Abhanga 387
Genuine heartfelt feeling, not the size or grandeur of what you offer, is what actually reaches the divine.
The verse
कोणे लागला गे सदैवेचे हातीं । आजि शून्य शेजे नाहीं दिसे पती वो ॥१॥ म्हणे कोमळ परी बहु गे निर्गुण । याशीं न बोलें कळला मज पूर्ण वो ॥ध्रु.॥ लाजिनली रूप न ये पालटितां । जाला भीमकी आपण राम सीता वो ॥२॥ तुळे घालितां न ये कनक वो रासी । सम तुके एक पान तुळसी वो ॥३॥ दिली वाट यमुने मायें खरी । तुम्हां आम्हां न कळे अद्यापवरी वो ॥४॥ राधा संबोखिली प्रीती आलिंगून । तुका म्हणे येथें भाव चि कारण वो ॥५॥
Literal translation
Whose sadaiva-woman has the pati gone — today, śūnya-śejā — no pati visible. Says kōmaḷa but very nirguṇa — can't speak — I know fully. Lāja-stricken — form doesn't change — became Bhīmakī, became Rāma-Sītā. Weighing — kanaka-rāśi doesn't equal — one tulasī-pāna — same weight. Yamunā-māye gave true path — you and I don't know yet. Rādhā consoled — prīti-embrace. Tuka says: here — bhāva alone — kāraṇa.
मराठी: कोणे लागला गे सदैवेचे हातीं — आजि शून्य शेजे नाहीं दिसे पती. म्हणे कोमळ परी बहु निर्गुण — याशीं न बोलें कळला मज पूर्ण. लाजिनली रूप न ये पालटितां — जाला भीमकी आपण राम सीता. तुळे घालितां न ये कनक रासी — सम तुके एक पान तुळसी. दिली वाट यमुने मायें खरी — तुम्हां आम्हां न कळे अद्यापवरी. तुकाराम म्हणतां — राधा संबोखिली प्रीती आलिंगून — येथें भाव चि कारण.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| कोणे लागला गे सदैवेचे हातीं | "whose sadaiva-woman has gotten the pati" |
| आजि शून्य शेजे नाहीं दिसे पती | "today — śūnya-śejā — no pati visible" |
| म्हणे कोमळ परी बहु गे निर्गुण | "says kōmaḷa but very nirguṇa" |
| याशीं न बोलें कळला मज पूर्ण | "can't speak — I know fully" |
| लाजिनली रूप न ये पालटितां | "lāja-stricken — form doesn't change" |
| जाला भीमकी आपण राम सीता | "became Bhīmakī, became Rāma-Sītā" |
| तुळे घालितां न ये कनक वो रासी | "weighing — kanaka-rāśi — does not equal" |
| सम तुके एक पान तुळसी | "one tulasī-pāna — same weight" |
| दिली वाट यमुने मायें खरी | "Yamunā-māye gave true path" |
| तुम्हां आम्हां न कळे अद्यापवरी | "you and I — don't know yet" |
| राधा संबोखिली प्रीती आलिंगून | "Rādhā — consoled — prīti-embrace" |
| येथें भाव चि कारण | "here — bhāva alone — kāraṇa" |
What it means
A bhāva-is-cause-in-līlā abhang. Six claims:
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कोणे लागला गे सदैवेचे हातीं — आजि शून्य शेजे नाहीं दिसे पती — whose sadaiva-woman has the pati gone — śūnya-bed — no pati visible. The opening-puzzle: Rādhā's bed is empty today; whose lucky-woman has the pati gone to today? The līlā-of-Krishna's-multiple-loves.
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म्हणे कोमळ परी बहु गे निर्गुण — याशीं न बोलें कळला मज पूर्ण — says kōmaḷa but very nirguṇa — can't speak — I know fully. The Krishna-paradox: He says (himself / appears) gentle but is very nirguṇa (formless / beyond-attribute); I cannot speak with Him in the usual way; I know Him fully.
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लाजिनली रूप न ये पालटितां — जाला भीमकी आपण राम सीता — lāja-stricken — form doesn't change — became Bhīmakī, became Rāma-Sītā. The form-multiplicity: the lāja-stricken form does not change; (yet) He becameBhīmakī(Rukmiṇī, who came to Krishna); becameRāma-Sītā(= the previous-incarnation pair). Krishna-Rādhā = Rāma-Sītā = Krishna-Rukmiṇī — same essence in multiple forms.
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तुळे घालितां न ये कनक वो रासी — सम तुके एक पान तुळसी — weighing — gold-mass doesn't equal — one tulasī-leaf same weight. The bhāva-equation: gold-mass cannot equal-Him on the scale; one tulasī-leaf is the same weight. (The Tulābhāra / Gold-Tulābhāra tale: when Rukmiṇī tried to weigh Krishna against gold, only Satyabhāmā's tulasī-leaf-with-bhāva tipped the scale.) Bhāva-tulasī = mass-of-gold.
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दिली वाट यमुने मायें खरी — तुम्हां आम्हां न कळे अद्यापवरी — Yamunā-māye gave true path — you and I don't know yet. The Yamunā-mother-gave-a-path claim: Yamunā as mother gave a true path; we don't know it fully yet. (Reference to Vāsudeva crossing Yamunā with infant-Krishna.)
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राधा संबोखिली प्रीती आलिंगून — तुका म्हणे येथें भाव चि कारण — Rādhā consoled by prīti-embrace — Tuka says: here, bhāva alone is the cause. The closing-claim: Rādhā was consoled by Krishna's prīti-embrace; here — bhāva alone is the cause. Bhāva is the kāraṇa in all of Krishna's līlā.
[T]
For someone today
This verse insists that sincerity of feeling, not the size or grandeur of what you offer, is what actually moves the divine. It recalls the story of weighing Krishna against a mountain of gold: no amount of gold could balance the scale, yet a single tulsi leaf offered with real love tipped it instantly. Tukaram also notices that the divine shows up differently across different relationships and forms, so love does not have to take one fixed shape to be real. And there are paths of grace we do not yet fully understand; you don't need to grasp exactly how you're being helped for it to be true, because what carries you through is genuine feeling, not the scale of your effort.
मराठी: ही ओवी सांगते की देवाला हलवते ती अर्पणाची मोठाई नव्हे, तर त्यामागची खरी भावना. यात कृष्णाला सोन्याच्या राशीविरुद्ध तोलण्याची गोष्ट आठवते; कितीही सोने घातले तरी तराजू समतोल होत नाही, पण खऱ्या प्रेमाने अर्पण केलेले एक तुळशीचे पान मात्र लगेच पारडे झुकवते. तुकाराम हेही सांगतात की देव वेगवेगळ्या नात्यांत आणि रूपांत वेगळ्या प्रकारे प्रकट होतो, त्यामुळे प्रेमाला एकाच ठराविक रूपात अडकवून ठेवण्याची गरज नाही. आणि असे काही कृपेचे मार्ग असतात जे आपल्याला अजून पूर्ण उमगलेले नाहीत; ते पूर्ण समजल्याशिवायही खरे असू शकतात, कारण शेवटी माणसाला तारते ती मनापासूनची भावना, प्रयत्नांची मोठाई नव्हे.
Where this applies
- Deva loves many — don't be possessive. Līlā-frame.
- Kōmaḷaandnirguṇa both. Paradox.
- Same essence across forms. Krishna-Rādhā = Rāma-Sītā = Krishna-Rukmiṇī.
- Bhāva-tulasī = gold-mass. Bhāva-equation.
- Yamunā-māye gave path. Unrecognized.
- Bhāvais thekāraṇa. All-līlā-driver.