Abhanga 1017
God has a long history of rescuing all kinds of people regardless of their past, and that history is reason enough to trust and seek refuge.
The verse
मागें शरणागत तारिले बहुत । म्हणती दीनानाथ तुज देवा ॥१॥ पाहिले अपराध नाहीं याती कुळ । तारिला अजामेळ गणिका भिल्ली ॥ध्रु.॥ अढळपदीं बाळ बैसविला धुरु । क्षीराचा सागरु उपमन्ये ॥२॥ गजेंद्रपशु नाडियें जळचरें । भवसिंधुपार उतरिला ॥३॥ प्रल्हाद अग्नींत राखिला जळांत । विषाचें अमृत तुझ्या नामें ॥४॥ पांडवां संकट पडतां जडभारी । त्यांचा तू कैवारी नारायणा ॥५॥ तुका म्हणे तूं या अनाथाचा नाथ । ऐकोनियां मात शरण आलों ॥६॥
Literal translation
Śaraṇāgata — saved — many — dīnā-nātha. No aparādha — yātī-kuḷa — Ajāmiḷa — Gaṇikā — Bhillī. Aḍhaḷa-pada — Dhruva — kṣīra-sāgara — Upamanyu. Gajendra-paśu — jaḷa-cara — bhava-sindhu-pāra. Prahlād — agni — jaḷa — viṣa-amrta — nāma. Pāṇḍavas — sankaṭa — jaḍa-bhārī — kaivārī — Nārāyaṇa. Tuka says: anātha-nātha — māta — śaraṇa.
मराठी: मागें शरणागत बहुत तारिले — Dēvā, संत तुज दीनानाथ म्हणती. अपराध पाहिले नाहीं — याती-कुळ — तारिला Ajāmiḷa, Gaṇikā, Bhillī. अढळ-पदीं बाळ Dhruva बैसविला — Upamanyu-स क्षीर-सागर. Gajendra-पशु, जळ-चरें नाडिये — भव-सिंधु-पार उतरिला. Prahlād अग्नींत-जळांत राखिला — तुझ्या नामें विषाचें अमृत. Pāṇḍavām-स जड-भारी संकट पडतां — Nārāyaṇā, तू त्यांचा कैवारी. Tuka म्हणे: तूं या अनाथाचा नाथ — ऐकोनियां मात शरण आलों.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| मागें शरणागत तारिले बहुत | "śaraṇāgata — saved — many" |
| म्हणती दीनानाथ तुज देवा | "dīnā-nātha" |
| पाहिले अपराध नाहीं याती कुळ | "aparādha — yātī-kuḷa — no" |
| तारिला अजामेळ गणिका भिल्ली | "Ajāmiḷa — Gaṇikā — Bhillī" |
| अढळपदीं बाळ बैसविला धुरु | "aḍhaḷa-pada — Dhruva" |
| क्षीराचा सागरु उपमन्ये | "kṣīra-sāgara — Upamanyu" |
| गजेंद्रपशु नाडियें जळचरें | "gajendra-paśu — jaḷa-cara" |
| भवसिंधुपार उतरिला | "bhava-sindhu-pāra" |
| प्रल्हाद अग्नींत राखिला जळांत | "Prahlād — agni — jaḷa" |
| विषाचें अमृत तुझ्या नामें | "viṣa-amrta — nāma" |
| पांडवां संकट पडतां जडभारी | "Pāṇḍavas — sankaṭa — jaḍa-bhārī" |
| त्यांचा तू कैवारी नारायणा | "kaivārī — Nārāyaṇa" |
| तुका म्हणे तूं या अनाथाचा नाथ | "anātha-nātha" |
| ऐकोनियां मात शरण आलों | "hearing — māta — śaraṇa" |
What it means
A you-saved-many-refuge-takers-before-saints-call-you-dīnā-nātha-didn't-look-at-fault-or-caste-saved-Ajāmiḷa-Gaṇikā-Bhillī-placed-Dhruva-on-immovable-position-gave-Upamanyu-milk-ocean-pulled-Gajendra-Prahlād-kept-in-fire-and-water-poison-became-nectar-by-your-name-Pāṇḍavas-in-trouble-you-were-their-Nārāyaṇa-protector-you-are-anātha-nātha-hearing-this-I-came-to-refuge abhang. Hearing-this-I-came-to-refuge register. The classic ślōka-style śaraṇāgata-list. Six claims, each citing puranic precedents:
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मागें-तारिले — दीनानाथ. Saved-many-saints-call-dīnā-nātha-claim. You saved manyśaraṇāgatas before;(samtas) call you dīnā-nātha (protector-of-the-helpless), Dēva.
