Abhanga 549
A vow held by every sense, tongue, ears, eyes, mind, and limbs, all turned toward God, leaves a person disciplined and fearless.
The verse
जरी माझी कोणी कापितील मान । तरी नको आन वदों जिव्हे ॥१॥ सकळां इंद्रियां हे माझी विनंती । नका होऊं परतीं पांडुरंगा ॥ध्रु.॥ आणिकांची मात नाइकावी कानीं । आणीक नयनीं न पाहावें ॥२॥ चित्ता तुवां पायीं रहावें अखंडित । होउनी निश्चित एकविध ॥३॥ चला पाय हात हें चि काम करा । माझ्या नमस्कारा विठोबाच्या ॥४॥ तुका म्हणे तुम्हां भय काय करी । आमुचा कैवारी नारायण ॥५॥
Literal translation
Even if someone cuts my māna — don't speak āna — jihvē. To all indriya — my vinamtī — don't turn-aside from Pāṇḍuranga. Āṇikāmcī mātā — don't hear — don't see other. Citta — at feet — akhaṇḍita — niścita-ekavidha. Legs-feet-hands — only this kāma — Viṭhōbā namaskāra. Tuka says: what fear — to you? — kaivārī — Nārāyaṇa.
मराठी: जरी माझी कोणी कापितील मान — तरी नको आन वदों जिव्हे. सकळां इंद्रियां हे माझी विनंती — नका होऊं परतीं पांडुरंगा. आणिकांची मात नाइकावी कानीं — आणीक नयनीं न पाहावें. चित्ता तुवां पायीं रहावें अखंडित — होउनी निश्चित एकविध. चला पाय हात हें चि काम करा — माझ्या नमस्कारा विठोबाच्या. तुकाराम म्हणतां — तुम्हां भय काय करी — आमुचा कैवारी नारायण.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| जरी माझी कोणी कापितील मान | "even if someone cuts my māna" |
| तरी नको आन वदों जिव्हे | "don't speak āna — jihvē" |
| सकळां इंद्रियां हे माझी विनंती | "all indriya — my vinamtī" |
| नका होऊं परतीं पांडुरंगा | "don't turn-aside from Pāṇḍuranga" |
| आणिकांची मात नाइकावी कानीं | "others' mātā — don't hear" |
| आणीक नयनीं न पाहावें | "don't see other in nayana" |
| चित्ता तुवां पायीं रहावें अखंडित | "citta — at feet — akhaṇḍita" |
| होउनी निश्चित एकविध | "niścita-ekavidha" |
| चला पाय हात हें चि काम करा | "legs-feet-hands — only this kāma" |
| माझ्या नमस्कारा विठोबाच्या | "Viṭhōbā's namaskāra" |
| तुम्हां भय काय करी | "what fear — to you?" |
| आमुचा कैवारी नारायण | "kaivārī — Nārāyaṇa" |
What it means
A throat-cut-don't-speak-other-vow-to-each-indriya abhang. Bodily-discipline register. Six claims:
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जरी माझी कोणी कापितील मान — तरी नको आन वदों जिव्हे — even if someone cuts my māna — don't speak āna — jihvē. The opening-vow-to-tongue: even if someone cuts mymāna(throat / neck / honor); don't speakāna(other = anything-other-than-the-deva-name),jihvē(tongue). Throat-cut-tongue-doesn't-betray.
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सकळां इंद्रियां हे माझी विनंती — नका होऊं परतीं पांडुरंगा — all indriya — my vinamtī — don't turn-aside from Pāṇḍuranga. The vow-to-all-indriya: to allindriya(sense-organs) — my vinamtī (request);don't paratīm (turn-aside, become-other) from Pāṇḍuranga. All-organs-bound-to-one-direction.
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आणिकांची मात नाइकावी कानीं — आणीक नयनीं न पाहावें — others' mātā don't hear — don't see other in nayana. The ear-and-eye-vow: others'mātā(words, talk) don't hear inkāna(ears); don't see other (āṇīka) innayana(eyes). Ears-don't-hear-other; eyes-don't-see-other.
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चित्ता तुवां पायीं रहावें अखंडित — होउनी निश्चित एकविध — citta — at feet — akhaṇḍita — niścita-ekavidha. The citta-at-the-feet-claim: citta — should remain at the feet — akhaṇḍita (unbroken);becoming niścita (firm) and ēka-vidha (one-form).Citta-firm-at-the-feet-unbroken.
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चला पाय हात हें चि काम करा — माझ्या नमस्कारा विठोबाच्या — legs-feet-hands — only this kāma — Viṭhōbā namaskāra. The limbs-vow: cala (the moving-limbs), pāya (feet), hāta (hands) — only this kāma: mynamaskāra(prostration) toViṭhōbā. Limbs-only-for-prostration.
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तुका म्हणे तुम्हां भय काय करी — आमुचा कैवारी नारायण — Tuka says: what fear — to you? — kaivārī — Nārāyaṇa. The closing-no-fear-claim: Tuka says: what fear (bhaya) can do to you (the disciplined-organs)?; ourkaivārī(defender) isNārāyaṇa. Disciplined-organs-have-no-fear-because-Nārāyaṇa-defends.
[T]
For someone today
Tukaram makes a vow so strong that he says even if someone were to cut his throat, his tongue would still refuse to speak anything but God's name. Then he goes further and asks every one of his senses to take the same vow: let his ears refuse to listen to gossip, let his eyes refuse to look at distractions, let his mind stay fixed and steady at God's feet, and let his hands and feet do nothing but bow in devotion. This is a picture of total, whole body discipline, every part of a person aimed in one direction instead of scattered. He ends by saying such a disciplined person has nothing to fear, because God himself stands as their protector.
मराठी: तुकाराम इतकी घट्ट शपथ घेतात की सांगतात, कोणी माझा गळा कापला तरी माझी जीभ देवाचे नाव सोडून दुसरे काहीही बोलणार नाही. मग ते पुढे जाऊन आपल्या प्रत्येक इंद्रियाला हीच शपथ घ्यायला सांगतात, कान गप्पांकडे लक्ष देणार नाहीत, डोळे इतरत्र भरकटणार नाहीत, मन देवाच्या पायाशी स्थिर राहील, आणि हात-पाय फक्त नमस्कारासाठीच वापरले जातील. हे संपूर्ण शरीराच्या शिस्तीचे चित्र आहे, माणसाचा प्रत्येक भाग विखुरलेला न राहता एकाच दिशेने केंद्रित झालेला. शेवटी ते सांगतात की अशा शिस्तबद्ध माणसाला काहीही भिण्याचे कारण नाही, कारण देवच त्याचे रक्षण करतो.
Where this applies
- Throat-cut-tongue-vow. Final-vow.
- All indriya vowed. Organ-by-organ.
- Cittaat feetakhaṇḍita. Mind-discipline.
- Kaivārī—Nārāyaṇa. Disciplined-fearless.