Abhanga 1004
A diamond can be pierced by force, but the net of illusion only comes undone through devotion, not effort or cleverness.
The verse
विष्णुमय सर्व वैष्णवांसी ठावें । येरांनीं वाहावे भार माथां ॥१॥ साधनें संकटें सर्वांलागीं सीण । व्हावा लागे क्षीण अहंमान ॥ध्रु.॥ भाव हा कठीण वज्र हें भेदवे । परि न छेदवे मायाजाळ ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे वर्म भजनें चि सांपडे । येरांसी तों पडे ओस दिशा ॥३॥
Literal translation
Viṣṇu-maya — vaiṣṇavas — known — yēra — bhāra — māthā. Sādhana — sankaṭa — sīṇa — kṣīṇa — aham-māna. Bhāva — kaṭhīṇa — vajra — bhēdavē — māyā-jāḷa — no chēdavē. Tuka says: varma — bhajana — yēra — ōsa — diśā.
मराठी: विष्णु-मय सर्व — वैष्णवांसी ठावें — येरांनीं भार माथां वाहावे. साधनें, संकटें, सर्वांलागीं सीण — अहं-मान क्षीण व्हावा लागे. भाव हा कठीण — वज्र भेदवे — परि माया-जाळ छेदवे न. Tuka म्हणे: वर्म भजनें-च सांपडे — येरांसी ओस-दिशा पडे.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| विष्णुमय सर्व वैष्णवांसी ठावें | "Viṣṇu-maya — known to vaiṣṇavas" |
| येरांनीं वाहावे भार माथां | "yēra — bhāra — māthā" |
| साधनें संकटें सर्वांलागीं सीण | "sādhana — sankaṭa — sīṇa" |
| व्हावा लागे क्षीण अहंमान | "kṣīṇa — aham-māna" |
| भाव हा कठीण वज्र हें भेदवे | "bhāva — kaṭhīṇa — vajra — bhēdavē" |
| परि न छेदवे मायाजाळ | "māyā-jāḷa — chēdavē" |
| तुका म्हणे वर्म भजनें चि सांपडे | "varma — bhajana" |
| येरांसी तों पडे ओस दिशा | "yēra — ōsa — diśā" |
What it means
A all-is-Viṣṇu-maya-known-to-vaiṣṇavas-rest-carry-load-on-head-sādhanas-hardships-weariness-for-all-aham-māna-must-thin-bhāva-is-hard-diamond-can-be-pierced-but-māyā-net-cannot-be-cut-secret-key-found-only-by-bhajana-for-rest-directions-become-barren abhang. Varma-found-only-by-bhajana register. Four claims:
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विष्णु-मय-सर्व — वैष्णवांसी-ठावें — येर-भार-माथां. All-is-Viṣṇu-maya-claim. All isViṣṇu-maya (Viṣṇu-pervaded)—known to vaiṣṇavas;the yēra (rest, others) carry the bhāra (load) on their māthā (head). (For the vaiṣṇava, no load; for others, the world is heavy.)
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साधन-संकट-सर्व-सीण — अहं-मान-क्षीण. Aham-māna-must-thin-claim. Sādhanas,sankaṭas, weariness — for everyone;the aham-māna (the I-and-pride) must become kṣīṇa (thinned, wasted away). (Whatever the path, theaham-māna must thin.)
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भाव-कठीण — वज्र-भेदवे — माया-जाळ-छेदवे-न. Bhāva-hard-diamond-pierced-but-māyā-net-not-cut-claim. Bhāva is kaṭhīṇa (hard, difficult);vajra(diamond, the hardest stone)canbebhēdavē (pierced);but the māyā-jāḷa (net of māyā) cannot be chēdavē (cut). (Even diamond yields, but māyā-net does not — only bhāva can dissolve it.)
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Tuka: वर्म-भजन-सांपडे — येर-ओस-दिशा. Varma-found-only-by-bhajana-claim. Tuka says: thevarma (secret-key, the inner-mark, the clue) is found only by bhajana;for the rest, the diśā (directions) become ōsa (barren, deserted). (Without bhajana, the directions areempty — bhajana is the only way the māyā-net is cut.)
[T]
For someone today
Tukaram says that everything is pervaded by the divine, and those who live in devotion already know this, while everyone else keeps carrying the world's weight on their own heads as if it were theirs alone. No one escapes hardship and weariness along the way; whatever path you walk, your pride has to wear thin. Even a diamond can be pierced, but the tangled net of illusion cannot be cut by force or cleverness. Tukaram says there is only one key that opens it: bhajana, the practice of devotion itself. Without that, he says, every direction you turn to feels barren.
मराठी: तुकाराम म्हणतात की हे सर्व अस्तित्व परमेश्वरानेच व्यापलेले आहे, आणि जे भक्तीत रमतात त्यांना हे आधीच कळते, तर बाकीचे लोक जगाचा भार आपल्याच डोक्यावर वाहत राहतात. या वाटेवर कष्ट आणि थकवा कोणालाच चुकत नाहीत, कोणताही मार्ग असो, अहंकार झिजावाच लागतो. हिऱ्यासारखा कठीण दगडही भेदता येतो, पण मायेचे जाळे मात्र बळाने किंवा हुशारीने कापता येत नाही. तुकाराम म्हणतात की हे जाळे उकलण्याची एकच किल्ली आहे, ती म्हणजे भजन. भजनाशिवाय, ते म्हणतात, प्रत्येक दिशा ओस वाटते.
Where this applies
- Vaiṣṇava-knows. Viṣṇu-maya.
- Aham-thin. Sādhana.
- Māyā-net-uncuttable. Vajra.
- Varma-by-bhajana. Ōsa-diśā.