संत साहित्य · Tukārām · Abhanga 674 of 4582

Abhanga 674

English: One prēma-guja (love-secret), listen Jagat-jēṭhī — a remembered story I tell.

When the doe-and-fawns surrounded by hunter-and-fire-and-dogs is the image — and you have to recognize this register

When nāma-smaraṇa is the only resort and Govinda saves — and you accept this image

When Govinda saved them; You are jīva-laga to bhaktas — and you receive this final praise

The verse

एक प्रेमगुज ऐकें जगजेठी । आठवली गोष्टी सांगतसें ॥१॥ एक मृग दोन्ही पाडसांसहित । आनंदें चरत होती वनी ॥ध्रु.॥ अवचिता तेथें पारधी पावला । घेऊनियां आला श्वानें दोन्ही ॥२॥ एकीकडे त्याणें चिरिल्या वाघुरा । ठेविलें श्वानपुत्रा एकीकडे ॥३॥ एकीकडे तेणें वोणवा लाविला । आपण राहिला एकीकडे ॥४॥ चहूंकडोनियां मृगें वेढियेलीं । स्मरों तें लागलीं नाम तुझें ॥५॥ रामा कृष्णा हरी गोविंदा केशवा । देवाचिया देवा पावें आतां ॥६॥ कोण रक्षी आतां ऐसिये संकटीं । बापा जगजेठी तुजविण ॥७॥ आइकोनि तुम्ही तयांचीं वचनें । कृपाअंतःकरणें कळवळिलां ॥८॥ आज्ञा तये काळीं केली पर्जन्यासी । वेगीं पावकासी विझवावें ॥९॥ ससें एक तेथें उठवुनी पळविलें । तया पाठीं गेली श्वानें दोन्ही ॥१०॥ मृगें चमकोनी सत्वर चाललीं । गोविंदें रिक्षलीं म्हणोनियां ॥११॥ ऐसा तूं कृपाळु दयाळु आहेसी । आपुल्या भक्तांसी जीवलग ॥१२॥ ऐसी तुझी कीर्ती जीवीं आवडती । रखुमाईच्या पती तुका म्हणे ॥१३॥

Literal translation

English: One prēma-guja (love-secret), listen Jagat-jēṭhī — a remembered story I tell. One mṛga (doe) with two pāḍasa (fawns) was grazing in joy in the forest. Suddenly a pāradhī (hunter) arrived there — bringing two śvānas. On one side he set the vāghura (trap-net) — placed the śvāna-putras on another side. On one side he lit the vōṇavā (wildfire) — himself stood on the fourth. Mṛgas surrounded from-all-four-sides — began to remember Your name. Rāmā-Kṛṣṇā Hari Gōvindā Kēśavā — deva-of-devas, save now. Who saves in such a sankaṭa, bāpā Jagat-jēṭhī, without You? Hearing their words, with kṛpā-antaḥkaraṇa, You melted-with-pity. At that time, You commanded the parjanya (rain) to quickly extinguish the fire. One rabbit was raised-up-and-fled there — the two dogs went after it. Mṛgas startled and quickly went — because Govinda saved them. You are such kṛpāḷu-dayāḷu — jīva-laga (life-attached) for Your bhaktas. Such Your kīrti is loved-in-life — Rakhumāī's pati, Tuka says.

मराठी: एक प्रेम-गुज ऐक Jagat-jēṭhī — आठवलेली गोष्ट सांगतो. एक मृग दोन्ही पाडसांसह आनंदें वनात चरत होती. अचानक तेथें पारधी आला — दोन श्वान घेऊन. एकीकडे वाघुरा चिरली — श्वान-पुत्र दुसऱ्या बाजूस. एकीकडे वोणवा लावला — स्वतः चौथ्या बाजूस उभा. मृगें चहूंकडून वेढली — तुझें नाम स्मरूं लागलीं. Rāmā-Kṛṣṇā-Hari-Govinda-Kēśava — देवांच्या-देवा पावे. अशा संकटात कोण रक्षी, बापा Jagat-jēṭhī, तुजविण?. त्यांची वचने ऐकून — कृपा-अंतःकरणे कळवळिलां. पर्जन्याला आज्ञा — पावक विझवावा. एक ससा उठवून पळवला — दोन श्वान त्याच्या मागे गेले. मृगें चमकून त्वरित गेली — Govinda ने रक्षी म्हणून. असा तूं कृपाळु-दयाळु — आपल्या भक्तांसी जीव-लग. अशी तुझी कीर्ती जीवीं आवडे — Rakhumāī-च्या पती Tuka म्हणे.

Word-by-word gloss

Marathi	Meaning
एक प्रेमगुज ऐकें जगजेठी	"one prēma-guja — listen Jagat-jēṭhī"
आठवली गोष्टी सांगतसें	"remembered story — I tell"
एक मृग दोन्ही पाडसांसहित	"one mṛga with two pāḍasa (fawns)"
आनंदें चरत होती वनी	"ānanda — grazing in vana (forest)"
अवचिता तेथें पारधी पावला	"suddenly there — pāradhī (hunter) — arrived"
श्वानें दोन्ही	"two śvāna (dogs)"
चिरिल्या वाघुरा	"set — vāghura (trap-net)"
ठेविलें श्वानपुत्रा	"placed śvāna-putra (dog-pup)"
वोणवा लाविला	"vōṇavā (wildfire) — lit"
चहूंकडोनियां मृगें वेढियेलीं	"mṛgas — surrounded from-all-four-sides"
स्मरों तें लागलीं नाम तुझें	"began to remember — Your nāma"
रामा कृष्णा हरी गोविंदा केशवा	"Rāmā-Kṛṣṇā Hari Gōvindā Kēśavā"
बापा जगजेठी तुजविण	"father Jagat-jēṭhī — without-You"
कृपाअंतःकरणें कळवळिलां	"kṛpā-antaḥkaraṇa — kaḷavaḷilām (melted with pity)"
आज्ञा पर्जन्यासी	"ājñā — to parjanya (rain)"
पावकासी विझवावें	"pāvaka — extinguish"
ससें एक तेथें उठवुनी पळविलें	"rabbit — raised-and-fled"
श्वानें दोन्ही	"two dogs (went after)"
गोविंदें रिक्षलीं	"Govinda saved"
आपुल्या भक्तांसी जीवलग	"jīva-laga — to His bhaktas"
रखुमाईच्या पती तुका म्हणे	"Rakhumāī's pati — Tuka says"

