Abhanga 1435
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.
The verse
किती या काळाचा सोसावा वळसा । लागला सरिसा पाठोवाठीं ॥१॥ लक्ष चौर्याशीची करा सोडवण । रिघा या शरण पांडुरंगा ॥ध्रु.॥ उपजल्या पिंडा मरण सांगातें । मरतें उपजतें सवें चि तें ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे माळ गुंतली राहाटीं । गाडग्याची सुटी फुटलिया ॥३॥
Literal translation
English: How much of Time's vaḷasā must be borne? — stuck close, pāṭhōvāṭhīm. Make sōḍavaṇa of the lakṣa-cauryāñśī — enter śaraṇa to Pāṇḍuranga. To the born piṇḍa, maraṇa is sāngāta — dying-and-being-born, savēm chi tēm. Tuka says: the māḷa got tangled at the rāhāṭa — the gāḍagā's suṭī (happens) on phuṭaliyā.
मराठी: किती — या — काळाचा — सोसावा — वळसा? — लागला — सरिसा — पाठो-वाठीं. लक्ष — चौर्याशीची — करा — सोडवण; — रिघा — या — शरण — पांडुरंगा. उपजल्या — पिंडा — मरण — सांगातें; — मरतें — उपजतें — सवें — चि — तें. Tukā म्हणे — माळ — गुंतली — राहाटीं; — गाडग्याची — सुटी — फुटलिया.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| किती या काळाचा सोसावा वळसा | "how much (kitī) — of kāḷa's — vaḷasā (= twirl / whorl / spinning) — must be borne (sōsāvā)?" |
| लागला सरिसा पाठोवाठीं | "stuck (lāgalā) — closely (sarisā) — pāṭhōvāṭhīm (= back-to-back)" |
| लक्ष चौर्याशीची करा सोडवण | "of lakṣa-cauryāñśī (= 84-lakh species) — sōḍavaṇa (release) — make" |
| रिघा या शरण पांडुरंगा | "enter (righā) — śaraṇa (refuge) — to Pāṇḍuranga" |
| उपजल्या पिंडा मरण सांगातें | "to the piṇḍa born — maraṇa — (is) companion (sāngāta)" |
| मरतें उपजतें सवें चि तें | "dying — being-born — along with it (savēm chi)" |
| तुका म्हणे माळ गुंतली राहाटीं | "Tuka says — the māḷa (= rope-of-pots / rosary) — got tangled (guntalī) — at the rāhāṭa (= pulley)" |
| गाडग्याची सुटी फुटलिया | "the gāḍagā (= clay-pot)'s — suṭī (release) — (happens) when (it's) broken (phuṭaliyā)" |
What it means
Time's-whorl-back-to-back abhang. The opening Time-image: kitī yā kāḷācā sōsāvā vaḷasā — lāgalā sarisā pāṭhōvāṭhīm — how much of kāḷa's vaḷasā (= whorl / twirl / spinning-vortex) — must be borne? — stuck closely — 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 the lakṣa-cauryāñśī (= 84-lakh species-cycle of rebirth) — make sōḍavaṇa (release); — enter śaraṇa — to Pāṇḍuranga. 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 the born piṇḍa (= body) — maraṇa (death) is companion (sāngāta); — dying-and-being-born — go together. The Buddhist-jaina-warkari shared formula: birth and death are companions (= they're not separate events; they come together as a pair). (Compare Bhagavad-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 — the māḷa (= the rope with clay-pots tied along it / a rosary) — got tangled — at the rāhāṭa (= the Persian-wheel pulley used at wells); — the gāḍagā (= clay-pot)'s suṭī (= release / freedom) — (happens) when it's broken (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
- Time's-whorl-back-to-back.* Kāḷācā-vaḷasā-pāṭhōvāṭhīm.
- Refuge-in-Pāṇḍuranga-escapes-rebirth-cycle.* Lakṣa-cauryāñśī-Pāṇḍuranga-śaraṇa.
- Birth-and-death-are-companions.* Upajalyā-maraṇa-sāngātēm.
- Pot-only-releases-when-broken.* Māḷa-rāhāṭa-gāḍagā-phuṭaliyā.