Abhanga 683
Pure devotion isn't an action performed with hands or feet, it's simply keeping your eyes and mind steadily fixed on the divine.
The verse
तुजवरी ज्याचें मन । दरुषण दे त्याचें ॥१॥ कैसा जाती शुद्ध भाव । हात पाव ना वृत्ती ॥ध्रु.॥ अवघियांचा करूनि मेळा । तुज डोळां रोखिलें ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे तुज आड । लपोनि कोड दावीं देवा ॥३॥
Literal translation
Whose mana is on You — give him darśana. How does śuddha-bhāva go — no hāta-pāva — no vṛtti? Gathering all together — eyes fixed on You. Tuka says: deva, behind You — lapōnī (hiding) — kōḍa-dāvī (show the marvel).
मराठी: ज्याचें मन तुजवरी — त्याला दर्शन दे. शुद्ध-भाव कसा जाई — हात-पाव-vṛtti नसताना?. सगळ्यांचा मेळा करून — तुज डोळ्यांत रोखलं. Tuka म्हणे: तुज-आड लपून — कोड दावीं देवा.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| तुजवरी ज्याचें मन | "whose mana — on You" |
| दरुषण दे त्याचें | "darśana — give to him" |
| कैसा जाती शुद्ध भाव | "how — śuddha-bhāva — go" |
| हात पाव ना वृत्ती | "no — hāta-pāva — vṛtti" |
| अवघियांचा करूनि मेळा | "avaghiyāmcā mēḷā — making" |
| तुज डोळां रोखिलें | "You — ḍōḷā — fixed" |
| तुज आड | "behind You" |
| लपोनि कोड दावीं देवा | "lapōnī — kōḍa-dāvī — devā" |
What it means
A tujavarī-jyācē-mana-darśana-de-pure-bhāva-no-hand-foot-vṛtti-eyes-fixed-Tuka-lapōnī-kōḍa abhang. Eyes-fixed-give-darśana register. Three claims:
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तुजवरी मन — दर्शन दे. Mind-on-You-deserves-darśana-claim. (The one) whosemanais on You — give himdarśana. Mind-fixed-on-You-is-the-condition-for-darśana.
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Śuddha-bhāva कसा जाई — हात-पाव-vṛtti नसताना? — सगळ्यांचा मेळा — डोळ्यांत-रोखलं. Pure-bhāva-paradox-claim. How does theśuddha-bhāva (pure-bhāva) go (continue / function) — without hāta-pāva (hands-feet) and without vṛtti (mental-modifications)?.(Answer:) gathering all together — fixing the eyes on You.Pure-bhāva-without-action-and-without-mind-is-eyes-fixed-on-You. (Thepure-bhāva— when novṛtti(mental-fluctuation) and nohāta-pāva(action) — is justeyes-fixed-on-You. This is a remarkable definition:bhāvawithoutvṛttiand withoutkarmaisgaze.)
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Tuka: तुज-आड — lapōnī — कोड दावी — devā. Closing-hide-and-show-claim. Tuka says: behind You (tuja āḍa) — lapōnī (hiding) — kōḍa-dāvī (show the marvel)—deva. Hide-and-show-the-marvel. (This is a tender game-image: deva hiding behind something and showing the kōḍa-marvel — a child's hide-and-seek with the deva. Or: show-the-marvel-by-hiding — the marvel is in the very-hidden-quality.)
[T]
For someone today
Tukaram says that whoever keeps their mind fixed on the divine will receive darshan, that presence in return. He then asks a striking question: how can pure devotion exist without hands doing anything, without feet moving anywhere, without even the usual restless activity of the mind? His answer is simple. Real bhakti, at its purest, is not a task you perform but a steady gaze, everyone gathered together with their eyes simply fixed on Viṭṭhal. Tuka ends playfully, asking God to hide and then reveal the wonder, turning devotion into a kind of tender game between seeker and the divine.
मराठी: तुकाराम म्हणतात की ज्याचं मन देवावर स्थिर असतं, त्याला देव दर्शन देतो. मग ते एक सुंदर प्रश्न विचारतात, हात-पायांच्या हालचालीशिवाय आणि मनाच्या चंचलतेशिवाय शुद्ध भाव कसा टिकतो? याचं उत्तर सोपं आहे, खरी भक्ती ही काही करण्याची कृती नसून फक्त डोळे स्थिर देवावर रोखून ठेवणं आहे, सगळे मिळून एकत्र येऊन. शेवटी तुका देवाला खेळकरपणे विनवतात, लपून राहा आणि मग हे कोड, हा चमत्कार, दाखवा, जणू भक्त आणि देव यांच्यातला एक हळुवार खेळ.
Where this applies
- Mind-on-You. Condition.
- Pure-bhāva = gaze. Definition.
- Lapōnī kōḍa-dāvī. Hide-and-show.