संत साहित्य · Tukārām · Abhanga 519 of 4582

Abhanga 519

Tukaram declares himself a path-builder across life's hardships and throws open an invitation to everyone, regardless of caste, gender, or way of life, with one simple message to share.

When the bhakta builds a foot-path over samsāra and calls all jāti — and you have to recognize this register

When small-big, women-men, chanters-and-idlers all gather — and you accept this universal-call

When Tuka claims he is the dhāraka of the nāma — and you receive this mission-statement

The verse

कास घालोनी बळकट । झालों कळिकाळासी नीट । केली पायवाट । भवसिंधूवरूनि ॥१॥ या रे या रे लाहान थोर । याति भलते नारीनर । करावा विचार । न लगे चिंता कोणासी ॥ध्रु.॥ कामी गुंतले रिकामे । जपी तपी येथें जमे । लाविले दमामे । मुक्त आणि मुमुक्षा ॥२॥ एकंदर शिका । पाठविला इहलोका । आलों म्हणे तुका । मी नामाचा धारक ॥३॥

Literal translation

Kāsa tied firm — became nīṭa to kalikāḷa — made pāya-vāṭa over bhava-sindhu. Come, come — lahāna-thōra — jāti bhalatē nārī-nara — make vicāra — no cintā for anyone. Busy, idle, japī-tapī — gather here — raised damāmā — mukta and mumukṣa. One śikā — sent to ihalōka. Tuka says: I have come — I am nāma-dhāraka.

मराठी: कास घालोनी बळकट — झालों कळिकाळासी नीट — केली पायवाट भवसिंधूवरूनि. या रे या रे लाहान थोर — याति भलते नारीनर — करावा विचार — न लगे चिंता कोणासी. कामी गुंतले रिकामे — जपी तपी येथें जमे — लाविले दमामे — मुक्त आणि मुमुक्षा. तुकाराम म्हणतां — एकंदर शिका — पाठविला इहलोका — आलों — मी नामाचा धारक.

Word-by-word gloss

Marathi	Meaning
कास घालोनी बळकट	"kāsa — tied firm"
झालों कळिकाळासी नीट	"became nīṭa — to kalikāḷa"
केली पायवाट भवसिंधूवरूनि	"made pāya-vāṭa — over bhava-sindhu"
या रे या रे लाहान थोर	"come, come — lahāna-thōra"
याति भलते नारीनर	"jāti bhalatē nārī-nara"
करावा विचार न लगे चिंता कोणासी	"vicāra — no need cintā"
कामी गुंतले रिकामे	"busy — idle"
जपी तपी येथें जमे	"japī-tapī — gather here"
लाविले दमामे	"raised damāmā"
मुक्त आणि मुमुक्षा	"mukta and mumukṣa"
एकंदर शिका पाठविला इहलोका	"one śikā — sent to ihalōka"
आलों म्हणे तुका मी नामाचा धारक	"Tuka — nāma — dhāraka"

What it means

A bhakta-as-pāya-vāṭa-builder-mission-statement abhang. One of Tukaram's most-direct mission-statements. Four claims:

कास घालोनी बळकट — झालों कळिकाळासी नीट — केली पायवाट भवसिंधूवरूनि — kāsa tied firm — became nīṭa to kalikāḷa — made pāya-vāṭa over bhava-sindhu. The opening-mission-claim: I havekāsa-ghālōnī(tied the waist-knot, gird-up-the-loins) firm; becamenīṭa(straight, opposite, confronting) tokalikāḷa(Kali-age, the dark-age-of-spiritual-decline); made apāya-vāṭa(foot-path) over thebhava-sindhu(ocean-of-becoming, samsāra). Bhakta-as-foot-path-builder-over-samsāra. The image: the bhakta has built a path over the ocean so others can walk-across.
या रे या रे लाहान थोर — याति भलते नारीनर — करावा विचार — न लगे चिंता कोणासी — come, come — lahāna-thōra — jāti bhalatē nārī-nara — make vicāra — no cintā. The universal-call: come, come —lahāna-thōra(small-and-big = high-and-low, child-and-elder); jāti bhalatē nārī-nara (any-caste / kind, women-and-men);make vicāra (consider, deliberate);no need for cintā (worry) — for anyone.No-jāti-no-gender-bar; come-and-cross.Anti-caste-and-anti-gender bhakti-call.
कामी गुंतले रिकामे — जपी तपी येथें जमे — लाविले दमामे — मुक्त आणि मुमुक्षा — busy-idle — japī-tapī — gather here — raised damāmā — mukta and mumukṣa. The all-categories-claim: thekāmī-gumtalē(entangled-in-action, busy) and the rikāmē (idle, free-of-action);japī-tapī(mantra-chanters, austerity-doers) — gather here; raised thedamāmā(war-drum); mukta (liberated)andmumukṣa(those-seeking-liberation). All-categories-of-people-gather-at-the-drum.
एकंदर शिका — पाठविला इहलोका — आलों म्हणे तुका — मी नामाचा धारक — one śikā — sent to ihalōka — Tuka says: I have come — I am nāma-dhāraka. The closing-mission-statement: one single (ēkamdara)śikā(lesson, instruction) — sent toihalōka(this-world); Tuka says: I have come; I am thenāma-dhāraka(bearer of thenāma, holder-of-the-name). I-am-the-deva's-nāma-bearer-sent-to-this-world. Mission-self-identification.

[T]

For someone today

Tukaram describes himself as someone who has girded himself for action, stood firm against the spiritual decline of the age, and built a footpath across the ocean of worldly existence so others can cross too. He then throws open an invitation to everyone, young and old, any caste, women and men alike, telling them there is nothing to worry about and no reason anyone should feel excluded. Busy people and idle people, those absorbed in ritual and those seeking freedom, are all welcome at the same gathering. He closes by naming his own role plainly: he has come into this world as the bearer of the sacred name, with one simple lesson to deliver.

मराठी: तुकाराम स्वतःचं वर्णन असं करतात की त्यांनी कंबर कसली आहे, कलियुगाच्या ऱ्हासाला ठामपणे तोंड दिलं आहे, आणि भवसागरावर एक पायवाट बांधली आहे जेणेकरून इतरांनाही पार जाता यावं. मग ते सर्वांना खुलं आमंत्रण देतात, लहान असो वा मोठे, कुठलीही जात असो, स्त्री असो वा पुरुष, कुणीही काळजी करू नये आणि कुणालाही वगळलं जाऊ नये असं ते सांगतात. व्यग्र माणसं आणि रिकामटेकडी माणसं, जप-तप करणारे आणि मुक्तीच्या शोधात असलेले, सगळे एकाच मेळाव्यात स्वागतार्ह आहेत. शेवटी ते आपली भूमिका स्पष्टपणे सांगतात, मी या जगात नामाचा वाहक म्हणून आलो आहे, आणि माझ्याकडे द्यायला एकच साधा धडा आहे.

Where this applies

Pāya-vāṭaoverbhava-sindhu. Active-build.
All-jāti, men-women. Universal.
All-lifestyles, all-stages. No-bar.
Nāma-dhāraka mission. Self-identify.