Abhanga 1186
A deer that hears the hunter's flute stands still, so lost in the sound that it never sees the arrow coming. Tukārām holds this up as the picture of true devotion: when your mind is fully absorbed in nāma, in the sound of the divine name, even the arrow of time and death loses its power to frighten you. The lesson isn't about being careless — it's about how complete absorption in something beloved can quiet fear itself. Find what draws your attention so fully that worry falls away, and let that absorption become your practice.
The verse
बान न देखे मिरगा रे । चित्त मिलाया नाद ॥१॥
Literal translation
Bāna na dēkhē miragā — citta milāyā nāda.
मराठी: मृग बाण पाहत नाहीं — चित्त नादांत मिळून गेलें.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi/Hindi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| बान न देखे मिरगा रे | "bāna na dēkhē miragā" |
| चित्त मिलाया नाद | "citta milāyā nāda" |
What it means
Sākhyā 19 of 30 — famous miragā-nāda image, shared across bhakti traditions. The deer doesn't see the arrow — its citta is melted into the nāda (the hunter's flute-sound). The bhakta absorbed in Rāma-nāda forgets even the arrow of kāla — the very image of one-pointed devotion.
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For someone today
A deer that hears the hunter's flute stands still, so lost in the sound that it never sees the arrow coming. Tukārām holds this up as the picture of true devotion: when your mind is fully absorbed in nāma, in the sound of the divine name, even the arrow of time and death loses its power to frighten you. The lesson isn't about being careless — it's about how complete absorption in something beloved can quiet fear itself. Find what draws your attention so fully that worry falls away, and let that absorption become your practice.
मराठी: हरणाला शिकाऱ्याच्या बासरीचा सूर इतका मोहवून टाकतो की समोर येणारा बाण त्याला दिसतच नाही. तुकाराम महाराज हेच खरी भक्तीचे रूप सांगतात — जेव्हा मन पूर्णपणे नामाच्या नादात विरघळून जाते, तेव्हा काळाचा बाणही भय निर्माण करू शकत नाही. हे निष्काळजीपणाबद्दल नाही, तर एखाद्या प्रिय गोष्टीत इतके तल्लीन होण्याबद्दल आहे की भीतीच उरत नाही. जे तुमचे मन असे पूर्णपणे व्यापून टाकते, तेच शोधा आणि तिथेच तुमची साधना बनवा.
Where this applies
- When you are so absorbed in prayer or chanting that outside worries simply stop registering
- When fear of the future keeps intruding and you need something to hold your full attention
- When you notice that half-hearted focus leaves you exposed to every passing anxiety
- When you're searching for a practice that could genuinely quiet your mind rather than just distract it