संत साहित्य
Work in progress. Translations and commentary are AI-generated and may contain inaccuracies or hallucinations — please use your own judgement and check against the original sources.
संत साहित्य · Tukārām · Abhanga 852 of 4582

Abhanga 852

You do not need to cut, burn, starve, or exhaust the body to reach God; a sincere, devoted heart accomplishes what harsh self-punishment cannot.

When should I saw myself, toss into fire? — and you have to recognize this register
When should I bear forest-austerities, or just hold the mōhana and sit? — and you accept this image
When should I apply ash, wander four corners, abandon food, destroy life? — and you allow this image

The verse

काय देह घालूं करवती करमरी । टाकुं या भितरी अग्नीमाजी ॥१॥ काय सेवूं वन शीत उष्ण तान । साहों कीं मोहन धरुनी बैसों ॥ध्रु.॥ काय लावूं अंगीं भस्म उधळण । हिंडूं देश कोण खुंट चारी ॥२॥ काय तजूं अन्न करूनि उपास । काय करूं नास जीवित्वाचा ॥३॥ तुका म्हणे काय करावा उपाव । ऐसा देई भाव पांडुरंगा ॥४॥

Literal translation

What — dēha — karavata — karamarī — toss — agni. What — vana — śīta-uṣṇa-tāna — bear — or — mōhana — hold — sit. What — anga — bhasma — wander — dēśa — khuṇṭa cārī. What — anna — upavāsa — nāsa — jīvitva. Tuka says: what — upāya — give — such — bhāva — Pāṇḍuranga.

मराठी: देह करवतीला (आरीला) घालूं — करमरी (कापायला)? — किंवा अग्नी-माजीं भीतरी टाकूं?. वन सेवूं — शीत-उष्ण-तान साहों? — किंवा मोहन (Hari) धरुनी बैसों?. अंगीं भस्म लावूं — उधळण? — कुठल्या देशीं चार-खुंट-नी हिंडूं?. अन्न तजूं — उपवास करूं? — जीवित्वाचा नास करूं?. Tuka म्हणे: काय उपाय करावा — ऐसा भाव दे, Pāṇḍurangā.

Word-by-word gloss
Marathi Meaning
काय देह घालूं करवती करमरी "what — dēha — karavata — karamarī"
टाकुं या भितरी अग्नीमाजी "toss — within — agni"
काय सेवूं वन शीत उष्ण तान "what — serve — vana — śīta uṣṇa tāna"
साहों कीं मोहन धरुनी बैसों "bear — or — mōhana — hold — sit"
काय लावूं अंगीं भस्म उधळण "what — apply — anga — bhasma"
हिंडूं देश कोण खुंट चारी "wander — dēśa — khuṇṭa cārī"
काय तजूं अन्न करूनि उपास "what — abandon — anna — upavāsa"
काय करूं नास जीवित्वाचा "what — nāsa — jīvitva"
काय करावा उपाव "what — upāya"
ऐसा देई भाव पांडुरंगा "such — give — bhāva — Pāṇḍuranga"

What it means

A should-I-saw-myself-toss-into-fire-serve-forest-bear-cold-heat-thirst-or-hold-mōhana-and-sit-apply-ash-wander-four-corners-abandon-food-do-upavāsa-destroy-jīvitva-what-upāya-give-such-bhāva-Pāṇḍuranga abhang. What-tapas-should-I-do-give-bhāva register. Five claims:

  1. देह-करवती-करमरी — अग्नी-भीतरी-टाकूं. Saw-or-fire-claim. Should I throw thedēhato thekaravata (the saw — being-sawed-in-two as self-mortification)? karamarī (= cut-cut, severed)?Or toss-it within agni?Saw-or-fire-self-destruction.

  2. वन-शीत-उष्ण-तान — मोहन-धरुनी-बैसों. Forest-or-mōhana-claim. Should I serve thevana(forest — wilderness-tapas), bearingśīta-uṣṇa-tāna (cold, heat, thirst — the classic forest-austerities)?Or, holding the mōhana (the charmer = Hari), just baisōm (sit)?Forest-austerity-or-sit-with-mōhana. (Themōhana-dharuni-baisōmalternative: just hold themōhanaand sit-still —bhakti-as-restcontrasted withforest-tapas-as-toil.)

  3. भस्म-अंगीं — चार-खुंट-हिंडूं. Ash-or-wander-claim. Should I applybhasma(ash) on theanga—udhaḷaṇa (tossing-it-on)?Wander what dēśa, the four khuṇṭa (corners)?Sannyāsi-ash-and-wandering. (Sannyāsi-image: ash-smearing and wandering-the-four-corners — typical of Śaiva-renouncer-traditions.)

  4. अन्न-तजूं-उपवास — जीवित्वाचा-नास. Fast-or-self-destruction-claim. Should I abandonannaand doupavāsa?Should I do nāsa of jīvitva?Fast-or-destroy-life.

  5. Tuka: उपाय-काय-करावा — ऐसा-भाव-दे-Pāṇḍurangā. What-upāya-give-such-bhāva-claim. Tuka says: whatupāya should be done?—Give such a bhāva, Pāṇḍurangā..What-tapas-should-I-do — just-give-the-bhāva. (Tuka's brilliant-resolution: instead ofany-of-these-tapas, justgive me-the-bhāva— give me the devotional-attitude that-makes-tapas-unnecessary. Thebhāva-prārthanā trumps all-the-tapas-options.)

[T]

For someone today

Tukaram lists out all the hard, painful paths people take to reach God: cutting the body with a saw, throwing oneself into fire, living in the forest and enduring cold, heat, and thirst, smearing ash on the body and wandering to the four corners of the land, giving up food and fasting until it wastes the body away. He asks whether any of that is really necessary, or whether he could simply hold onto the beloved and sit still instead. In the end he does not choose any of the harsh options. He turns to Pandurang and asks for one thing only, to be given true devotion, the right inner attitude, because that alone makes all this punishing effort unnecessary. The lesson is that you do not need to torture or exhaust yourself to reach what matters most. A sincere heart, given wholeheartedly, can do what years of grueling self-punishment cannot.

मराठी: तुकाराम देवाला मिळवण्यासाठी लोक जी कठोर, वेदनादायक साधनं करतात त्यांची यादी करतात: शरीर करवतीने कापणे, स्वतःला अग्नीत झोकणे, जंगलात राहून थंडी-उष्णता-तहान सोसणे, अंगाला भस्म फासून चार दिशांना भटकणे, अन्नत्याग करून उपास करत शरीराचा नाश करणे. यातलं खरंच काही करायला हवं का, की नुसतं मोहनाला (देवाला) धरून शांत बसणं पुरेसं आहे, असं ते विचारतात. शेवटी ते यापैकी कुठलाही कठोर मार्ग निवडत नाहीत. ते पांडुरंगाकडे फक्त एकच गोष्ट मागतात, खरा भाव, योग्य अंतःकरणाची वृत्ती, कारण तेवढंच मिळालं की हे सगळे कष्टप्रद उपाय अनावश्यक ठरतात. याचा अर्थ असा की सर्वात महत्त्वाचं मिळवण्यासाठी स्वतःला छळण्याची किंवा थकवण्याची गरज नाही. मनापासून दिलेली प्रामाणिक भक्ती तेवढं करू शकते जे वर्षानुवर्षांचा कठोर आत्मक्लेश करू शकत नाही.

Where this applies

Anti-ritual / Yoga-bhakti Bhakti Pāṇḍuranga / Viṭhṭhal apply-ash-wander-four-corners

Related verses