Abhanga 467

One wholehearted act of surrender can dissolve a lifetime of wandering, and there is no shame in devotion however loud or undignified it looks.

The verse

Literal translation

What it means

A sōrī-sūra-distant-ḍaura-in-hand abhang. Continuation of the women-bhakta-dance / sōrī-form cluster. Sōrī = a renunciate-female-mendicant, related to but distinct from gōmdhaḷī; the form combines drumming, dancing, and renunciate-status. Six claims:

1. सौरी सुर जालें दुर — डौर घेतला हातीं — माया मोह सांडवलें — तीही लोकीं जालें सरती — sōrī-sūra distant — ḍaura in hand — māyā-mōha renounced — in three-lōka, became saratī. The opening-self-claim: sour-noise distant; drum in hand; māyā-mōha renounced; in the three-worlds, the bhakta has becomesaratī(eminent). Renunciate-self-establishment.

2. चाल विठाबाई अवघी पांज देई — न धरीं गुज कांहीं वाळवंटीं सांपडतां — cala Viṭhābāī — give all pāmja — don't keep guja — caught at vāḷavaṇṭa. The Viṭhābāī-petition: cala Viṭhābāī; give me all yourpāmja(compassion / mercy); don't keep secrets; now that I've-been-caught at thevāḷavaṇṭa(riverbank).

3. हिंडोनि चौर्‍यांशी घरें आलें तुझ्या दारा — एक्या रुक्यासाठीं आंचवलें संसारा — 84,000 houses wandering, came to Your dvāra — for one rukā cleansed of samsāra. The long-wandering-and-rukā-cleansing claim: I have wandered 84,000 (lakṣa cauryāmśī) houses (= lives / births); come to Yourdvāra; for the cost of onerukā(one coin / one act of bhakti), I have cleansed myself ofsamsāra. Bhakti-cost: one rukā.

4. लाज मेली शंका गेली नाचों महाद्वारीं — भ्रांति सावलें फिटोनि गेलें आतां कैची उरी — lāja died, śankā gone — dance at mahā-dvāra — bhrānti-sāvaḷē torn — what remains. The complete-clearance claim: lāja died, śankā gone; let's dance at themahā-dvāra(great-door); bhrānti-sāvaḷē (illusion-shadow) is torn off;what now remains?

5. जालें भांडी जगा सांडी नाहीं भीड चाड — घालीन चरणीं मिठी पुरविन जीविंचें तें कोड — became bhāṇḍī, abandoned by jaga, no bhīḍa-cāḍa — embrace feet, fulfill heart-wish. The quarreller-claim: I've become abhāṇḍī(quarreller / brawler); abandoned by thejaga(world); nobhīḍa-cāḍa(consideration / hesitation); I'll embrace Your feet; fulfill thejīvīmcē kōḍa(heart's-wish).

6. तुका म्हणे रुका करी संसारतुटी — आतां तुम्हां आम्हां कैसी जाली जीवे साटीं — Tuka says: rukā breaks samsāra-tūṭī — between you and me — life-stake. The closing-claim: therukā(small offering) breaks thesamsāra-tūṭī(samsāra-knot); now between you (the deva) and me —jīve sāṭīm(life-stake / our-life-as-our-bond). The relation is now life-staked.

[T]

For someone today

This verse is the voice of a wandering devotee who has finally arrived, worn out from lifetimes of searching, and lays everything bare before Vitthal. She admits she has drifted through countless homes and births, yet says that one sincere offering of devotion is enough to dissolve that whole exhausting cycle. She stops hiding anything, drops her shame and doubt, and dances openly at God's door, willing to be seen as a quarreler or an embarrassment if that is what wholehearted devotion costs. The lesson is that you do not need your life sorted out before you turn toward the sacred — one genuine, undivided act of surrender can undo years of wandering, and there is no shame in showing up loud, messy, and all in.

मराठी: ही ओवी एका भटकणाऱ्या भक्ताचा आवाज आहे, जो अनेक जन्मांच्या शोधानंतर थकून शेवटी विठ्ठलासमोर येऊन सगळं उघड करतो. ती कबूल करते की ती असंख्य घरं आणि जन्म फिरून आली आहे, पण म्हणते की एक मनापासून केलेली भक्ती हा सगळा थकवणारा फेरा मिटवायला पुरेशी आहे. ती काहीही लपवत नाही, लाज आणि शंका सोडून देते, आणि देवाच्या दारात उघडपणे नाचते, भांडखोर किंवा लाजिरवाणी दिसण्याची तयारी ठेवूनही. यातून शिकायचं हे की पवित्रतेकडे वळण्याआधी आयुष्य नीटनेटकं असायची गरज नाही — एक खरीखुरी, अखंड शरणागती वर्षानुवर्षांची भटकंती मिटवू शकते, आणि मोठ्याने, अस्ताव्यस्त आणि पूर्णपणे झोकून देण्यात कोणतीही लाज नाही.

Where this applies

• Take ḍaura; abandon māyā. Renunciate-position.
• No guja at the vāḷavaṇṭa. Full-disclosure.
• 84,000-houses cleansed by one rukā. Cost.
• Dance at mahā-dvāra; bhrānti-sāvaḷē tears. Great-door dance.
• Bhāṇḍī, no-considerations, embrace feet. Quarreller-bhakta.
• Jīve sāṭīm. Life-stake relation.

Related verses

• Abhanga 2377 — This detailed meditation on Vitthal standing on a brick at Pandharpur, out of love for his
• Abhanga 2402 — For today: happily take rebirths — IF among the Paṇḍharī-Vārkarīs ; Hari-dāsas' company is
• Abhanga 2448 — The easiest path to God is repeating divine names with love at home, right where you are,
• Abhanga 2459 — Liberation does not have to be earned through grueling effort or endless searching; it is