संत साहित्य
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संत साहित्य · Tukārām · Abhanga 1438 of 4582

Abhanga 1438

For today: only nāma is our pramāṇa; tuck up and stand the kaivāḍa-stance — let nothing block you at the death-time; utter Hari-Hari howsoever incoherent; we have caught the nija — this is the seed of all the Purāṇas.

When you'd defend nāma against pramāṇa-pedants — only nāma is our pramāṇa; utter Hari-Hari however incoherent; this is the seed of all Purāṇas

The verse

आम्हांसी तों नाहीं आणीक प्रमाण । नामासी कारण विठोबाच्या ॥१॥ घालूनियां कास करितो कैवाड । वागों नेदीं आड किळकाळासी ॥ध्रु.॥ अबद्ध वांकडें जैशातैशा परी । वाचे हरि हरि उच्चारावें ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे आम्हां सांपडलें निज । सकळां हें बीज पुराणांचें ॥३॥

Literal translation

English: To us — no other pramāṇa — only nāma is the kāraṇa of Viṭhobā. Having tucked up, I make kaivāḍa — let nothing get in the way of kiḷa-kāḷa. Incoherent, crooked, howsoever — by the vācā, Hari Hari must be uttered. Tuka says: we have caught the nija — to all, this is the bīja of the Purāṇas.

मराठी: आम्हांसी — तों — नाहीं — आणीक — प्रमाण; — नामासी — कारण — विठोबाच्या. घालूनियां — कास — करितो — कैवाड; — वागों — नेदीं — आड — किळ-काळासी. अबद्ध — वांकडें — जैशा-तैशा — परी; — वाचे — हरि — हरि — उच्चारावें. Tukā म्हणे — आम्हां — सांपडलें — निज; — सकळां — हें — बीज — पुराणांचें.

Word-by-word gloss
Marathi Meaning
आम्हांसी तों नाहीं आणीक प्रमाण "to us — there is no other (āṇīka) — pramāṇa (valid-knowledge-means)"
नामासी कारण विठोबाच्या "to (the) nāmakāraṇa (= cause / sufficient-instrument) — of Viṭhobā"
घालूनियां कास करितो कैवाड "having tucked-up (ghālūnī kāsa) — I make (karitō) — kaivāḍa (= protection-stance / championship)"
वागों नेदीं आड किळकाळासी "let not (nēdīm) — vāgōm (= move / behave) — āḍa (in-the-way) — to kiḷa-kāḷa (= time-of-end)"
अबद्ध वांकडें जैशातैशा परी "abaddha (incoherent), vānkaḍēm (crooked), jaiśā-taiśā (= as-it-may-be)"
वाचे हरि हरि उच्चारावें "by the vācāHari Hari — must be uttered"
तुका म्हणे आम्हां सांपडलें निज "Tuka says — we have caught (sāmpaḍalēm) — the nija (= one's own / inmost-truth)"
सकळां हें बीज पुराणांचें "to all (sakaḷām) — this — is the bīja (seed) — of (the) Purāṇas"

What it means

Only-nāma-is-our-pramāṇa abhang. A direct-continuation of 1434's anti-anti-nāma polemic. The opening: āmhāmsī tōm nāhīm āṇīka pramāṇa — nāmāsī kāraṇa Viṭhōbācyāto us — there is no other (āṇīka) pramāṇa; — the nāma alone is the kāraṇa of Viṭhobā. Pramāṇa is the technical term in Indian epistemology (six classical pramāṇas: pratyakṣa, anumāna, śabda, etc.); Tuka rejects them all — for us, only nāma is pramāṇa. (= the bhakti-pramāṇa-thesis: bhakti-experience overrides all other knowing; cf. Bhāgavata-Purāṇa's bhakti-pramāṇa alongside the standard six.)

The active stance: ghālūniyām kāsa karitō kaivāḍa — vāgōm nēdīm āḍa kiḷa-kāḷāsīhaving tucked-up (the kāsa = the fold-of-the-dhoti tied at the waist for vigorous action); — I make kaivāḍa (= protection-stance); — let nothing — vāgōm (move) — āḍa (in-the-way) — to kiḷa-kāḷa (= the kāla-of-end = death-time). The kāsa-tucked-up warrior-stance: I am ready, none-shall-block-me at death-time. (= bhakti-as-warrior-stance; cf. 1410's sāvadhāna-buddhī — alert-buddhi.)

The democratization: abaddha vānkaḍēm jaiśā-taiśā parī — vācē Hari Hari uccārāvēmincoherent, crooked, however-it-may-be — by the vācā, Hari Hari — must be uttered. Don't worry about quality of the recitation — just utter it howsoever. (Compare 1433's prakaṭa pasārā jēthēm tēthēm — open public expanse, anywhere; here howsoever-incoherent.)

The closing: sāmpaḍalēm nija — sakaḷām hēm bīja purāṇāñcēwe have caught the nija (= our own / our inmost-truth); — to all, this is the bīja (seed) — of the Purāṇas. Nāma is the seed-essence of all the Purāṇa-corpus. (Compare 1421's tatva-bīja-pā'ulēm — paths-traced-by-the-truth-seed; here nāma-as-seed-of-purāṇas.)

[T]

For someone today

For today: only nāma is our pramāṇa; tuck up and stand the kaivāḍa-stance — let nothing block you at the death-time; utter Hari-Hari howsoever incoherent; we have caught the nija — this is the seed of all the Purāṇas.

Where this applies

Related verses