Abhanga 441
Stay watchful, keep your love and remembrance of God sincere rather than performed, don't overload your practice with unnecessary burdens, and seek out true companions who share the same devotion.
The verse
संबाल यारा उपर तलें दोन्हो मारकी चोट । नजर करे सो ही राखे पश्वा जावे लुट ॥१॥ प्यार खुदाई रे बाबा जिकिर खुदाई ॥ध्रु.॥ उडे कुदे ढुंग नचावे आगल भुलन प्यार । लडबड खडबड कांहेकां खचलावत भार ॥२॥ कहे तुका चलो एका हम जिन्होंके सात । मिलावे तो उसे देना तो ही चढावे हात ॥३॥
Literal translation
Hold yourself, yārā — upper-lower — both mār-kī-coṭ. Whoever nazara karē — that one saves — paśva goes looted. Pyāra Khudāī, bābā — jikira Khudāī. Jumps-leaps — ḍhung dances — beforehand-deceived pyāra. Lurching-staggering — why entangle bhāra? Tuka says: let's go alone, we — with those — meeting comes — give to him — that one raises the hāta.
मराठी: संबाल यारा उपर तलें दोन्हो मारकी चोट — नजर करे सो ही राखे पश्वा जावे लुट. प्यार खुदाई रे बाबा — जिकिर खुदाई. उडे कुदे ढुंग नचावे आगल भुलन प्यार — लडबड खडबड कांहेकां खचलावत भार. तुकाराम म्हणतां — चलो एका हम जिन्होंके सात — मिलावे तो उसे देना — तो ही चढावे हात.
Word-by-word gloss
| Hindavi/Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| संबाल यारा उपर तलें | "hold yourself, yārā — upper-and-lower" |
| दोन्हो मारकी चोट | "both mār-kī-coṭ (death-strikes)" |
| नजर करे सो ही राखे | "whoever nazara karē — that one rākhē (saves)" |
| पश्वा जावे लुट | "paśva — goes looted" |
| प्यार खुदाई रे बाबा जिकिर खुदाई | "pyāra Khudāī — jikira Khudāī" |
| उडे कुदे ढुंग नचावे | "jumps-leaps — ḍhung dance" |
| आगल भुलन प्यार | "beforehand-deceived pyāra" |
| लडबड खडबड कांहेकां खचलावत भार | "lurching-staggering — why entangle bhāra" |
| कहे तुका चलो एका | "Tuka says: let's go — ēkā (alone)" |
| हम जिन्होंके सात | "we — with those" |
| मिलावे तो उसे देना | "meeting comes — give to him" |
| तो ही चढावे हात | "that one — raises the hāta" |
What it means
A Hindavi-fakir form Allah-bhakti abhang. First of the Hindavi-fakīrāyana cluster (441-444, with closing ॥३॥ at end of 0443). This represents Tukaram in the Muslim-mendicant fakir-form, addressing Khudāī (the Lord, in Persian-Hindavi register) and using zikr (jikira) — the Sufi-practice of remembrance. Comparable to Kabīr's and Daduṛām's use of mixed Hindi-Persian devotional vocabulary. Five claims:
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संबाल यारा — उपर तलें दोन्हो मारकी चोट — नजर करे सो ही राखे — पश्वा जावे लुट — hold yourself, yārā — upper-lower — both mār-kī-coṭ — whoever watches saves — paśva goes looted. The opening-watch-rule: Hold yourself, friend; the strikes come from above and below; whoever keeps watch — saves himself; the unwatched-animal (paśva) gets looted. Vigilance-is-protection.
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प्यार खुदाई रे बाबा — जिकिर खुदाई — pyāra Khudāī, bābā — jikira Khudāī. The refrain-claim: love ofKhudāī, brother — zikr of Khudāī. Sufi-zikr-practice claim explicitly. The bhakti-form ispyāra(love) andjikira(zikr, name-remembrance).
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उडे कुदे ढुंग नचावे — आगल भुलन प्यार — jumps-leaps — ḍhung dances — beforehand-deceived pyāra. The false-pyāra image: some jump and leap and make theḍhung(rump / lower body) dance; (this is) thebeforehand-deceived(āgala bhulana)pyāra(love). Performative-dance-without-true-zikr is false. (Critique of mere external-display.)
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लडबड खडबड — कांहेकां खचलावत भार — lurching-staggering — why entangle bhāra? The no-burden-rule: lurching and staggering — why entangle yourselves with the heavy-burden? Don't burden the practice.
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कहे तुका — चलो एका — हम जिन्होंके सात — मिलावे तो उसे देना — तो ही चढावे हात — Tuka says: let's go alone — we with whom — meeting comes — give to him — that one raises the hāta. The closing-companion-and-hand-raise-claim: let's go —ēkā(alone, or as One); we — with those (whom we belong to / with whom Khudāī meets); when the meeting happens, give-to-him; that one will raise thehāta(hand of blessing / hand-of-raising). True-fellowship-with-the-Beloved leads to the hand-of-raising.
[T]
For someone today
Here Tukaram speaks in the voice of a wandering fakir, using the Sufi language of love and zikr, remembrance of the Beloved, to talk about devotion to God. He opens with a warning: stay alert, because blows can come from any direction, and whoever keeps watch protects himself, while the careless animal gets robbed. His real practice is pyar and zikr, love and constant remembrance of the divine. But he's sharp about fakes: people who just jump and shake and put on a performance are showing off a love that was hollow from the start, not real remembrance. He also warns against making the path complicated or heavy with unnecessary additions, since that only leads to stumbling and staggering. In the end, he says the point is to walk with those who truly belong to God, because it's in that real companionship that the Beloved's blessing, the raised hand, finally comes.
मराठी: इथे तुकाराम एका भटकणाऱ्या फकिराच्या रूपात बोलतात, प्रियकराच्या प्रेमाची आणि जिकिराची म्हणजे सतत नामस्मरणाची सूफी भाषा वापरून परमेश्वराच्या भक्तीबद्दल सांगतात. सुरुवातीलाच ते सावध करतात, कोणत्याही बाजूने घाव येऊ शकतो, जो जागरूक राहतो तो स्वतःला वाचवतो, तर बेसावध जनावर लुटले जाते. त्यांची खरी साधना आहे प्यार आणि जिकिर, म्हणजे परमेश्वराचे प्रेम आणि अखंड स्मरण. पण खोट्या दाखव्याबद्दल ते स्पष्ट बोलतात, जे लोक फक्त उड्या मारतात आणि नाचून देखावा करतात, ते सुरुवातीपासूनच फसलेले प्रेम दाखवत असतात, खरे स्मरण नव्हे. साधनेत अनावश्यक गोष्टी घालून ती अवजड करू नये असाही इशारा ते देतात, कारण त्यामुळे फक्त धडपड आणि अडखळणे होते. शेवटी ते सांगतात, खरोखर परमेश्वराशी संबंधित असणाऱ्यांबरोबर चालण्यातच अर्थ आहे, कारण अशाच खऱ्या सोबतीत प्रियकराचा आशीर्वाद, उभारलेला हात, शेवटी मिळतो.
Where this applies
- Vigilance saves; unwatched-animal looted. Watch.
- Pyāra Khudāī, jikira Khudāī. Sufi-form.
- Don't dance without inner-zikr. Anti-display.
- Don't burden practice. Light-touch.
- Go with those-of-Khudāī; hand-of-raising comes. Quality-fellowship.