संत साहित्य · Tukārām · Abhanga 519 of 4582

Abhanga 519

English: Kāsa tied firm — became nīṭa to kalikāḷa — made pāya-vāṭa over bhava-sindhu.

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

English: 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 have kāsa-ghālōnī (tied the waist-knot, gird-up-the-loins) firm; became nīṭa (straight, opposite, confronting) to kalikāḷa (Kali-age, the dark-age-of-spiritual-decline); made a pāya-vāṭa (foot-path) over the bhava-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: the kāmī-gumtalē (entangled-in-action, busy) and the rikāmē (idle, free-of-action); japī-tapī (mantra-chanters, austerity-doers) — gather here; raised the damāmā (war-drum); mukta (liberated) and mumukṣa (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 to ihalōka (this-world); Tuka says: I have come; I am the nāma-dhāraka (bearer of the nāma, holder-of-the-name). I-am-the-deva's-nāma-bearer-sent-to-this-world. Mission-self-identification.

[T]

For someone today

This abhang names the bhakta-as-pāya-vāṭa-builder register:

Tie the kāsa firm; confront kalikāḷa; build the pāya-vāṭa*. Kāsa baḷakaṭa — kalikāḷāsi nīṭa — pāya-vāṭa bhava-sindhu. The bhakta gird-up-loins, confronts the dark-age, and builds a path-over-samsāra. Bhakta-as-active-builder*.
Universal call: any-jāti, women-and-men, no cintā*. Lahāna-thōra — jāti bhalatē nārī-nara — na lagē cintā kōṇāsī. No bar by caste or gender; come and walk-the-path. Anti-caste-anti-gender-bhakti*.
Busy-and-idle, japī-tapī, mukta-mumukṣa* — all gather. Kāmī-rikāmē — japī-tapī — mukta-mumukṣa. No bar by lifestyle or stage of liberation; the war-drum has been raised for-all. Universal-gathering*.
I am the nāma-dhāraka; one lesson sent to ihalōka*. Ēkamdara śikā — Tukā nāma-dhāraka. Tuka's mission-self-identification: bearer-of-the-deva's-nāma, sent-to-the-world with one lesson. Don't-doubt-the-mission*.

For today: the bhakta is an active-path-builder, not a passive-waiter; the path is universal — no caste, no gender, no lifestyle-bar; the bhakta is the nāma-dhāraka sent to the world. One lesson: the nāma-as-pāya-vāṭa.

This abhang is Tukaram's most-direct mission-statement — both-anti-caste-and-anti-gender, both-active-and-universal. Compare 0461 yāhī jāti yēthēm kōṇī; same anti-caste register but here much-more-explicit. The kāsa-baḷakaṭa image is from Vārkarī-warrior-vocabulary.

मराठी: ही ओवी bhakta-as-pāya-vāṭa-builder register नाव सांगते:

Kāsa घट्ट बांधा; kalikāḷa ला confront; pāya-vāṭa बांधा. कास बळकट — कळिकाळासी नीट — पायवाट भवसिंधू. Bhakta loins-गिर्ड-up, dark-age confront, samsāra-वर path build. Bhakta-as-active-builder*.
Universal call: any-jāti, women-men, no cintā*. लाहान-थोर — जाति भलते नारीनर — न लगे चिंता. Caste किंवा gender बार नाही; या आणि path-चाला. Anti-caste-anti-gender-bhakti*.
Busy-idle, japī-tapī, mukta-mumukṣa* — सर्व जमतात. कामी-रिकामे — जपी तपी — मुक्त-मुमुक्षा. Lifestyle किंवा liberation-stage बार नाही; War-drum सर्वांसाठी raised. Universal-gathering*.
मी nāma-dhāraka; एक śikā ihalōka* ला पाठवली. एकंदर शिका — Tuka nāma-dhāraka. Tuka च mission-self-identification: देवाच्या-nāma-bearer, world-ला-sent एका lesson सोबत. Mission-doubt नका*.

आज: Bhakta active-path-builder, passive-waiter नाही; Path universal — caste नाही, gender नाही, lifestyle-bar नाही; Bhakta nāma-dhāraka world-ला sent. एक lesson: nāma-as-pāya-vāṭa.

Tukaram च most-direct mission-statement — दोन्ही anti-caste-and-anti-gender, दोन्ही active-and-universal. 0461 yāhī jāti yēthēm kōṇī compare; तीच anti-caste register पण इथे much-more-explicit. Kāsa-baḷakaṭa image Vārkarī-warrior-vocabulary मधलं.

Where this applies

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