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अपराध-याती-न-पाहिले — Ajāmiḷa-Gaṇikā-Bhillī. Saved-the-fallen-claim. You didn't look ataparādha or yātī-kuḷa;you saved Ajāmiḷa (the brāhmaṇa-fallen-into-evil-saved-by-calling-his-son's-name-Nārāyaṇa), Gaṇikā (the courtesan saved by teaching the parrot the name), Bhillī (Śabarī the tribal-woman whose half-eaten berries Rāma ate).
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Dhruva-अढळ-पद — Upamanyu-क्षीर-सागर. Dhruva-and-Upamanyu-claim. You placedbāḷaDhruva on theaḍhaḷa-pada (the immovable / pole-star position);gave Upamanyu the kṣīra-sāgara (milk-ocean — the bāḷa-sage who craved milk and was given an ocean of it).
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Gajendra-Prahlād — विष-अमृत. Gajendra-and-Prahlād-claim. Gajendra-paśu, snared by jaḷa-cara (the makara, the crocodile);you took (him) across bhava-sindhu.Prahlād kept in agni, in jaḷa;viṣabecameamrtaby yournāma.
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Pāṇḍavas-संकट — Nārāyaṇa-कैवारी. Pāṇḍavas-claim. When heavysankaṭafell on thePāṇḍavas;you were their kaivārī (champion, side-taker), Nārāyaṇā.
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Tuka: अनाथ-नाथ — मात-ऐकोनि-शरण. Hearing-this-I-came-to-refuge-claim. Tuka says: you are thisanātha-nātha;hearing this māta, (I) came to śaraṇa. (The whole list is evidence — Tuka invokes the precedents and steps in line.)
[T]
For someone today
Tukaram lists out story after story of people God rescued in the past — a fallen man, a courtesan, a tribal woman, a child, people in mortal danger — and none of them were screened for caste or worthiness first. Dhruva was given an unshakable place in the sky, Upamanyu got an entire ocean of milk, Gajendra was pulled free from a crocodile's grip, and Prahlada survived fire and water because poison turned to nectar simply through calling the divine name. When the Pandavas were in deep trouble, God stood up for them too. Tukaram says he heard all these stories, and that history is exactly why he came seeking refuge himself.
मराठी: तुकाराम इथे एका पाठोपाठ एक गोष्टी सांगतात — देवाने आधी वाचवलेले लोक: एक पतित माणूस, एक गणिका, एक आदिवासी स्त्री, एक लहान मूल, संकटात सापडलेले जीव — आणि यातल्या कोणाचीही जात किंवा योग्यता आधी तपासली गेली नाही. ध्रुवाला आकाशात अढळ स्थान मिळालं, उपमन्यूला दुधाचा सागरच मिळाला, गजेंद्राला मगरीच्या पकडीतून सोडवलं गेलं, आणि प्रल्हाद अग्नी व पाण्यातून वाचला कारण नुसतं नाव घेतल्याने विष अमृत झालं. पांडव मोठ्या संकटात असताना देव त्यांच्या बाजूने उभा राहिला. तुकाराम म्हणतात, या सगळ्या गोष्टी ऐकूनच मी शरण आलो — हा जुना इतिहासच माझा आधार आहे.
Where this applies
- Dīnā-nātha. Refuge-takers.
- Saved-the-fallen. Ajāmiḷa-Gaṇikā-Bhillī.
- Bāḷa-saved. Dhruva-Upamanyu.
- Miracle-precedents. Gajendra-Prahlād.
- Pāṇḍava-precedent. Kaivārī.
- Hearing-and-refuge. Aikōni.