Abhanga 480
Tukaram sees his own body simply as the equipment for kirtana, meant to be used right up until his final breath. He asks Vitthal to keep his limbs whole and working, not for comfort's sake, but so he can keep singing. He is even willing to trade a longer life for a shorter one, as long as his love for kirtana stays strong until the end. For him only one loss would truly matter: losing the ability or the desire to sing of God.
The verse
कथेची सामुग्री । देह अवसानावरी ॥१॥ नको जाऊं देऊं भंगा । गात्रें माझीं पांडुरंगा ॥ध्रु.॥ आयुष्य करीं उणें । परी मज आवडो कीर्तन ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे हाणी । या वेगळी मना नाणीं ॥३॥
Literal translation
Kathā's sāmugrī — deha till avasāna. Don't let go to bhanga — my gātrēs — Pāṇḍuranga. Reduce āyuṣya — but let kīrtana be loved. Tuka says: hāṇi — beyond this, don't bring to mind.
मराठी: कथेची सामुग्री देह अवसानावरी. नको जाऊं देऊं भंगा गात्रें माझीं पांडुरंगा. आयुष्य करीं उणें परी मज आवडो कीर्तन. तुकाराम म्हणतां — हाणी या वेगळी मना नाणीं.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| कथेची सामुग्री देह अवसानावरी | "kathā's sāmugrī — deha till avasāna" |
| नको जाऊं देऊं भंगा गात्रें माझीं पांडुरंगा | "don't let go to bhanga — my gātrēs — Pāṇḍuranga" |
| आयुष्य करीं उणें परी मज आवडो कीर्तन | "reduce āyuṣya — but let kīrtana be loved" |
| हाणी या वेगळी मना नाणीं | "hāṇi — beyond this — don't bring to mind" |
What it means
A short body-as-kīrtana-equipment-prayer abhang. Three claims:
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कथेची सामुग्री — देह अवसानावरी — kathā's sāmugrī — deha till avasāna. The opening-claim: the body is thekathā'ssāmugrī(equipment / instrument) — till theavasāna(final-rest / death). Body-as-kathā-instrument.
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नको जाऊं देऊं भंगा — गात्रें माझीं पांडुरंगा — don't let go to bhanga — my gātrēs — Pāṇḍuranga. The body-petition: don't let (my limbs) go tobhanga(broken-state); mygātrēs(limbs / body-parts),Pāṇḍuranga. Petition for body-integrity for kīrtana.
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आयुष्य करीं उणें — परी मज आवडो कीर्तन — reduce āyuṣya — but let kīrtana be loved. The trade-claim: reduce myāyuṣya(life-span); but letkīrtanabe loved by me. Better-shorter-but-kīrtana-loving than longer-but-bhakti-less.
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तुका म्हणे हाणी — या वेगळी मना नाणीं — Tuka says: hāṇi — beyond this, don't bring to mind. The closing-claim: Tuka says: there ishāṇi(loss) — beyond this (life-reduction), I don't bring to my mind any other-loss. Only-this-trade-matters.
[T]
For someone today
Tukaram sees his own body simply as the equipment for kirtana, meant to be used right up until his final breath. He asks Vitthal to keep his limbs whole and working, not for comfort's sake, but so he can keep singing. He is even willing to trade a longer life for a shorter one, as long as his love for kirtana stays strong until the end. For him only one loss would truly matter: losing the ability or the desire to sing of God.
मराठी: तुकाराम आपल्या शरीराकडे कीर्तनाचं साधन म्हणून पाहतात, जे शेवटच्या श्वासापर्यंत वापरायचं आहे. ते विठ्ठलाला विनवतात की माझे अवयव धडधाकट राहू देत, आरामासाठी नव्हे तर गाणं गात राहण्यासाठी. आयुष्य कमी झालं तरी चालेल, पण कीर्तनावरचं प्रेम शेवटपर्यंत टिकून राहावं, अशी त्यांची इच्छा आहे. त्यांच्यासाठी खरं नुकसान एकच आहे — देवाचं नाव गाण्याची शक्ती किंवा इच्छा हरवणं.
Where this applies
- Body is kathā-equipment. Don't separate body from bhakti.
- Petition for body-integrity for kīrtana. Bhakti-purpose.
- Reduce āyuṣya; keep kīrtana. Quality-over-length trade.
- Only-loss-feared is kīrtana-loss. Single-pointed.