What it means

A prēma-guja-narrative-doe-fawns-hunter-fire-saved-by-nāma-smaraṇa abhang. Bhakti-narrative-pavāḍa register. The structure is a complete narrative-of-divine-rescue:

Setup: One doe with two fawns grazing in joy in the forest.
Threat: A hunter arrives with two dogs. He arranges a four-fold trap: trap-net (vāghura) on one side, dog-pups (decoy) on another, wildfire on a third, himself on the fourth. The mṛgas are surrounded from all four sides.
Smaraṇa: The mṛgas begin to remember the nāma — Rāmā-Kṛṣṇā Hari Govinda Kēśava — the very-multi-name deva-of-devas litany. They cry: who saves in such a sankaṭa without You?
Rescue: Hearing them, Jagat-jēṭhī's kṛpā-antaḥkaraṇa melts. He commands: parjanya (rain) extinguishes the wildfire; a rabbit is raised-up-and-flees; the two dogs go after the rabbit; the mṛgas startle and quickly leave. Govinda saved them.
Praise: You are kṛpāḷu-dayāḷu; jīva-laga (life-attached) to Your bhaktas; such kīrti is loved in life. Rakhumāī's pati, Tuka says.

This is the classical bhakti-narrative-of-divine-rescue. The four-fold trap (vāghura-dog-pup-wildfire-hunter-himself) is striking and concrete. The rescue is accomplished through means rather than miracle: parjanya extinguishes the fire, a rabbit-decoy distracts the dogs, the mṛgas-themselves slip-out. Govinda manages-the-situation, doesn't merely-zap-it-away.

The four-fold-trap and four-fold-rescue is also a sub-structural-claim: each side of the surrounding-samsāra has its appropriate divine-counter-move.

[T]

For someone today

This abhang names the doe-and-fawns-saved-by-nāma-smaraṇa register:

Setup: doe and two fawns grazing in joy. Innocent-life.
Threat: four-fold trap (net, dog-pups, fire, hunter). Surrounded-from-all-sides.
Smaraṇa: Rāmā-Kṛṣṇā-Hari-Govinda-Kēśava. Cry-of-the-many-names.
Rescue: rain-extinguishes-fire, rabbit-decoys-dogs, mṛgas-slip-out. Means-not-miracle. Govinda saves through-managing-the-situation.
Praise: kṛpāḷu-dayāḷu; jīva-laga; kīrti loved. Final-praise.

For today: when surrounded from all four sides — net, fire, dogs, hunter — the only resort is nāma-smaraṇa; the rescue often comes as means-not-miracle — Govinda manages the situation; Your kīrti is jīva-laga (life-attached) to bhaktas.

This abhang is Tukaram's narrative-pavāḍa-of-divine-rescue register — one of the most-detailed rescue-narratives in the corpus. Compare 0596 gajēndra-mōkṣa-narrative; same divine-rescue-structure but here the rescued are mṛgas not gajendra. The four-fold-trap and four-fold-rescue is unusual structural-precision. The signature Rakhumāī's pati is one of Tukaram's mudras (when he addresses Pāṇḍuranga as Rakhumāī's-husband).

मराठी: ही ओवी doe-and-fawns-saved-by-nāma-smaraṇa-narrative-pavāḍa register नाव सांगते:

Setup: मृग आणि पाडसें वनात आनंदाने. Innocent-life.
Threat: चहूंकडून (वाघुरा-श्वान-वोणवा-पारधी). Surrounded-four-sides.
Smaraṇa: Rāmā-Kṛṣṇā-Hari-Govinda-Kēśava. Cry-of-many-names.
Rescue: पर्जन्य-पावक विझवी, ससा-decoy-दोन-श्वान, मृगें-निसटली. Means-not-miracle. Govinda situation-manage करून रक्षी.
Praise: kṛpāḷu-dayāḷu; jīva-laga; kīrti आवडे. Final-praise.

आज: चहूंकडून-वेढलेलं असताना — net, fire, dogs, hunter — फक्त nāma-smaraṇa; Rescue often means-not-miracle — Govinda situation manage; तुझी kīrti bhaktas-ला jīva-laga.

Tukaram च-narrative-pavāḍa-of-divine-rescue-register — Most-detailed rescue-narratives पैकी एक corpus-त. 0596 gajēndra-mōkṣa-narrative compare; तीच divine-rescue-structure पण इथे rescued mṛgas not gajendra. Four-fold-trap आणि four-fold-rescue unusual structural-precision. Signature Rakhumāī's pati Tukaram च्या mudras पैकी एक (Pāṇḍuranga-ला Rakhumāī-च्या-husband-म्हणून-addressing).

Where this applies

Doe-and-fawns surrounded.* Innocent-life-trapped.
Four-fold trap.* Surrounded-samsāra.
Nāma-smaraṇa.* Cry-of-many-names.
Means-rescue.* Govinda-manages.
Rakhumāī's pati.** Mudra.