Abhanga 665
Calling out many names for what you trust is itself a form of prayer, and whoever feels helpless has an unconditional home waiting, the way a daughter always has her mother's house to return to.
The verse
अगा ये वैकुंटनायका । अगा ये त्रैलोक्यतारका । अगा जनार्दना जगव्यापका । अगा पाळका भक्तांचिया ॥१॥ अगा ये वसुदेवदेवकीनंदना । अगा ये गोपिकारमणा । अगा बळिबंध वामना । अगा निधाना गुणनिधी ॥ध्रु.॥ अगा ये द्रौपदीबांधवा । अगा ये सखया पांडवा । अगा जीवाचिये जीवा । अगा माधवा मधुसूदना ॥२॥ अगा महेश्वरा महाराजा । अगा श्रीहरी गरुडध्वजा । अगा सुंदरा सहस्रभुजा । पार मी तुझा काय वणूप ॥३॥ अगा अंबॠषिपरंपरा । निलारंभ निर्विकारा । अगा गोवर्धन धरणीधरा । अगा माहेरा दीनाचिया ॥४॥ अगा धर्मराया धर्मशीळा । कृपासिंधु कृपाळा । अगा प्रेमाचिया कल्लोळा । सकळकळाप्रवीणा ॥५॥ अगा चतुरा सुजाणा । मधुरागिरा सुलक्षणा । अगा उदारा असुरमर्दना । राखें शरणा तुकयाबंधु ॥६॥
Literal translation
Agā Vaikuṇṭha-nāyaka — agā Trailōkya-tāraka — agā Janārdana Jagat-vyāpaka — agā pālaka of bhaktas. Agā Vasudēva-Devakī-nandana — Gōpikā-ramaṇa — Bali-bandha Vāmana — nidhāna guṇa-nidhi. Agā Draupadī-bāndhava — sakhā Pāṇḍava — jīva-of-jīva — Mādhava Madhusūdana. Agā Mahēśvara Mahā-rāja — Śrī-Hari Garuḍa-dhvaja — sundara sahasra-bhuja — what far-shore-of-Yours can I praise? Agā Ambarīṣi-paramparā — azure-shoot changeless — Govardhana-and-earth-bearer — māhēra of the dīna. Agā Dharmarāya Dharma-śīḷa — kṛpā-sindhu kṛpāḷa — prēma-kallōḷa — sakala-kaḷā-pravīṇa. Agā catura sujāṇa — madhura-gira sulakṣaṇa — udāra asura-mardana — protect the refuge — Tukyā-bandhu.
मराठी: अगा Vaikuṇṭha-nāyakā — अगा Trailōkya-tāraka — अगा Janārdana Jagat-vyāpaka — अगा भक्तांचा पाळक. अगा Vasudēva-Devakī-nandana — Gōpikā-ramaṇa — Bali-bandha Vāmana — guṇa-nidhi. अगा Draupadī-बांधव — सखा Pāṇḍava — जीवांचा जीव — Mādhava Madhusūdana. अगा Maheśvara Mahā-rāja — Śrī-Hari Garuḍa-dhvaja — सहस्र-भुज सुंदर — तुझा पार मी काय वणूं. अगा Ambarīṣi-paramparā — नीला-रंभ निर्विकार — Govardhana-धरणी-धर — दीनाची माहेर. अगा Dharmarāya Dharma-śīḷa — कृपा-सिंधु कृपाळा — प्रेम-कल्लोळ — सकळ-कळा-प्रवीण. अगा catura sujāṇa — मधुर-गिरा-सुलक्षण — उदार असुर-मर्दन — शरण राखा — Tukyā-bandhu.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| अगा वैकुंटनायका | "agā — Vaikuṇṭha-nāyakā" |
| त्रैलोक्यतारका | "Trailōkya-tāraka" |
| जनार्दना जगव्यापका | "Janārdana Jagat-vyāpaka" |
| पाळका भक्तांचिया | "pālaka of bhaktas" |
| वसुदेवदेवकीनंदना | "Vasudēva-Devakī-nandana" |
| गोपिकारमणा | "Gōpikā-ramaṇa" |
| बळिबंध वामना | "Bali-bandha Vāmana" |
| निधाना गुणनिधी | "nidhāna guṇa-nidhi" |
| द्रौपदीबांधवा | "Draupadī-bāndhava" |
| सखया पांडवा | "sakhā Pāṇḍava" |
| जीवाचिये जीवा | "jīva-of-jīva" |
| माधवा मधुसूदना | "Mādhava Madhusūdana" |
| महेश्वरा महाराजा | "Mahēśvara Mahā-rāja" |
| गरुडध्वजा | "Garuḍa-dhvaja" |
| सहस्रभुजा | "sahasra-bhuja" |
| अंबॠषिपरंपरा | "Ambarīṣi-paramparā" |
| निलारंभ निर्विकारा | "nila-rambha nirvikāra" |
| गोवर्धन धरणीधरा | "Govardhana-dharaṇī-dhara" |
| माहेरा दीनाचिया | "māhēra of dīna" |
| धर्मराया धर्मशीळा | "Dharmarāya Dharma-śīḷa" |
| कृपासिंधु कृपाळा | "kṛpā-sindhu kṛpāḷa" |
| प्रेमाचिया कल्लोळा | "prēma-kallōḷa" |
| सकळकळाप्रवीणा | "sakala-kaḷā-pravīṇa" |
| चतुरा सुजाणा | "catura sujāṇa" |
| मधुरागिरा सुलक्षणा | "madhura-gira sulakṣaṇa" |
| उदारा असुरमर्दना | "udāra asura-mardana" |
| राखें शरणा तुकयाबंधु | "protect the refuge — Tukyā-bandhu" |
What it means
A agā-vocative-list-of-attributes-Tukyā-bandhu-mudra abhang. Vocative-praise-list register. The structure is a litany of agā (the Marathi vocative-particle, "O!" or "hey!") plus an attribute or epithet — Vaikuṇṭha-nāyaka, Trailōkya-tāraka, Janārdana, Vasudēva-Devakī-nandana, Bali-bandha-Vāmana, Draupadī-bāndhava, Mādhava-Madhusūdana, Mahēśvara-Mahā-rāja, Garuḍa-dhvaja, sahasra-bhuja, Ambarīṣi-paramparā, Govardhana-dharaṇī-dhara, māhēra of the dīna, Dharmarāya-Dharma-śīḷa, kṛpā-sindhu, prēma-kallōḷa, asura-mardana — closing with protect the refuge, signed Tukyā-bandhu (Tukaram's brother — Kānhōba — author of this abhang).
