Abhanga 453
Turn your own body, breath, and life into the shrine and the offering; this moment, wherever you are, is already the right time for devotion.
The verse
सुदिन सुवेळ । तुझा गोंधळ वो । पंच प्राण दिवटे । दोनी नेत्रांचे हिलाल वो ॥१॥ पंढरपुरनिवासे । तुझे रंगी नाचत असें वो । नवस पुरवीं माझा । मनिंची जाणोनियां इच्छा वो ॥ध्रु.॥ मांडिला देव्हारा । तुझा त्रिभुवनामाझारी वो । चौक साधियेला । नाभिकळस ठेविला वरी वो ॥२॥ बैसली देवता । पुढें वैष्णवाचें गाणें वो । उद्गारे गर्जती । कंठीं तुळसीचीं दर्शनें वो ॥३॥ स्वानंदाचे ताटीं । धूप दीप पंचारती वो । ओवाळिली माता । विठाबाई पंचभूतीं वो ॥४॥ तुझें तुज पावलें । माझा नवस पुरवीं आतां वो । तुका म्हणे राखें । आपुलिया शरणागता वो ॥५॥
Literal translation
Sudina, suvēḷa — Your gōmdhaḷa — pañca-prāṇa are divaṭē — two eyes' hilāla. Pandharpur-resident — I dance in Your ranga — fulfill my navasa — knowing the icchā in my mana. Set up dēvhārā in tribhuvana — cauka arranged — nābhi-kalaśa above. Deity seated — vaiṣṇavas singing in front — throats roar — at neck tulasī darśana. Svānanda's tāṭa — dhūpa-dīpa-pañca-ārtī — ōvāḷalī Mātā Viṭhābāī in pañca-bhūta. What is Yours has reached You — fulfill my navasa now. Tuka says: keep — Your śaraṇāgata.
मराठी: सुदिन सुवेळ — तुझा गोंधळ — पंच प्राण दिवटे — दोनी नेत्रांचे हिलाल. पंढरपुरनिवासे — तुझे रंगी नाचत असें — नवस पुरवीं माझा — मनिंची जाणोनियां इच्छा. मांडिला देव्हारा त्रिभुवनामाझारी — चौक साधियेला — नाभिकळस ठेविला वरी. बैसली देवता पुढें वैष्णवाचें गाणें — उद्गारे गर्जती — कंठीं तुळसीचीं दर्शनें. स्वानंदाचे ताटीं धूप दीप पंचारती — ओवाळिली माता विठाबाई पंचभूतीं. तुकाराम म्हणतां — तुझें तुज पावलें — माझा नवस पुरवीं आतां — राखें आपुलिया शरणागता.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| सुदिन सुवेळ | "sudina, suvēḷa" |
| तुझा गोंधळ | "Your gōmdhaḷa" |
| पंच प्राण दिवटे | "pañca-prāṇa — divaṭē (torches)" |
| दोनी नेत्रांचे हिलाल | "two eyes' hilāla (lamps)" |
| पंढरपुरनिवासे तुझे रंगी नाचत असें | "Pandharpur-resident — I dance in Your ranga" |
| नवस पुरवीं माझा | "fulfill my navasa" |
| मनिंची जाणोनियां इच्छा | "knowing the icchā in mana" |
| मांडिला देव्हारा त्रिभुवनामाझारी | "set up dēvhārā in tribhuvana" |
| चौक साधियेला नाभिकळस ठेविला वरी | "cauka arranged — nābhi-kalaśa above" |
| बैसली देवता पुढें वैष्णवाचें गाणें | "deity seated — front vaiṣṇavas' singing" |
| उद्गारे गर्जती कंठीं तुळसीचीं दर्शनें | "throats roar — at neck tulasī darśana" |
| स्वानंदाचे ताटीं धूप दीप पंचारती | "svānanda's tāṭa — dhūpa-dīpa-pañca-ārtī" |
| ओवाळिली माता विठाबाई पंचभूतीं | "ōvāḷalī Mātā Viṭhābāī in pañca-bhūta" |
| तुझें तुज पावलें | "what is Yours — has reached You" |
| माझा नवस पुरवीं आतां | "fulfill my navasa now" |
| राखें आपुलिया शरणागता | "keep — Your śaraṇāgata" |
What it means
A Viṭhābāī-gōmdhaḷa-form abhang. Gōmdhaḷa is a Marāṭhī folk-ritual-form: a night-long dance-and-song festival traditionally for goddess-deities (Tuḷjābhavānī, Reṇukā), with torches, central pole, drumming, possession-trance. Tukaram applies this form to Viṭhābāī (= the feminine-Viṭhobā, the deva-as-mother). Five claims:
-
सुदिन सुवेळ — तुझा गोंधळ — पंच प्राण दिवटे — दोनी नेत्रांचे हिलाल — sudina, suvēḷa — Your gōmdhaḷa — pañca-prāṇa torches — two eyes' lamps. The opening-internal-ritual claim: good-day, good-time; this is Yourgōmdhaḷa; thepañca-prāṇa(five-life-breaths) are thedivaṭē(torches); the two eyes are thehilāla(lamps). Internal-organs as ritual-implements. (Compare 413 raja-tama-dhūpa, pañca-prāṇa-ārtī; same internal-pūjā register.)
