Abhanga 687
Tukaram describes what happens when he sings in devotion, a wondrous power rises in his very body, and he recognizes it isn't his own doing, it's a gift from God, so he offers it back as unbroken, ongoing service. He then describes love as a tide that only ever rises inside him, never ebbing or receding once it begins to flow. Finally he makes a beautiful claim about his own voice, that it isn't merely speaking or singing but is itself a mine from which the nectar of the divine name can be endlessly drawn.
The verse
गायनाचे रंगीं । शक्ति अद्भुत हे अंगीं ॥१॥ हें तों देणें तुमचें देवा । घ्यावी अखंडित सेवा ॥ध्रु.॥ अंगीं प्रेमाचें भरतें । नाहीं उतार चढतें ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे वाणी । नाम अमृताची खाणी ॥३॥
Literal translation
In the gāyana-ranga — adbhuta-śakti in this body. This is Your gift, deva — take akhaṇḍita-sēvā. In the body — prēma-bharatē — no ebb, only rise. Tuka says: vāṇī — nāma — mine of amṛta.
मराठी: गायनाच्या-रंगात — अद्भुत-शक्ती ह्या अंगांत. हें तुमचं देणं, देवा — अखंडित सेवा घ्यावी. अंगांत प्रेमाचं भरतें — उतार नाही, फक्त चढतें. Tuka म्हणे: वाणी — नाम अमृताची खाणी.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| गायनाचे रंगीं | "in gāyana-ranga" |
| शक्ति अद्भुत हे अंगीं | "adbhuta-śakti — this body" |
| हें तों देणें तुमचें देवा | "this — gift — Yours, deva" |
| घ्यावी अखंडित सेवा | "take — akhaṇḍita-sēvā" |
| अंगीं प्रेमाचें भरतें | "body — prēma-bharatē" |
| नाहीं उतार चढतें | "no utāra — only caḍhatē" |
| वाणी नाम अमृताची खाणी | "vāṇī — nāma — amṛta-khāṇī" |
What it means
A gāyana-rang-adbhuta-śakti-bharatē-of-prēma-no-ebb-vāṇī-amṛta-khāṇī abhang. Gāyana-praise register. Three claims:
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गायनाच्या-रंगांत — अद्भुत-शक्ती — तुमचं देणं — अखंडित सेवा. Gāyana-as-divine-gift-claim. In thegāyana-ranga (the singing-festival, the kīrtana-celebration);this body has adbhuta-śakti (wondrous-power);this is Your gift, deva; takeakhaṇḍita-sēvā (unbroken-service).Singing-power-is-divine-gift; let-it-be-unbroken-service.
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प्रेमाचं-भरतें — उतार-नाही — चढतें-च. Prēma-flood-no-ebb-claim. In the body — thebharatē(flood, high-tide) ofprēma; noutāra(ebb); onlycaḍhatē(rise / flow-rising). Prēma-flood-no-ebb-only-rise. (The bharatē image is from tides: bharatē is high-tide, utāra is low-tide; the bhakta's prēma is high-tide-only, never receding.)
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Tuka: वाणी — नाम अमृताची खाणी. Vāṇī-amṛta-khāṇī-claim. Tuka says: thevāṇī(speech-organ, the very-faculty-of-speech) is the khāṇī (mine, source) of nāma-amṛta (nāma-nectar).Vāṇī-as-the-mine-of-nāma-amṛta. (Thevāṇīis not just the speech that-utters-the-nāma; it's the very-mine where thenāma-amṛta is mined-from.)
[T]
For someone today
Tukaram describes what happens when he sings in devotion, a wondrous power rises in his very body, and he recognizes it isn't his own doing, it's a gift from God, so he offers it back as unbroken, ongoing service. He then describes love as a tide that only ever rises inside him, never ebbing or receding once it begins to flow. Finally he makes a beautiful claim about his own voice, that it isn't merely speaking or singing but is itself a mine from which the nectar of the divine name can be endlessly drawn.
मराठी: तुकाराम सांगतात की जेव्हा ते भक्तिभावाने गातात, तेव्हा त्यांच्या अंगात एक अद्भुत शक्ती जागी होते, आणि ते ओळखतात की ही स्वतःची कमाई नाही, हे देवाचं देणं आहे, म्हणून ते ती अखंडित सेवा म्हणून परत अर्पण करतात. मग ते प्रेमाचं वर्णन एका भरतीसारखं करतात, जी फक्त चढतच राहते, कधीच ओसरत नाही, एकदा वाहू लागली की. शेवटी ते स्वतःच्या वाणीबद्दल एक सुंदर दावा करतात, ती नुसती बोलणं किंवा गाणं नाही, तर ती स्वतः एक खाण आहे जिथून नामाचं अमृत सतत काढता येतं.
Where this applies
- Gāyana-rang—adbhuta-śakti. Singing-gift.
- Prēma-bharatē — no ebb. Tide-image.
- Vāṇī—amṛta-khāṇī. Mine-image.