Abhanga 1336
For today: sādhana-forms are kaḷās — but the essence is the churned butter; bhakti's gain is for the urgent-need; sāmcata-sāmcaṇī, then in one kṣaṇa, all-at-once.
The verse
साधनांच्या कळा आकार आकृति । कारण नवनीतीं मथनाचें ॥१॥ पक्षियासी नाहीं मारगीं आडताळा । अंतराक्षी फळासी चि पावे ॥ध्रु.॥ भक्तिची जोडी ते उखत्या चि साटीं । उणें पुरें तुटी तेथें नाहीं ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे आलें सांचत सांचणी । आजि जाली क्षणी एकसरें ॥३३॥
Literal translation
English: The sādhanas' kaḷās are ākāra and ākṛti — (but) the kāraṇa is in the navanīta of the mathana. For the bird, no obstruction in the path; the antara-akṣa reaches only the phala. Bhakti's jōḍī is for the ukhatya only — uṇē-purē, tuṭī are not there. Tuka says: it came as savings-by-savings — today happened in a kṣaṇa, all-at-once.
मराठी: साधनांच्या कळा — आकार-आकृति; — कारण — नवनीतीं — मथनाचें. पक्ष्यांना मार्गांत आडताळा (अडथळा) नाहीं — अंतर-अक्षीनें — फळाला-च पावतें. भक्तीची जोडी — उखत्या-च-साठीं — उणें-पुरें-तुटी — तिथें नाहीं. Tukā म्हणे — सांचत-सांचणी — आलें — आज क्षणीं — एकसरें झालें. ॥३३॥
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| साधनांच्या कळा आकार आकृति | "of sādhanas — the kaḷās — ākāra (form) and ākṛti (shape)" |
| कारण नवनीतीं मथनाचें | "the kāraṇa (cause) — is in the navanīta — of the mathana (churning)" |
| पक्षियासी नाहीं मारगीं आडताळा | "for the pakṣī (bird) — no obstruction (āḍatāḷā) in the mārga (path)" |
| अंतराक्षी फळासी चि पावे | "the antara-akṣī (inner-eye) — reaches only the phala (fruit)" |
| भक्तिची जोडी ते उखत्या चि साटीं | "bhakti's jōḍī — for the ukhatya (urgent-need) only" |
| उणें पुरें तुटी तेथें नाहीं | "uṇē-purē (lacking-or-filling) — tuṭī (break) — there are not" |
| आलें सांचत सांचणी | "(it has) come — saving by saving (sāmcata-sāmcaṇī)" |
| आजि जाली क्षणी एकसरें | "today — happened — in a kṣaṇa — all-at-once (ēkasarē)" |
| ॥३३॥ | "(numbering / sub-counting marker — exact significance varies by manuscript)" |
What it means
Sādhana-form-vs-essence abhang. The opening contrast: sādhanāncyā kaḷā ākāra ākṛti — kāraṇa navanītīm mathanācē — the kaḷās of sādhanas are ākāra-and-ākṛti (form-and-shape); (but) the kāraṇa (the essence-cause) is in the navanīta (butter) of the mathana (churning). The various sādhanas (yoga-poses, japa-counts, kīrtana-rāgas) are forms; the butter is what comes of churning — and that butter is the real cause.
The image: pakṣiyāsī nāhīm māragīm āḍatāḷā — antara-akṣī phaḷāsī chi pāvē — for the bird, no obstruction in the path; the antara-akṣa (= inner-eye / inner-precision) reaches only the phaḷa. The bird flies straight to the phaḷa (fruit) — no path-obstacles, no detours; the antara-akṣa (precise inner-aiming) gets it directly. Bhakti is bird-flight, not road-walking.
Bhakti-cī jōḍī tē ukhatyā chi sāṭīm — uṇē purē tuṭī tēthē nāhīm — bhakti's gain is for the ukhatya only; uṇē-purē (lack-or-fill), tuṭī (break) are not there. Ukhatya — the urgent-need, the thrown-open state. Bhakti's gain comes only to the open-and-needing, not to the self-contained. Where bhakti enters, no lack-or-fill (no incomplete-or-overfilled state), no break.
The closing — ālē sāmcata sāmcaṇī — āji jālī kṣaṇī ēkasarē — (it) came accumulating-saving-by-saving — today in a kṣaṇa, it happened all-at-once. The compounding: drop-by-drop (sāmcata-sāmcaṇī = saving-and-saving) over time, until in one kṣaṇa, all-at-once (ēkasarē), it manifests. The kṣaṇa-of-realization is the cumulative-result of slow-saving.
The marker ॥३३॥ at the end is an unusual numbering — likely a sub-internal counter or a manuscript-tradition's enumeration marker; it does not appear to indicate a sub-series boundary.
[T]
For someone today
For today: sādhana-forms are kaḷās — but the essence is the churned butter; bhakti's gain is for the urgent-need; sāmcata-sāmcaṇī, then in one kṣaṇa, all-at-once.
Where this applies
- Sādhana-forms-are-shape-cause-is-butter.* Sādhanāncyā-kaḷā-kāraṇa-navanītīm-mathanācē.
- Bird's-path-no-obstacle-inner-eye-to-fruit.* Pakṣiyāsī-mārga-antara-akṣī-phaḷa.
- Bhakti-for-urgent-need.* Bhakti-cī-jōḍī-ukhatyā-chi-sāṭīm.
- No-uṇē-purē-no-break.* Uṇē-purē-tuṭī-tēthē-nāhīm.
- Drop-by-drop-then-all-at-once.* Sāmcata-sāmcaṇī-kṣaṇī-ēkasarē.