Abhanga 879
When desire and family worries overwhelm you and fear of others' opinions blocks your spiritual efforts, ask God for protection in every entanglement, not just this one.
The verse
स्त्रीपुत्रादिकीं राहिला आदर । विषयीं पडिभर अतिशय ॥१॥ आतां हाता धांवा नारायणा । मज हे वासना अनावर ॥ध्रु.॥ येउनियां आड ठाके लोकलाज । तें हें दिसे काज अंतरलें ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे आम्हां जेथें जेथें गोवा । तेथें तुम्हीं देवा सांभाळावें ॥३॥
Literal translation
Strī-putrādika — ādara. Viṣaya — paḍibhara. Now — hātā — dhāvā — Nārāyaṇa. Vāsanā — anāvara. Lōka-lāja — āḍa ṭhākē. Kāja — antaralē. Tuka says: wherever — gōvā — there — You — Dēva — sāmbhāḷāvē.
मराठी: स्त्री-पुत्रादिकीं आदर राहिला — विषयीं पडि-भर अतिशय. आतां हाता धांवा, Nārāyaṇā — मज ही वासना अनावर. येउनियां लोक-लाज आड ठाके — तें हें काज अंतरलें दिसे. Tuka म्हणे: आम्हां जेथें-जेथें गोवा — तेथें तुम्हीं, देवा, सांभाळावें.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| स्त्रीपुत्रादिकीं राहिला आदर | "strī-putrādika — ādara" |
| विषयीं पडिभर अतिशय | "viṣaya — paḍibhara — atiśaya" |
| आतां हाता धांवा नारायणा | "now — hātā — dhāvā — Nārāyaṇa" |
| मज हे वासना अनावर | "me — vāsanā — anāvara" |
| येउनियां आड ठाके लोकलाज | "lōka-lāja — āḍa ṭhākē" |
| तें हें दिसे काज अंतरलें | "kāja — antaralē" |
| आम्हां जेथें जेथें गोवा | "us — wherever — gōvā" |
| तेथें तुम्हीं देवा सांभाळावें | "there — You — Dēva — sāmbhāḷāvē" |
What it means
A regard-in-wife-children-viṣaya-piled-run-to-hand-Nārāyaṇa-vāsanā-uncontrollable-lōka-lāja-blocks-kāja-interrupted-wherever-entanglement-You-protect abhang. Wherever-entanglement-You-protect register. Three claims:
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स्त्री-पुत्रादिकीं-आदर — विषयीं-पडि-भर — हाता-धांवा-Nārāyaṇा — वासना-अनावर. Vāsanā-uncontrollable-claim. Regard remained instrī-putrādika; viṣaya is paḍibhara very-much;now run to (my) hātā, Nārāyaṇā!;this vāsanā of mine is anāvara. Family-and-viṣayas-pile-up; vāsanā-out-of-control; run-to-help.
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लोक-लाज-आड-ठाके — काज-अंतरलें. Lōka-lāja-blocks-claim. Lōka-lāja (fear-of-public-shame) comes and āḍa ṭhākē (stands in-the-way);that very kāja (work) is antaralē (interrupted).Lōka-lāja-blocks-the-bhakti-work.
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Tuka: जेथें-गोवा — तेथें-तुम्ही-सांभाळावें. Wherever-entanglement-You-protect-claim. Tuka says: wherever there is gōvā (entanglement, complication);there, You, Dēvā, must sāmbhāḷāvē. Wherever-entangled, You-protect. (Closing-petition: a general-formula — the bhakta isn't asking for a specific protection; he's asking for protection-wherever-entangled.)
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For someone today
This verse is an honest confession. Tukaram admits his attention keeps getting pulled into family concerns and sense pleasures, and his cravings feel impossible to rein in. He also admits that fear of what others will think stops him from doing the spiritual work he wants to do. Rather than promising to fix himself through sheer willpower, he simply asks God to run to his aid and to protect him wherever he finds himself entangled, not just in one crisis but in every entanglement, present and future. It is a model for prayer that does not pretend to have everything under control.
मराठी: ही ओवी एक प्रामाणिक कबुली आहे. तुकाराम मान्य करतात की त्यांचे मन सतत कुटुंब आणि विषयसुखांकडे ओढले जाते, आणि त्यांच्या वासना आवरणे अशक्य वाटते. लोक काय म्हणतील या भीतीमुळे त्यांना हवे असलेले आध्यात्मिक कार्य करता येत नाही, हेही ते कबूल करतात. स्वतःच्या इच्छाशक्तीने सुधारण्याचे आश्वासन देण्याऐवजी, ते फक्त देवाला विनंती करतात की त्याने धावत यावे आणि जिथे जिथे अडकणे होईल तिथे तिथे रक्षण करावे, फक्त एका संकटात नव्हे तर प्रत्येक गुंतागुंतीत. ही प्रार्थना स्वतःला परिपूर्ण दाखवण्याचा आव आणत नाही.
Where this applies
- Family-pulls. Samsāra.
- Vāsanā-help. Petition.
- Public-image-blocks. Lōka-lāja.
- Wherever-entangled. General-formula.