Abhanga 669
Because God has protected the surrendered before, stepping into his shelter now and asking with your whole being for things to be set right is a reasonable hope, not a foolish one.
The verse
तूं बळिया शिरोमणी । आहेसि माजी ये त्रिभुवनीं । रिघालों पाठी तुझी म्हणउनी । आतां करीन मी असेल तें ॥१॥ तूं देवा प्रतापदिनकर । सुरा असुरांचा सुर । महावीरां वीर धनुर्धर । मी तों पामर काय तेथें ॥ध्रु.॥ कृपासिंधु दीनवत्सल । फोडिली देवाची बंदशाळ । संहारूनि राक्षसदळ । शरणागत राजीं स्थापिला ॥२॥ उपकर्म करावा बहुत । तरी तूं जाणसी धर्मनीत । उचित काय तें अनुचित । राखें शरणागत आलों आतां ॥३॥ किती म्यां काय विनवावें । शरण आलों जीवें भावें । तुकयाबंधु म्हणे करावें । क्षेम अवघें येणें काळें ॥४॥
Literal translation
You are baliyā-śiromaṇi — You are mine in tribhuvana — I have-entered behind You — now I will-do whatever (is to be). Deva — pratāpa-dinakara — sura of suras-and-asuras — mahā-vīrām-vīra dhanur-dhara — I am pāmara — what there? Kṛpā-sindhu, dīna-vatsala — You broke the devas' banda-śāḷa (prison) — smashed the rākṣasa-daḷa — established the śaraṇāgata as king. Upakarma one should-do much — yet You know dharma-nīta — what is ucita and anucita — protect — I have come śaraṇāgata now. How much shall I plead? — I came śaraṇa with jīva-bhāva — Tukyā-bandhu says: do — kṣema avaghē — at this very kāḷa.
मराठी: तूं baliyā-śiromaṇi — तूं माझी त्रिभुवनी — मागें-तुझ्या-righālōm — आतां जे करावें ते करीन. Deva — pratāpa-dinakara — सुरा-असुरांचा सुर — mahā-vīrām-vīra धनुर्धर — मी पामर — तेथें काय?. Kṛpā-sindhu, dīna-vatsala — devas-banda-śāḷa फोडली — rākṣasa-daḷa संहार — शरणागत राजीं स्थापिला. Upakarma बहुत करावा — पण तूं dharma-nīta जाणसी — ucita-anucita — रक्षण — śaraṇāgata आलो. किती विनवूं? — śaraṇa आलो जीवें-भावें — Tukyā-bandhu म्हणे: kṣema-avaghē येणें-कालें करावें.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| तूं बळिया शिरोमणी | "You — baliyā-śiromaṇi (crown-jewel-of-strong)" |
| आहेसि माजी ये त्रिभुवनीं | "You are mine — in tribhuvana" |
| रिघालों पाठी तुझी | "I have-entered — behind You" |
| आतां करीन मी असेल तें | "now I will-do — what (is to be)" |
| देवा प्रतापदिनकर | "deva — pratāpa-dinakara" |
| सुरा असुरांचा सुर | "sura-of-suras-and-asuras" |
| महावीरां वीर धनुर्धर | "mahā-vīrām-vīra dhanur-dhara" |
| मी तों पामर काय तेथें | "I — pāmara — what there?" |
| कृपासिंधु दीनवत्सल | "kṛpā-sindhu — dīna-vatsala" |
| फोडिली देवाची बंदशाळ | "broke — devas — banda-śāḷa (prison)" |
| संहारूनि राक्षसदळ | "smashed — rākṣasa-daḷa" |
| शरणागत राजीं स्थापिला | "śaraṇāgata — established as king" |
| उपकर्म करावा बहुत | "upakarma — should-do — much" |
| तरी तूं जाणसी धर्मनीत | "yet — You know — dharma-nīta" |
| उचित काय तें अनुचित | "ucita-anucita (right-wrong)" |
| राखें शरणागत आलों | "protect — śaraṇāgata — I came" |
| शरण आलों जीवें भावें | "śaraṇa — jīva-bhāva" |
| क्षेम अवघें येणें काळें | "kṣema avaghē — at this very kāḷa" |
What it means
A baliyā-śiromaṇi-righālōm-pāṭhī-pāmara-banda-śāḷa-rākhē-śaraṇāgata-kṣema-Tukyā-bandhu abhang. Behind-the-strongest-petition register. Five claims:
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तूं baliyā-śiromaṇi — माझी त्रिभुवनी — पाठी righālōm — आतां असेल तें करीन — baliyā-śiromaṇi — three-worlds-mine — entered-behind — now will-do. The opening-strong-shelter-claim: You arebaliyā-śiromaṇi(the crown-jewel-of-the-strong); You are mine — in thetribhuvana; I have-entered behind-You (taken-shelter behind You); now I will-do whatever is to-be-done. Behind-the-strongest-now-I-can-act. (The righālōm pāṭhī tujhī image: I have stepped behind You into Your shelter.)
