संत साहित्य
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संत साहित्य · Tukārām · Abhanga 686 of 4582

Abhanga 686

When the words are no longer for one country — and you have to recognize this register
When the vaikharī has become viśvambharī (cosmic-pervading) — and you accept this image
When now where is Tuka? — only the svāmī's stamp speaks — and you receive this final dissolution

The verse

नव्हे शब्द एक देशी । सांडी गवशी कोणाला ॥१॥ जाली माझी वैखरी । विश्वंभरी व्यापक ॥ध्रु.॥ मोकलिलें जावें बाणें । भाता जेणे वाइलें ॥२॥ आतां येथें कैचा तुका । बोले सिका स्वामीचा ॥३॥

Literal translation

English: The śabda (words) are not ēka-dēśī (for one-country) — leave-out-and-embrace-whom? My vaikharī has become viśvambharīvyāpaka (pervading). Let-it-go like an arrow — whoever has-readied the bhāta (quiver). Now where, here, is Tuka? — the svāmī's sikā (stamp) speaks.

मराठी: शब्द एक-देशी नाही — कोणाला सोडावं, कोणाला घ्यावं?. माझी वैखरी विश्वंभरी-व्यापक झाली. बाण मोकलून जावा — ज्याने भाता वाहिला. आतां येथें कैचा Tuka? — बोले स्वामीचा सिका.

Word-by-word gloss
Marathi Meaning
नव्हे शब्द एक देशी "śabda — not — ēka-dēśī (one-country)"
सांडी गवशी कोणाला "leave-out, embrace — whom?"
जाली माझी वैखरी "became — my vaikharī"
विश्वंभरी व्यापक "viśvambharīvyāpaka"
मोकलिलें जावें बाणें "mōkalilēbāṇē — go"
भाता जेणे वाइलें "bhātajēṇēvāilē"
आतां येथें कैचा तुका "now — here — what — Tuka?"
बोले सिका स्वामीचा "speaks — sikāsvāmī's"

What it means

A words-not-for-one-country-vaikharī-becomes-viśvambharī-no-Tuka-svāmī-sikā abhang. Vāṇī-becomes-cosmic register. Three claims:

  1. शब्द एक-देशी नाही — सोडावं-घ्यावं कोणाला? — वैखरी विश्वंभरी-व्यापक. Vāṇī-cosmic-pervasion-claim. The śabda (words) are not ēka-dēśī (for-one-country, for-one-people, for-one-particular-place / time); whom would they leave-out, whom embrace? (= they leave-no-one-out and embrace-everyone); my vaikharī (speech-organ, gross-speech) has become viśvambharī (universe-pervading) and vyāpaka (all-pervading). My-vaikharī-has-become-cosmic-pervading. (This is one of the boldest claims about Tukaram's own poetry: his words are not for one place but pervade the universe*.)

  2. बाण मोकलला — भाता ज्याने वाहिला. Arrow-shot-by-the-bhāta-bearer-claim. Let-the-arrow-go (mōkalilē-jāvē bāṇē); whoever-has-readied the bhāta (quiver / arrow-pouch), let-the-arrow-go. I-am-not-the-shooter-the-svāmī-is. (The arrow-image: I'm just the arrow, the svāmī is the one who readied-the-quiver and shoots-me. The vāṇī goes wherever-He-shoots-it.)

  3. Tuka: आतां येथें कैचा Tuka — स्वामीचा सिका बोले. No-Tuka-here-svāmī-sikā-speaks-claim. Now where, here, is Tuka?; the svāmī's sikā (stamp / seal / signature) speaks. No-individual-Tuka-only-the-svāmī's-stamp-speaks. (Tuka is dissolved; what speaks is the svāmī's authorization.) This is one of the strongest self-dissolution claims in the corpus: even the Tuka-mudra itself is no-longer-Tuka but the svāmī's sikā (stamp).

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For someone today

This abhang names the vāṇī-becomes-cosmic-no-Tuka register:

  1. Words not for one country; vaikharī has become viśvambharī. Vāṇī-cosmic.

  2. Let-the-arrow-go — the svāmī shoots. Arrow-image.

  3. No Tuka here — the svāmī's stamp speaks. Self-dissolution.

For today: true-vāṇī (when it has become viśvambharī) is not for one dēśa but pervades all; the bhakta is just the arrow, the svāmī readies-the-quiver and shoots; at the highest, even the bhakta-mudra is no-longer-the-bhakta — it's the svāmī's sikā speaking. The Tuka-mudra is the svāmī's authorization-stamp on the cosmic-vāṇī.

This abhang is Tukaram's vāṇī-becomes-cosmic-no-Tuka-svāmī-sikā registerone of the strongest self-dissolution-and-vāṇī-as-cosmic claims in the corpus. Compare 0556 no-name-form-beyond-karma-akarma; same beyond-individual register but here applied specifically to the vāṇī and the mudra. The svāmī-cā sikā (master's stamp) is a striking image: even the signature Tuka m on each abhang is the svāmī's seal, not the man's-name.

मराठी: ही ओवी vāṇī-becomes-cosmic-no-Tuka register नाव सांगते:

  1. शब्द एक-देशी नाही; vaikharī विश्वंभरी झाली. Vāṇī-cosmic.

  2. बाण मोकलला — स्वामी shoot-करतो. Arrow-image.

  3. Tuka इथें नाही — स्वामीचा सिका बोलतो. Self-dissolution.

आज: True-vāṇī (विश्वंभरी होते तर) एक-देशी नाही, सर्वत्र pervades; Bhakta फक्त-arrow, svāmī quiver-readies आणि shoots; Highest-त, bhakta-mudra-सुद्धा-no-longer-the-bhakta — svāmī-sikā-speaks. Tuka-mudra cosmic-vāṇī-वर svāmī's authorization-stamp.

Tukaram च-vāṇī-becomes-cosmic-no-Tuka-svāmī-sikā-registerStrongest self-dissolution-and-vāṇī-as-cosmic claims corpus-त पैकी एक. 0556 no-name-form-beyond-karma-akarma compare; तीच beyond-individual register पण इथे specifically vāṇī आणि mudra-ला applied. Svāmī-cā sikā (master's-stamp) striking image — प्रत्येक abhang वरील Tuka m signature स्वतः svāmī's seal आहे, माणसाचं नाव नाही.

Where this applies

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