Abhanga 1222
Hold firmly to what you love and refuse to be bought off with small consolations or even everything else, because only the real presence of what you seek will satisfy you.
The verse
आम्ही जाणों तुझा भाव । दृढ धरियेले पाव ॥१॥ फांकुं नेदूं चुकावितां । नेघों थोडें बहु देतां ॥ध्रु.॥ बहुता दिसाचें लिगाड । आलें होत होत जड ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे आतां । नेघें सर्वस्व ही देतां ॥३॥
Literal translation
We know your bhāva — we have grasped your feet firmly. We won't let you slip aside by deceiving — won't take a little when much is given. Many days' entanglement has become heavy and heavy. Tuka says: now I won't take — even if you give sarvasva.
मराठी: आम्ही तुझा भाव जाणतो — दृढ-च तुझे पाव धरले. फांकुन (पळून) चुकविणें-नेदुं — थोडें-च देतां — आम्हीं घेणार नाहीं — बहु देणें असेल तेव्हां-च. बहुत दिवसांचें लिगाड — होत-होत जड झालें. Tukā म्हणे — आतां — सर्वस्व देखील दिलेंस तरी घेणार नाहीं.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| आम्ही जाणों तुझा भाव | "we know (jāṇōm) your bhāva" |
| दृढ धरियेले पाव | "firmly (dṛḍha) we have grasped (your) feet (pāva)" |
| फांकुं नेदूं चुकावितां | "we won't let (you) phānkum (separate-out, slip aside) by deceiving" |
| नेघों थोडें बहु देतां | "won't take (nēghōm) thōḍēm (a little) when much is given" |
| बहुता दिसाचें लिगाड | "(of) many days the ligāḍa (entanglement / debt-tie)" |
| आलें होत होत जड | "became (ālēm) heavy and heavy (jaḍa)" |
| आतां नेघें सर्वस्व ही देतां | "now I won't take even if sarvasva is given" |
What it means
Determined-bhakta-against-Hari's-slip-tricks. The bhakta has caught Hari at his own game. Phānkum nēdūm cukāvitām — we won't let you side-step by deceiving. Nēghōm thōḍē bahu dētām — won't accept a tiny gift when much is owed.
The closing twist is masterly: bahuta disācēm ligāḍa ālēm hōta hōta jaḍa — the entanglement (Hari's debt to the bhakta) has piled up over many days, become heavy. So now, ātām nēghē sarvasva hī dētām — now I won't take even if you give sarvasva (everything). The bhakta has flipped the table: he's no longer asking for kṛpā, he's refusing it. Why? Because the long-overdue accounts have made the relationship itself the thing — Hari's bhāva has been seen through, his slip-trick noted, and the bhakta refuses now even the grand-final-payment. Only Hari himself, present in person, will satisfy.
This is the bhakta's leverage: turn down sarvasva, demand only the Deva himself.
[T]
For someone today
For today: don't accept Hari's small consolations when the debt is large; hold the feet firmly; finally, refuse even sarvasva — only his presence will do.
Where this applies
- When someone offers you a small consolation instead of the real commitment or follow-through you were owed
- When you have stayed loyal to a person, goal, or practice for years and refuse to settle for less now
- When you realize that money, gifts, or apologies cannot replace the real presence of someone you actually want back
- When you are tempted to accept a lesser compromise after investing so much time into something that truly matters