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Pratāpa-dinakara — sura-asura-sura — dhanur-dhara — मी pāmara — pratāpa-dinakara — sura-asura-sura — bow-bearer — I pāmara. The Your-power-vs-my-pamāra-claim: You —pratāpa-dinakara(sun-of-prowess); sura-of-suras-and-asuras; bow-bearing warrior-of-warriors; I ampāmara(poor wretch) — what (am I) there?. Your-cosmic-power-and-my-pamāra-status.
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Kṛpā-sindhu, dīna-vatsala — devas-banda-śāḷa फोडली — rākṣasa-samhāra — śaraṇāgata राजी — kṛpā-sindhu — devas-prison broken — rākṣasas smashed — śaraṇāgata as king. The narrative-warrant-claim: kṛpā-sindhu (compassion-ocean), dīna-vatsala (loving-the-dīna);You broke the devas' banda-śāḷa (the prison-where-devas-were-held by the asuras — refers to Kṛṣṇa freeing devas held by Kāmsa or by other asuras); smashed therākṣasa-daḷa; established theśaraṇāgataas king (e.g., Vibhīṣaṇa as king of Lankā after the Rāma-līlā). Past-warrants: You-broke-prisons-and-installed-the-śaraṇāgata-as-king.
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Upakarma — dharma-nīta — ucita-anucita — रक्षण — śaraṇāgata — upakarma — dharma-nīta — ucita-anucita — protect — śaraṇāgata. The upakarma-claim: upakarma (beneficence) one-should-do much;yet You know dharma-nīta (dharma-conduct, right-rule);what-is-ucita (right) and what-is-anucita (not-right);protect — I have come śaraṇāgata now.You-know-the-dharma-of-protecting-śaraṇāgata.
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किती विनवूं — śaraṇa-jīva-bhāva — Tukyā-bandhu: kṣema-avaghē यैना-कालें — how much plead — śaraṇa with jīva-bhāva — Tukyā-bandhu: kṣema-now. The closing-kṣema-now-claim: how much shall I plead?; cameśaraṇawithjīva-bhāva(with life-and-feeling, with whole-being); Tukyā-bandhu says: dokṣema avaghē(make-well-completely) at this very time. Make-well-now-Tukyā-bandhu's-mudra.
[T]
For someone today
Tukaram pictures himself stepping behind the strongest one there is, taking shelter there, and only from that safety does he feel able to act at all. He is honest about the mismatch: God is described as a warrior among warriors, a sun of power, while he calls himself a poor wretch with nothing to bring. But he does not despair, because he points to precedent: this same God has broken open prisons, crushed hostile forces, and set people who surrendered to him up as kings. If that is the pattern, then his own plea to be looked after now is not a wild hope but a reasonable one. In the end he stops arguing his case and simply asks, with his whole being, for things to be made right at this very moment.
मराठी: तुकाराम स्वतःला सर्वात बलवान अशा देवाच्या मागे उभे राहिलेले, त्याच्या आश्रयाला आलेले असे चित्रित करतात, आणि त्या सुरक्षिततेतूनच त्यांना काही करण्याचे धैर्य मिळते. ते हा भेद प्रामाणिकपणे मान्य करतात, देव हा वीरांमधला वीर, तेजाचा सूर्य आहे, तर मी स्वतःला एक क्षुद्र, काही न बाळगणारा पामर मानतो. पण ते निराश होत नाहीत, कारण त्यांना आठवते की याच देवाने पूर्वी बंदिशाळा फोडल्या आहेत, शत्रूसैन्याचा नाश केला आहे आणि शरण आलेल्यांना राजपदावर बसवले आहे. हाच जर देवाचा स्वभाव असेल, तर आताही आपली काळजी घेतली जाईल ही आशा वेडेपणाची नाही तर वाजवी आहे. शेवटी ते युक्तिवाद करणे थांबवतात आणि आपल्या संपूर्ण मनाने, याच क्षणी सर्व काही सुरळीत व्हावे अशी विनंती करतात.
Where this applies
- Baliyā-śiromaṇi — behind-shelter. Behind-the-strong.
- Power vspāmara. Status-balance.
- Devas'-prison broken;śaraṇāgata-as-king. Warrants.
- Kṣema avaghē. Make-well-now.