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अगा Vaikuṇṭha-nāyaka — Trailōkya-tāraka — Janārdana — पाळक. Cosmic-attribute-list.
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अगा Vasudēva-Devakī-नंदन — Gōpikā-ramaṇa — Bali-bandha-Vāmana — guṇa-nidhi. Avatāra-attribute-list-1: born-of-Devakī, beloved-of-gōpīs, Vāmana-who-bound-Bali. (Bali-bandha references the Bali-bandhana episode of the Vāmana-avatāra: Vāmana asks for three-paces-of-land, then takes the worlds in two paces and binds Bali.)
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अगा Draupadī-bāndhava — Pāṇḍava-sakhā — जीव-जीव — Mādhava Madhusūdana. Avatāra-attribute-list-2: Draupadī's-brother (Kṛṣṇa), Pāṇḍavas'-friend, jīva-of-jīva, Mādhava (= Madhu's-master), Madhusūdana (slayer-of-Madhu).
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अगा Mahēśvara — Mahā-rāja — Garuḍa-dhvaja — सहस्र-भुज — पार-काय? Cosmic-power-list: Mahēśvara (Great-Lord, also-an-epithet-of-Śiva-here-applied-to-Viṣṇu = Hari-Hara-collapse), Mahā-rāja, Garuḍa-dhvaja (with-Garuḍa-on-banner), sahasra-bhuja (thousand-armed);what far-shore-of-Yours can I praise?Power-list-and-praise-impossibility.
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अगा Ambarīṣi-paramparā — नीला-रंभ निर्विकार — Govardhana-धरणी-धर — माहेरा-दीनाचिया. Bhakta-line-and-cosmic-bearer-list: theAmbarīṣi-paramparā(the lineage-of-Ambarīṣa, the great Vaiṣṇava king);azure-shoot, changeless;Govardhana-dharaṇī-dhara(bearer of Govardhana-and-earth); māhēra (mother's-house) of the dīna. (The māhēra image is one of Tukaram's most-tender register: the dīna — the helpless — finds in deva the māhēra-mother's-house.)
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अगा Dharma-rāya Dharma-śīḷa — कृपा-सिंधु — प्रेम-कल्लोळ — सकळ-कळा-प्रवीण. Dharma-and-prēma-list: king-of-dharma, dharma-natured; kṛpā-sindhu kṛpāḷa (compassion-ocean, compassionate);prēma-kallōḷa(wave-of-prēma); sakala-kaḷā-pravīṇa (skilled-in-all-arts).
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अगा catura — सुलक्षण — उदार असुर-मर्दन — राखें शरणा Tukyā-bandhu. Final-protection-and-mudra: catura sujāṇa, madhura-gira sulakṣaṇa (clever, sweet-voiced, well-marked);udāra asura-mardana(generous, asura-slayer); protect the refuge; Tukyā-bandhu (Tukaram's-brother — the mudra of Kānhōba, Tukaram's elder-brother, also a Vārkarī-poet).
[T]
For someone today
This whole verse is one long list of names, each one a different window into the same presence: protector of the three worlds, friend to the abandoned, upholder of the earth, home for anyone with nowhere else to turn. Calling out name after name is itself a form of prayer, a way of turning your mind toward every kind of support you might need. The tenderest image here is the maher, the mother's home a daughter can always return to; the poem insists that whoever feels helpless or lost has exactly that kind of unconditional refuge waiting, and it ends with a simple, direct plea for protection.
मराठी: ही संपूर्ण ओवी म्हणजे नावांची एक लांबलचक यादी आहे, प्रत्येक नाव त्याच एका उपस्थितीकडे उघडणारी वेगळी खिडकी आहे, त्रैलोक्याचा तारणहार, एकाकी जिवाचा सखा, धरणीचा आधार, ज्याला कुठेच जागा नाही त्याचं घर. एका मागोमाग एक नाव घेणं हीच एक प्रकारची प्रार्थना आहे, मनाला हव्या त्या प्रत्येक आधाराकडे वळवण्याचा मार्ग आहे. यातील सर्वात हळुवार प्रतिमा म्हणजे माहेर, जिथे मुलगी कधीही परत जाऊ शकते ते आईचं घर. ही ओवी ठामपणे सांगते की जो कोणी हतबल किंवा हरवलेला आहे त्याला असंच बिनशर्त आश्रयस्थान वाट पाहत आहे, आणि शेवटी एक साधी, थेट विनंती करते, माझं रक्षण कर.
Where this applies
- Agā-vocative-litany. Meditative-form.
- Bali-bandha-Vāmana—Govardhana-dhara. Avatāra-narrative.
- Māhēraofdīna. Tender.
- Tukyā-bandhu mudra. Brother's-seal.