Abhanga 516
This is one of Tukaram's most beloved abhangs, still taught to schoolchildren across Maharashtra. Krishna, he says, is his mother and his father, his sister, his brother, his uncle — every family bond is really Krishna in disguise. Krishna is his teacher, and Krishna is the very boat that carries him across the river of worldly life to the far shore. Krishna is his own mind, his own people, his relatives and his good friends — everything inside him and everything around him comes back to Krishna. And Tukaram says his rest, his true resting place, is Krishna alone; his heart cannot bear to be parted from him.
The verse
कृष्ण माझी माता कृष्ण माझा पिता । बहिणी बंधु चुलता कृष्ण माझा ॥१॥ कृष्ण माझा गुरू कृष्ण माझें तारूं । उतरी पैल पारू भवनदीची ॥ध्रु.॥ कृष्ण माझें मन कृष्ण माझें जन । सोइरा सज्जन कृष्ण माझा ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे माझा श्रीकृष्ण विसावा । वाटे न करावा परता जीवा ॥३॥
Literal translation
Kṛṣṇa — my mātā — Kṛṣṇa — my pitā — bahiṇī-bamdhu-cūlatā — Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa — my guru — Kṛṣṇa — my tāru — crosses the paila pārū of bhava-nadī. Kṛṣṇa — my mana — Kṛṣṇa — my jana — sōirā-sajjana — Kṛṣṇa. Tuka says: my Śrī-Kṛṣṇa is the visāvā — feels: the jīva should not be parted.
मराठी: कृष्ण माझी माता — कृष्ण माझा पिता — बहिणी बंधु चुलता कृष्ण माझा. कृष्ण माझा गुरू — कृष्ण माझें तारूं — उतरी पैल पारू भवनदीची. कृष्ण माझें मन — कृष्ण माझें जन — सोइरा सज्जन कृष्ण माझा. तुकाराम म्हणतां — माझा श्रीकृष्ण विसावा — वाटे न करावा परता जीवा.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| कृष्ण माझी माता | "Kṛṣṇa — my mātā" |
| कृष्ण माझा पिता | "Kṛṣṇa — my pitā" |
| बहिणी बंधु चुलता कृष्ण माझा | "bahiṇī-bamdhu-cūlatā — Kṛṣṇa" |
| कृष्ण माझा गुरू | "Kṛṣṇa — my guru" |
| कृष्ण माझें तारूं | "Kṛṣṇa — my tāru" |
| उतरी पैल पारू भवनदीची | "crosses paila pārū — bhava-nadī" |
| कृष्ण माझें मन | "Kṛṣṇa — my mana" |
| कृष्ण माझें जन | "Kṛṣṇa — my jana" |
| सोइरा सज्जन कृष्ण माझा | "sōirā-sajjana — Kṛṣṇa" |
| श्रीकृष्ण विसावा | "Śrī-Kṛṣṇa — visāvā" |
| वाटे न करावा परता जीवा | "feels: don't part — jīva" |
What it means
A famous Kṛṣṇa-everything-totalization abhang. One of the canonical Tukaram-pieces — taught to schoolchildren in Maharashtra. Closely parallels 0494 (tūm-ca māyabāpa-bamdhu-sakhā) but in the more-explicit Kṛṣṇa-naming register. Four claims:
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कृष्ण माझी माता कृष्ण माझा पिता — बहिणी बंधु चुलता कृष्ण माझा — Kṛṣṇa my mātā — Kṛṣṇa my pitā — bahiṇī-bamdhu-cūlatā — Kṛṣṇa. The family-collapse: Kṛṣṇa is my mātā (mother), pitā (father);Kṛṣṇais mybahiṇī(sister),bamdhu(brother),cūlatā(paternal-uncle). All-family-relations-are-Kṛṣṇa. The cūlatā (paternal-uncle) is the maternal-extension; the bhakta covers immediate-family + extended-family.
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कृष्ण माझा गुरू कृष्ण माझें तारूं — उतरी पैल पारू भवनदीची — Kṛṣṇa my guru — Kṛṣṇa my tāru — crosses paila pārū bhava-nadī. The teacher-and-boat-claim: Kṛṣṇa is my guru (teacher); Kṛṣṇa is my tāru (boat);crosses to the paila pārū (far shore) of the bhava-nadī (river-of-becoming, samsāra).Teacher-and-saving-boat-both-Kṛṣṇa.No-other-guru, no-other-boat.
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कृष्ण माझें मन कृष्ण माझें जन — सोइरा सज्जन कृष्ण माझा — Kṛṣṇa my mana — Kṛṣṇa my jana — sōirā-sajjana — Kṛṣṇa. The inner-and-outer-collapse: Kṛṣṇa is my mana (mind, inner-self);Kṛṣṇais myjana(people, my-folk); Kṛṣṇa is my sōirā (relative-by-marriage, in-law) and sajjana (good-person, friend).Inner-self, my-folk, in-laws, good-friends — all collapsed into Kṛṣṇa.
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तुका म्हणे माझा श्रीकृष्ण विसावा — वाटे न करावा परता जीवा — Tuka says: my Śrī-Kṛṣṇa is the visāvā — feels: don't part the jīva. The closing-rest-and-don't-part-claim: Tuka says: myŚrī-Kṛṣṇais thevisāvā(rest, resting-place); vāṭē (it feels, the feeling-is) — don't parata kara (part, separate)thejīva. My-rest-is-Kṛṣṇa; don't-let-the-jīva-be-parted. Exclusivity-and-clinging-claim.
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For someone today
This is one of Tukaram's most beloved abhangs, still taught to schoolchildren across Maharashtra. Krishna, he says, is his mother and his father, his sister, his brother, his uncle — every family bond is really Krishna in disguise. Krishna is his teacher, and Krishna is the very boat that carries him across the river of worldly life to the far shore. Krishna is his own mind, his own people, his relatives and his good friends — everything inside him and everything around him comes back to Krishna. And Tukaram says his rest, his true resting place, is Krishna alone; his heart cannot bear to be parted from him.
मराठी: हा तुकारामांच्या सर्वात प्रिय अभंगांपैकी एक आहे, जो आजही महाराष्ट्रात शाळकरी मुलांना शिकवला जातो. कृष्णच माझी आई आहे आणि कृष्णच माझा बाप, बहीण, भाऊ, चुलता — प्रत्येक कौटुंबिक नातं खरंतर कृष्णाचंच रूप आहे. कृष्ण माझा गुरू आहे, आणि कृष्णच ती नाव आहे जी मला संसाराच्या नदीतून पैलतीरी घेऊन जाते. कृष्ण माझं स्वतःचं मन आहे, माझी माणसं आहेत, माझे सोयरे आणि सज्जन मित्र आहेत — माझ्या आतलं आणि माझ्याभोवतीचं सगळं शेवटी कृष्णातच येऊन मिळतं. आणि तुकाराम म्हणतात की माझा विसावा, माझं खरं विश्रांतीस्थान, फक्त कृष्णच आहे; माझा जीव त्याच्यापासून विलग होण्याचं सहनही करू शकत नाही.
Where this applies
- When you feel torn between duties to family, friends, and your inner life, as if they compete for your loyalty
- When you're searching for a teacher or guide and don't know who to trust
- When you're afraid of crossing a hard passage in life and want something steady to carry you through
- When you fear losing your sense of rest or belonging