Abhanga 1435

Take refuge now, because whatever is born carries death as its constant companion, and true release from the endless cycle only comes when the old pattern finally breaks.

The verse

Literal translation

What it means

Time's-whorl-back-to-back abhang. The opening Time-image: kitī yā kāḷācā sōsāvā vaḷasā — lāgalā sarisā pāṭhōvāṭhīm — how much ofkāḷa'svaḷasā(= whorl / twirl / spinning-vortex) — must be borne? — stuckclosely—pāṭhōvāṭhīm(= back-to-back, one after another). The vaḷasā — kāḷa's whorl-vortex — catches the soul back-to-back (= one whirling-rebirth after another). (Compare 1416's avaghā ākāra grāsiyēlā kāḷē — Time-as-devourer; here Time-as-whorl.)

The escape: lakṣa cauryāñśīñcī karā sōḍavaṇa — righā yā śaraṇa Pāṇḍurangā — of thelakṣa-cauryāñśī(= 84-lakh species-cycle of rebirth) — makesōḍavaṇa(release); — enterśaraṇa— toPāṇḍuranga. Lakṣa cauryāñśī — the classical 84-lakh-species-rebirth-cycle; take refuge in Pāṇḍuranga to escape it.

The principle: upajalyā piṇḍā maraṇa sāngātēm — maratēm upajatēm savēm chi tēm — to theborn piṇḍa(= body) —maraṇa(death) iscompanion(sāngāta); —dying-and-being-born— gotogether. The Buddhist-jaina-warkari shared formula:birth and death are companions(= they're not separate events;they come together as a pair). (CompareBhagavad-Gītā 2.27 jātasya hi dhruvō mṛtyuḥ — for the born, death is certain.)

The closing pulley-image: Tukā mhaṇē māḷa guntalī rāhāṭīm — gāḍagyācī suṭī phuṭaliyā — Tuka says — themāḷa(= the rope with clay-pots tied along it / a rosary) — gottangled— at therāhāṭa(= thePersian-wheel pulleyused at wells); — thegāḍagā(= clay-pot)'ssuṭī(= release / freedom) — (happens) when it'sbroken(phuṭaliyā). The well-pulley image: at the Persian-wheel, a string of clay-pots turns; sometimes the māḷa gets tangled at the pulley; — the only way for the gāḍagā to be released is for the gāḍagā to break. The bhakti-meaning: the body-pot only-truly-releases when it breaks; before that, the jīva-māḷa is tangled at the kāḷa-rāhāṭa (= time's pulley). (One of Tukaram's most striking farm-village images — the rāhāṭa-māḷā-gāḍagā mechanism would be familiar to any Maharashtra villager of his time.)

[T]

For someone today

For today: how much of Time's whorl must you bear, stuck back-to-back? — take refuge in Pāṇḍuranga to escape the 84-lakh species-cycle; birth-and-death are companions; the body-pot, tangled at Time's pulley, releases only when it breaks.

Where this applies

• When you feel exhausted by repeating the same struggles or patterns over and over without any real change
• When someone close to you dies and you're forced to face that birth and death always come as a pair
• When you're looking for a reason to commit to a spiritual practice now instead of postponing it indefinitely
• When you feel trapped in a cycle, like a job, a habit, or a relationship, and wonder what it would actually take to break free

Related verses

• Abhanga 2448 — The easiest path to God is repeating divine names with love at home, right where you are,
• Abhanga 2464 — For today: Pāṇḍuranga is sukha-rūpa ; no wandering, no shaving, no sādhana-pressure ; Chan
• Abhanga 2481 — Pandharpur surpasses even the greatest pilgrimage cities because people there set aside pr
• Abhanga 2494 — Living in devotion turns an ordinary day into a festival and removes the fear of birth and