Abhanga 836
God comes like a playful thief who steals your heart with love, leaves no way back, and invites you to seek him together with others.
The verse
मैंद आला पंढरीस । हातीं घेउनि प्रेमपाश ॥१॥ पुढें नाडियलें जग । नेतो लागों नेदी माग ॥ध्रु.॥ उभारोनि बाहे । दृष्टादृष्टी वेधीताहे ॥२॥ वैकंठीहुनि पेणें । केलें पंढरीकारणें ॥३॥ पुंडलिकें यारा । देउनि आणिलें चोरा ॥४॥ तुका म्हणे चला । तुम्ही आम्ही धरूं त्याला ॥५॥
Literal translation
Maiṇḍa — Paṇḍharī. In-hand — prēma-pāśa. Ahead — nāḍiyalē — jaga. Takes — doesn't-let — māga. Raising — bāhē. Dṛṣṭā-dṛṣṭi — vēdhitāhē. From-Vaikuṇṭha — pēṇē — Paṇḍharī-kāraṇa. Puṇḍalika — yārā — bringing — cōra. Tuka says: come — you-and-I — dharūm — him.
मराठी: एक मैंद (चोर) पंढरीला आला — हातीं प्रेम-पाश घेउनि. पुढें जगाला नाडवलं — नेतो (पण) माग लागू देत नाहीं. बाहे (हात) उभारून — दृष्ट-दृष्टी-नं वेधीतो (खेचतो). वैकुंठाहून पेणें (मुक्काम) — पंढरी-कारणानं केलं. पुंडलिकानं यारा (युक्ती) देऊन — चोराला आणलं. Tuka म्हणे: चला — तुम्ही-आम्ही त्याला धरूं.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| मैंद आला पंढरीस | "maiṇḍa (thief) — has-come — Paṇḍharī" |
| हातीं घेउनि प्रेमपाश | "in-hand — taking — prēma-pāśa" |
| पुढें नाडियलें जग | "ahead — nāḍiyalē (deceived) — jaga" |
| नेतो लागों नेदी माग | "takes — doesn't-let — māga (trail)" |
| उभारोनि बाहे | "raising — bāhē (arms)" |
| दृष्टादृष्टी वेधीताहे | "dṛṣṭā-dṛṣṭi — vēdhitāhē" |
| वैकंठीहुनि पेणें | "from-Vaikuṇṭha — pēṇē (camp)" |
| केलें पंढरीकारणें | "made — Paṇḍharī-kāraṇa" |
| पुंडलिकें यारा | "Puṇḍalika — yārā (trick)" |
| देउनि आणिलें चोरा | "giving — brought — cōra" |
| चला तुम्ही आम्ही धरूं त्याला | "come — you-and-I — dharūm — him" |
What it means
A thief-came-to-Paṇḍharī-with-prema-rope-deceived-world-takes-without-trail-arms-raised-gaze-pierces-Vaikuṇṭha-camp-for-Paṇḍharī-Puṇḍalika's-trick-brought-the-thief-Tuka-says-let's-catch-him abhang. Viṭhṭhal-as-thief-of-hearts register. Six claims:
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मैंद-Paṇḍharīसा-आला — हातीं-प्रेम-पाश. Thief-with-prema-rope-claim. Amaiṇḍa (thief, swindler, the playful-trickster) has come to Paṇḍharī;taking the prēma-pāśa (rope-of-love, the lover's-lasso) in his hand.Viṭhṭhal-the-thief-with-his-prema-rope-arrives-at-Paṇḍharī. (The opening reverses the usual pious-image: Viṭhṭhal isplayfullycalled amaiṇḍa— a thief — because he steals hearts, with theprēma-pāśa (rope-of-love) as his weapon.)
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पुढें-नाडियलें-जग — माग-लागू-देत-नाहीं. Deceived-world-no-trail-back-claim. He hasnāḍiyalē(deceived, fooled, swindled) the world ahead; he takes (them) (away, into-bhakti), and doesn't let-(them)-leave-amāga (trail / footprints) (back).Deceives-and-leaves-no-back-trail. (Once-stolen-by-Viṭhṭhal, no-going-back; he leaves-no-trail-by-which-the-stolen-bhakta-could-return-to-samsāra.)