-
पंढरपुरनिवासे — तुझे रंगी नाचत असें — नवस पुरवीं माझा — मनिंची जाणोनियां इच्छा — Pandharpur-resident — I dance in Your ranga — fulfill my navasa — knowing the icchā. The Pandharpur-Viṭhābāī petition: Pandharpur-resident; I dance in Yourranga(festival-ground); fulfill mynavasa(vow); You know theicchāin mymana.
-
मांडिला देव्हारा त्रिभुवनामाझारी — चौक साधियेला — नाभिकळस ठेविला वरी — set up dēvhārā in tribhuvana — cauka arranged — nābhi-kalaśa above. The cosmic-ritual setup: thedēvhārā(deity-shrine) is set up in thetribhuvana(three-worlds); thecauka(square) is arranged; thenābhi-kalaśa(the navel-pot, ingōmdhaḷaa central pot above the cauka) is placed above. Cosmic-scale internal-ritual.
-
बैसली देवता पुढें वैष्णवाचें गाणें — उद्गारे गर्जती — कंठीं तुळसीचीं दर्शनें — deity seated — vaiṣṇavas singing — throats roar — tulasī darśana at neck. The vaiṣṇava-singer-troupe image: the deity sits; vaiṣṇavas sing in front; their throats roar; thetulasī darśana(vision of tulsi-mālā) at the neck. Standardgōmdhaḷabut performed by Vaiṣṇavas.
-
स्वानंदाचे ताटीं धूप दीप पंचारती — ओवाळिली माता विठाबाई पंचभूतीं — तुझें तुज पावलें — माझा नवस पुरवीं आतां — तुका म्हणे राखें आपुलिया शरणागता — svānanda's tāṭa — dhūpa-dīpa-pañca-ārtī — ovāḷalī Mātā Viṭhābāī in pañca-bhūta — what is Yours has reached You — fulfill my navasa — Tuka says: keep Your śaraṇāgata. The closing-petition: thesvānanda(own-bliss) is thetāṭa(offering-plate); withdhūpa-dīpa-pañca-ārtī; Mātā Viṭhābāī isōvāḷalī(waved-with-light) in thepañca-bhūta(five-elements); what is Yours has reached You; fulfill mynavasanow; Tuka says: keep Yourśaraṇāgata.
[T]
For someone today
Tukaram takes gondhal, a folk night long festival of dance and song for a goddess, and turns it inward as worship of Vithabai. He declares that this very moment is already the auspicious time, so there is no need to wait for a special day. His own five breaths become the torches, his two eyes become the lamps, and the three worlds become the shrine where the ritual pot is set. Vaishnavas sing before the seated deity, and he offers his own bliss as the plate, waving light before the Mother through all five elements. He simply asks her to fulfill the wish already known in his heart and to keep him, her surrendered one, safe. Worship does not need to wait on external pageantry: your own body, breath and life can become the shrine and the offering.
मराठी: तुकाराम गोंधळ या रात्रभर चालणाऱ्या लोकपरंपरेतील देवीच्या नाच-गाण्याच्या उत्सवाला विठाबाईच्या भक्तीत आतल्या बाजूने वळवतात. ते सांगतात की हाच क्षण आधीच शुभदिन, शुभवेळ आहे, त्यामुळे कोणत्याही खास दिवसाची वाट पाहायची गरज नाही. त्यांचे पाच प्राण दिवटे बनतात, दोन डोळे दिवे बनतात, आणि तिन्ही लोक हेच देव्हारा बनतात जिथे कलश ठेवला जातो. वैष्णव सेवेत बसलेल्या देवतेसमोर गातात, आणि तुकाराम आपला स्वतःचा आनंद ताट म्हणून अर्पण करतात, पाच तत्त्वांतून मातेसमोर आरती ओवाळतात. ते फक्त एवढेच मागतात की मनातली इच्छा आधीच माहीत असलेली, ती पूर्ण करावी आणि शरण आलेल्याला सांभाळावे. भक्तीसाठी बाहेरच्या मोठ्या समारंभाची वाट पाहायची गरज नसते, तुमचे स्वतःचे शरीर, श्वास आणि आयुष्य हेच देव्हारा आणि अर्पण बनू शकते.
Where this applies
- Today is sudina-suvēḷa. Auspicious-now.
- Body-organs as gōmdhaḷa-implements. Internal-ritual.
- Tribhuvana as dēvhārā. Cosmic-shrine.
- Svānanda offering; Mātā ārtī. All-elements.
- Fulfill navasa; keep śaraṇāgata. Petition-and-protection.