Abhanga 484
Tukaram does not soften his own failure. He admits he has fallen in body, speech, and mind, all three at once, and calls himself completely fallen without excuse. But instead of stopping there, he turns to Vitthal and says that only God's own power can make a person like him whole again, since his own effort clearly is not enough. He cannot even claim a pure heart, so he asks for the smallest thing he can still offer: a mind held steady at God's feet. Eventually his words of confession run out, and he simply trusts that God will take it from there.
The verse
पतित पतित । परी मी त्रिवाचा पतित ॥१॥ परी तूं आपुलिया सत्ता । मज करावें सरता ॥ध्रु.॥ नाहीं चित्तशुद्धि । स्थिर पायांपाशीं बुद्धि ॥२॥ अपराधाचा केलों । तुका म्हणे किती बोलों ॥३॥
Literal translation
Patita, patita — but I am tri-vācā patita. But You — by Your sattā — make me sarata. No citta-śuddhi — buddhi sthira at feet. Aparādhi I've become — Tuka says: how much shall I speak.
मराठी: पतित पतित — परी मी त्रिवाचा पतित. परी तूं आपुलिया सत्ता — मज करावें सरता. नाहीं चित्तशुद्धि — स्थिर पायांपाशीं बुद्धि. तुकाराम म्हणतां — अपराधाचा केलों — किती बोलों.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| पतित पतित परी मी त्रिवाचा पतित | "patita, patita — but I am tri-vācā patita" |
| परी तूं आपुलिया सत्ता मज करावें सरता | "but You — by Your sattā — make me sarata" |
| नाहीं चित्तशुद्धि स्थिर पायांपाशीं बुद्धि | "no citta-śuddhi — buddhi sthira at feet" |
| अपराधाचा केलों किती बोलों | "aparādhi I've become — how much shall I speak" |
What it means
A tri-vācā patita-petition abhang. Tri-vācā patita — thrice-spoken / fallen-by-three-categories: probably fallen bykāya-vācā-mana(body-speech-mind); orfallen-thrice-emphatic(the Sanskrittriḥ-uktamtriple-emphasis). Three claims:
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पतित पतित — परी मी त्रिवाचा पतित — patita, patita — but I am tri-vācā patita. The opening-self-claim: (others may be)patita(fallen, sinful) —patita(repeated) — but I amtri-vācā patita (thrice-fallen / fallen-by-all-three-vācas, body-speech-mind).Self-claim of triple-fallenness.
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परी तूं आपुलिया सत्ता — मज करावें सरता — but You by Your sattā make me sarata. The deva's-power claim: but You — by Your ownsattā(sovereign-power) — make mesarata(effective / acceptable / allowed). Deva's-power-makes-the-fallen-acceptable.
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नाहीं चित्तशुद्धि — स्थिर पायांपाशीं बुद्धि — no citta-śuddhi — buddhi sthira at feet. The minimum-petition: I have nocitta-śuddhi(purity-of-mind); (but) let mybuddhi(intellect) besthira(fixed) at Your feet. Even without citta-śuddhi, buddhi-at-feet is asked.
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अपराधाचा केलों — तुका म्हणे किती बोलों — aparādhi I've become — Tuka says: how much shall I speak. The closing-exhaustion: I have become anaparādhi(offender); Tuka says: how much shall I speak? Words of confession run out; the deva must take over.
[T]
For someone today
Tukaram does not soften his own failure. He admits he has fallen in body, speech, and mind, all three at once, and calls himself completely fallen without excuse. But instead of stopping there, he turns to Vitthal and says that only God's own power can make a person like him whole again, since his own effort clearly is not enough. He cannot even claim a pure heart, so he asks for the smallest thing he can still offer: a mind held steady at God's feet. Eventually his words of confession run out, and he simply trusts that God will take it from there.
मराठी: तुकाराम स्वतःच्या चुका लपवत नाहीत. ते कबूल करतात की ते शरीराने, वाणीने आणि मनाने असे तिन्ही प्रकारे पडलेले आहेत, पूर्णपणे पतित आहेत, कोणतंही सबब न सांगता. पण इथेच न थांबता ते विठ्ठलाकडे वळतात आणि म्हणतात की माझ्यासारख्याला पुन्हा सावरण्याची शक्ती फक्त तुझ्याच सत्तेत आहे, कारण माझे स्वतःचे प्रयत्न पुरेसे नाहीत हे स्पष्ट आहे. त्यांच्याकडे शुद्ध अंतःकरणही नाही, म्हणून ते जे थोडंसं देता येईल तेच मागतात — तुझ्या पायांशी स्थिर राहिलेली बुद्धी. शेवटी कबुलीचे शब्दच संपतात, आणि मग ते फक्त देवावर विश्वास ठेवतात की पुढचं तोच सांभाळेल.
Where this applies
- Acknowledge tri-vācā fallenness. Honest.
- Only deva's-sattā makes sarata. Anti-self-correction.
- Without citta-śuddhi, ask buddhi-at-feet. Minimum.
- Confession exhausts. Deva takes over.