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बाहे-उभारून — दृष्ट-दृष्टी-वेधितो. Arms-raised-gaze-pierces-claim. Raising thebāhē (the arms — Viṭhṭhal's iconic arms-akimbo, hands-on-hips stance, sometimes with arms-out);by dṛṣṭā-dṛṣṭi (gaze-meeting-gaze, eye-to-eye-contact), he is vēdhitāhē (piercing, pulling-by-piercing-the-gaze, sucking-into-himself by the eye-contact).Iconic-pose-and-the-gaze-pierces-and-pulls. (Iconographic-image: the Pandharī-stance with arms; thedṛṣṭā-dṛṣṭi — gaze-on-gaze — pierces-and-pulls-the-bhakta into Viṭhṭhal.)
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वैकुंठ-हुनि-पेणें — Paṇḍharī-कारणानं. Vaikuṇṭha-camp-for-Paṇḍharī-claim. (He) madepēṇē (camp / lodging — like a traveler who sets-up-camp) — from-Vaikuṇṭha — for Paṇḍharī's-sake.Camped-from-Vaikuṇṭha-for-Paṇḍharī's-sake. (Vārkarī-canonical claim: Viṭṭhalmovedhis abode fromVaikuṇṭhatoPaṇḍharī— set-up-camp here —for Paṇḍharī's sake; this is what makes Paṇḍharī theBhū-Vaikuṇṭha (Earth-Vaikuṇṭha).)
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Puṇḍalika-यारा-दिला — चोरा-आणलं. Puṇḍalika-brought-the-thief-claim. Puṇḍalika gave theyārā (the friendly-trick / scheme / device — the yāra is a friend's-clever-arrangement);and brought the cōra (the thief — = Viṭhṭhal) (here).Puṇḍalika's-trick-brought-the-thief. (Vārkarī-lineage-claim: it wasPuṇḍalika's clever-arrangement — hisyārā— that brought-Viṭṭhal-here — to Paṇḍharī. Thecōrais Viṭhṭhal-the-heart-thief;Puṇḍalika arranged-it.)
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Tuka: चला — तुम्ही-आम्ही-धरूं-त्याला. Let's-catch-him-claim. Tuka says: come — you-and-I willdharūm (catch, seize) him.Communal-let's-catch-the-thief. (Brilliant-reversal-of-the-thief-image: instead of running-from-the-thief-or-warning-against-him, Tuka calls everyone tocatchhim — i.e., catch-the-thief-of-hearts andnot-let-him-go. The communal-bhakti-call.)
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For someone today
This verse paints God, Viṭṭhal, as a lovable thief who comes to Paṇḍharpur carrying a rope made of love, not violence. Once he has caught you in that love, there's no trail back to your old life; you're his for good, and that's a gift, not a loss. His raised arms and steady gaze pull you in just by being seen, and he even left his heavenly home in Vaikuṇṭha to make his camp in Paṇḍharpur, simply to be near his devotees. Tukaram's closing invitation is warm and communal: don't try to catch this thief alone, come, let's catch him together.
मराठी: या ओवीत देव, विठ्ठल, एका प्रेमळ चोरासारखा रंगवला आहे — जो पंढरपुरात प्रेमाचा दोर हातात घेऊन येतो, हिंसेचा नाही. एकदा त्याने तुम्हाला त्या प्रेमात पकडले, की जुन्या आयुष्याकडे परतायला वाट उरत नाही — तुम्ही कायमचे त्याचे होता, आणि हे नुकसान नसून एक देणगी आहे. त्याचे उभारलेले हात आणि स्थिर नजर फक्त दिसण्यानेच तुम्हाला ओढून घेतात; त्याने वैकुंठासारखे स्वर्गीय घरही सोडले आणि केवळ भक्तांच्या जवळ राहण्यासाठी पंढरपुरात मुक्काम केला. तुकारामांचे शेवटचे आवाहन प्रेमळ आणि सामूहिक आहे: हा चोर एकट्याने पकडायचा प्रयत्न करू नका — चला, आपण सगळे मिळून त्याला पकडू.
Where this applies
- Thief-with-rope. Playful.
- No back-trail. Stolen-for-good.
- Gaze-pierces. Iconography.
- Earth-Vaikuṇṭha. Paṇḍharī.
- Puṇḍalika lineage. Origin.
- Let's-catch-him. Communal.