्रू संतांच्या हाती आहे.

Where this applies

• Place bhāra; stay in niścaya. Active-laboring over.
• Saints hand you over. Bridge-role.
• Viṭhobā strokes head, says don't worry. Tactile-consolation.
• Saints carry your lāja. Honor-transferred.

Related verses

• Abhanga 2464 — For today: Pāṇḍuranga is sukha-rūpa ; no wandering, no shaving, no sādhana-pressure ; Chan
• Abhanga 2490 — The divine is most reachable through the living presence of a true saint, not through a di
• Abhanga 2494 — Living in devotion turns an ordinary day into a festival and removes the fear of birth and
• Abhanga 4481 — Tukaram promises that sincerely calling on the Lord's name, knowingly or unknowingly, with