संत साहित्य
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संत साहित्य · Tukārām · Abhanga 680 of 4582

Abhanga 680

This abhang names the Pandharī-supremacy register:

When kōṭi-tīrthas done but Pandharī not seen — and you have to recognize this register
When yōga-yāga done but sama-caraṇa not seen — and you accept this image
When at Viṭhṭhal's feet endless tīrthas have formed themselves — and you receive this final image

The verse

तीर्थेचकेलीं कोटीवरी । नाहीं देखिली पंढरी ॥१॥ जळो त्याचें ज्यालेंपण । न देखे चि समचरण ॥ध्रु.॥ योग याग अनंत केले । नाहीं समचरण देखिले ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे विठ्ठलपायीं । अनंत तीर्थे घडिलीं पाहीं ॥३॥

Literal translation

English: Tīrthaskōṭi-vari (innumerable) — done, but Pandharī wasn't seen. Let his jyālēmpaṇa (very life) burn — who didn't see the sama-caraṇa. Yōga-yāga endless done — but didn't see the sama-caraṇa. Tuka says: at Viṭṭhal's pāyā — endless tīrthas have-formed-themselves.

मराठी: तीर्थें केली कोटी-वरी — पंढरी देखली नाही. त्याचं ज्यालेंपण जळो — सम-चरण देखला नाही. योग-याग अनंत केले — सम-चरण देखले नाही. Tuka म्हणे: विठ्ठल-पायीं — अनंत तीर्थें घडलीं पाहीं.

Word-by-word gloss
Marathi Meaning
तीर्थेचकेलीं कोटीवरी "tīrthaskōṭi-vari (kōṭi-many)"
नाहीं देखिली पंढरी "Pandharī not-seen"
जळो त्याचें ज्यालेंपण "let — jyālēmpaṇa (living) — burn"
न देखे चि समचरण "doesn't see — sama-caraṇa"
योग याग अनंत केले "yōga-yāga endless — done"
विठ्ठलपायीं "Viṭṭhal-pāyīm"
अनंत तीर्थे घडिलीं पाहीं "endless tīrthas — have-formed-themselves"

What it means

A kōṭi-tīrtha-without-Pandharī-yōga-yāga-without-sama-caraṇa-Viṭṭhal-feet-tīrthas abhang. Pandharī-supremacy register. Three claims:

  1. तीर्थें कोटी — पंढरी न देखली — जळो ज्यालेंपण — सम-चरण न देखे. Pandharī-priority-over-tīrtha-claim. (One who) made tīrthas in the kōṭi-many; but didn't see Pandharī; let his jyālēmpaṇa (living-itself) burn; (one) who hasn't-seen the sama-caraṇa (the equal-feet, the Pandharī-pose with feet equally-placed) (= the very jyālēmpaṇa-life-itself is wasted). Tīrtha-without-Pandharī-is-wasted-life. (This is sharp: the kōṭi-tīrthas are nothing without Pandharī's-darśana.)

  2. योग-याग अनंत — सम-चरण न देखले. Yōga-yāga-without-sama-caraṇa-claim. Yōga-yāga (the standard karma-kāṇḍa and yōga-sādhana) endless done; but didn't see the sama-caraṇa. Yōga-yāga-without-sama-caraṇa-is-wasted. (Same logic applied to the yōga-yāga-path: without Pandharī's-darśana, all the yōga-yāga* is hollow.)

  3. विठ्ठल-पायीं अनंत तीर्थें घडलीं. Viṭṭhal-feet-as-tīrtha-aggregate-claim. At Viṭṭhal's pāyā (feet) — endless tīrthas have-formed-themselves. Viṭṭhal's-feet-themselves-are-the-aggregate-of-all-tīrthas. (The reverse-image: where Pandharī-feet are, all tīrthas gather; thus seeing the feet is* visiting all-tīrthas-at-once.)

[T]

For someone today

This abhang names the Pandharī-supremacy register:

  1. Kōṭi-tīrthas without Pandharī — wasted living. Pandharī-priority.

  2. Yōga-yāga without sama-caraṇa — wasted. Sama-caraṇa-priority.

  3. At Viṭhṭhal's feet, endless tīrthas have-formed-themselves. Viṭhṭhal-feet-as-tīrtha-aggregate.

For today: the value of tīrtha-pilgrimage is ranked entirely by whether-Pandharī-is-seen; yōga-yāga-without-sama-caraṇa is wasted; the converse: at Viṭhṭhal's-feet, all tīrthas have-formed-themselves**.

This abhang is Tukaram's Pandharī-supremacy-over-all-tīrthas registerone of the strongest Pandharī-priority statements. Compare 0479 cōkhā-vārī; same Pandharī-supremacy but here organized as a sharp negative-and-positive-pair. The jaḷō-jyālēmpaṇa curse-form is striking: let-the-very-living-burn of one who didn't-see-the-sama-caraṇa.

मराठी: ही ओवी Pandharī-supremacy register नाव सांगते:

  1. Pandharī-वाचून कोटी-तीर्थें — wasted-living. Pandharī-priority.

  2. सम-चरण-वाचून योग-याग — wasted. Sama-caraṇa-priority.

  3. विठ्ठल-पायीं अनंत तीर्थें घडली. Viṭhṭhal-feet-as-tīrtha-aggregate.

आज: तीर्थ-यात्रेचं value पंढरी-देखलं-का-हा-च-test; सम-चरण-वाचून योग-याग wasted; Converse: विठ्ठलाच्या पायांत सर्व तीर्थें घडलेली आहेत.

Tukaram च-Pandharī-supremacy-over-all-tīrthas-registerStrongest Pandharī-priority statements पैकी एक. 0479 cōkhā-vārī compare; तीच Pandharī-supremacy पण इथे sharp negative-and-positive-pair-त organized. Jaḷō-jyālēmpaṇa curse-form striking — सम-चरण न-देखलेल्याचं living च burn होवो.

Where this applies

Related verses