Abhanga 765
When hard fate feels stronger than hope, Tukaram bluntly challenges God to live up to his reputation as protector and finally act, instead of just pleading quietly.
The verse
असो आतां किती । तुज यावें काकुलती ॥१॥ माझें प्रारब्ध हें गाढें । तूं बापुडें तयापुढें ॥ध्रु.॥ सोडवीन आतां । ब्रीदें तुझीं पंढरीनाथा ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे बळी । तो गांढ्याचे कान पिळी ॥३॥
Literal translation
Let-it-be — how-much — You — come — kāku-latī. Prārabdha — gāḍhē — You — bāpuḍē — before it. Release — now — bridā — Yours — Pandharī-nāth. Tuka says: baḷī — gāṇḍha — kāna piḷī.
मराठी: असो आतां — किती तुज यावें काकुलती?. माझें प्रारब्ध हें गाढें — तूं बापुडें तयापुढें. सोडवीन आतां — ब्रीदें तुझीं, Pandharī-nāthā. Tuka म्हणे: बळी — तो गांढ्याचे कान पिळी.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| असो आतां किती | "let-it-be — how-much" |
| तुज यावें काकुलती | "You — come — kāku-latī" |
| माझें प्रारब्ध हें गाढें | "prārabdha — gāḍhē" |
| तूं बापुडें तयापुढें | "You — bāpuḍē — before it" |
| सोडवीन आतां | "release — now" |
| ब्रीदें तुझीं पंढरीनाथा | "bridā — Yours — Pandharī-nāth" |
| बळी तो गांढ्याचे कान पिळी | "baḷī — gāṇḍha — kāna piḷī" |
What it means
A how-much-pleading-my-prārabdha-hard-You-bāpuḍa-uphold-Your-bridā-baḷī-twists-timid abhang. Prārabdha-stronger-than-deva register. Three claims:
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किती-काकुलती-यावें — माझं-प्रारब्ध-गाढं — You-bāpuḍē-त्यापुढें. Prārabdha-stronger-than-deva-claim. Let it be —how much should You come kāku-latī (pleading plaintively, in tear-faced-supplication)?;my prārabdha is gāḍhē (hard, dense, stuck-fast, immovable);You are bāpuḍē (poor, helpless, weak) before it.My-prārabdha-is-stronger-than-You. (One of Tukaram's most-bold theological-pranks: my prārabdha is so-hard that even-You becomebāpuḍē (helpless) before it.)
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सोडवीन-आतां — ब्रीदें-तुझीं Pandharī-nāth. Uphold-Your-bridā-claim. Nowsōḍavīna(release, disentangle); Yourbridā(titles, honor-claims),Pandharī-nāth. Now-uphold-Your-bridā-Pandharī-nāth.
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Tuka: बळी — गांढ्याचे-कान पिळी. Strong-twists-timid-claim. Tuka says:the baḷī (strong-one);twists the gāṇḍha's (the timid-one's, the cowardly-wretched) kāna piḷī (ears, twists-the-ears).Strong-twists-timid-ears. (Reading: the strong (deva, given Hisbridā) should-twist-the-ears-of-the-timid (the prārabdha) — i.e., assert-Himself-and-defeat-the-prārabdha.)
[T]
For someone today
Tukaram is at the end of his patience: he says his hard fate is so stubborn that even God seems helpless in front of it, so what is the use of more pleading? Instead of giving up, he flips the complaint into a challenge, telling Vitthal of Pandharpur to live up to his own reputation as a protector and finally act. He pictures the strong one grabbing the weak one by the ear, meaning it is time for God to be decisively strong rather than let hardship keep winning. This verse gives you permission to be blunt with God when you feel stuck, to demand action instead of just asking nicely.
मराठी: तुकारामांचा धीर संपत आलाय, ते म्हणतात माझं प्रारब्ध इतकं कठीण आहे की त्यापुढे तूही हतबल वाटतोस, मग आणखी किती विनवायचं? पण ते हार मानत नाहीत, उलट ही तक्रार एक आव्हान बनवतात आणि पंढरीच्या विठ्ठलाला सांगतात की आता तुझी स्वतःची कीर्ती खरी करून दाखव, आता कृती कर. बलवानाने दुबळ्याचे कान पिळावेत असं चित्र ते उभं करतात, म्हणजे आता देवाने ठामपणे उभं राहून प्रारब्धाला हरवावं, नुसतं हतबल राहू नये. ही ओवी सांगते की जेव्हा आयुष्य अडकल्यासारखं वाटतं तेव्हा देवाशीही स्पष्टपणे बोलायला, नुसती विनवणी नाही तर कृतीची मागणी करायला हरकत नाही.
Where this applies
- Prārabdha — hard. Stronger.
- You —bāpuḍa. Reversal.
- Baḷītwistsgāṇḍha. Image.