Abhanga 1415

Complete devotion is not a single act but a steady, unbroken offering of your words and your whole life together.

The verse

Literal translation

What it means

Speech-given-over-jīva-as-pūrṇāhuti abhang. A self-portrait of the bhajana-state. The opening: samarpilī vāṇī — Pāṇḍurangīm ghētē dhaṇī — thevāṇī(speech) — issamarpilī(given-over); — atPāṇḍuranga—taking dhaṇī(= satisfaction / fill). The vāṇī — samarpita to Pāṇḍuranga — is taking its fill there (= the speech finds its satisfaction in being handed-over).

The pūjā-image: pūjā hōtē muktā-phaḷīm — rasa ōviyā mangaḷīm — pūjā is happening throughmuktā-phala(= pearl-fruits = pearls); —rasa(juice) — throughōvīs — at themangaḷa(= auspicious-event / festival). The abhanga-words themselves are pearl-fruits; the rasa (juice / aesthetic-essence) flows in ōvī-form at the mangaḷa (= the sacred-festive moment of bhajana). (The abhanga as muktā-phala-pūjā — the speech-flow itself is the act of worship.)

The current-image: dhāra akhaṇḍita — ōgha cāliyēlā nita — thedhāra(= stream / abhiṣēka-flow) —akhaṇḍita(unbroken); — theōgha(current) — has been flowing —nita(= ever / continuously). The speech-stream is an unbroken abhiṣēka over the deity — it never stops. (Compare 1396's dīpa hātīm avaghēm barēm — lamp-in-hand; here the speech-stream-as-unbroken-abhiṣēka.)

The yajña-image: pūrṇāhuti jīvēm — Tukā ghē'ūnī ṭhēlā bhāvēm — thepūrṇāhuti(= the final-oblation that consummates a yajña) — by thejīva(= life-itself); — Tuka — havingtaken (it) up— hasstood— bybhāva. The pūrṇāhuti — the crowning oblation in a yajña — is the bhakta's own jīva. Tuka stands with that pūrṇāhuti in his hand, ready by bhāva. (Compare 1330's jīva-prāṇa-aniyā-vāhilā — life-and-prāṇa offered up; here the same offering as pūrṇāhuti.)

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For someone today

For today: speech given over to Pāṇḍuranga takes its satisfaction there; pearl-pūjā with ōvī-rasa at the mangaḷa; unbroken speech-stream as continuous abhiṣēka; the jīva itself is the pūrṇāhuti — stand with bhāva.

Where this applies

• When you sing, chant, or pray and feel your words finally settle into place instead of feeling empty
• When you want your daily practice to feel like a steady flow rather than a one time effort you check off
• When you wonder what it truly means to give yourself completely to something you love, not just your time
• When you are searching for a way to make ordinary speech or song feel sacred and unbroken

Related verses

• Abhanga 4481 — Tukaram promises that sincerely calling on the Lord's name, knowingly or unknowingly, with
• Abhanga 4482 — Tukaram teaches that no ritual equals sincerely speaking the Lord's name, that self-center
• Abhanga 3829 — Pundalika's total devotion to serving his parents was so powerful that God himself stood w
• Abhanga 4080 — True trust removes fear of death and of others' opinions, turns hard effort into joyful pl