Abhanga 1458
Give your whole attention to one thing you trust completely, worship nothing else, envy no one else's fame, and stop treating liberation or fear of life as more urgent than that devotion.
The verse
न पूजीं आणिकां देवां न करीं त्यांची सेवा । न मनीं या केशवाविण दुजें ॥१॥ काय उणें जालें मज तयापायीं । तें मी मागों काई कवणासी ॥ध्रु.॥ आणिकाची कीर्ती नाइकें न बोलें । चाड या विठ्ठलेंविण नाहीं ॥२॥ न पाहें लोचनीं श्रीमुखावांचूनि । पंढरी सांडूनि न वजें कोठें ॥३॥ न करीं कांहीं आस मुक्तीचे सायास । न भें संसारास येतां जातां ॥४॥ तुका म्हणे कांहीं व्हावें ऐसें जीवा । नाहीं या केशवाविण दुजें ॥५॥
Literal translation
I will not worship other Devas, will not do their sēvā — will not take to mind anything other than Keśava. What has been deficient at his feet — that I would ask of anyone? I will not hear or speak others' kīrti — no relish except for this Viṭhṭhal. I will not see anything with my eyes except the śrī-mukha — won't leave Paṇḍharī, won't go anywhere. I will not make any desire for mukti-toil — will not fear samsāra coming-and-going. Tuka says: what should be like this for the jīva — there's nothing except Keśava, no second.
मराठी: न पूजीं — आणिकां — देवां; — न करीं — त्यांची — सेवा; — न मनीं — या — केशवाविण — दुजें. काय — उणें — जालें — मज — तयापायीं? — तें — मी — मागों — काई — कवणासी? आणिकाची — कीर्ती — नाइकें — न बोलें; — चाड — या — विठ्ठलेंविण — नाहीं. न पाहें — लोचनीं — श्रीमुखावांचूनि; — पंढरी — सांडूनि — न वजें — कोठें. न करीं — कांहीं — आस — मुक्तीचे — सायास; — न भें — संसारास — येतां — जातां. Tukā म्हणे — कांहीं — व्हावें — ऐसें — जीवा; — नाहीं — या — केशवाविण — दुजें.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| न पूजीं आणिकां देवां | "I will not worship — other (āṇikām) — Devas" |
| न करीं त्यांची सेवा | "I will not do — their — sēvā" |
| न मनीं या केशवाविण दुजें | "I will not take to mind (na manīm) — except this Kēśava — (anything) dujēm (= second / other)" |
| काय उणें जालें मज तयापायीं | "what — has been deficient (uṇē jālēm) — to me — at his feet (tayā-pāyīm)?" |
| तें मी मागों काई कवणासी | "that — I — would ask (māgōm kāī) — to whom (kavaṇāsī)?" |
| आणिकाची कीर्ती नाइकें न बोलें | "others' (āṇikācī) — kīrti (fame) — I do not hear (nā'ikēm) — I do not speak (na bōlēm)" |
| चाड या विठ्ठलेंविण नाहीं | "cāḍa (= urge / relish) — except for this Viṭhṭhala — is none" |
| न पाहें लोचनीं श्रीमुखावांचूनि | "I will not see (na pāhēm) — with eyes (lōcanīm) — except the śrī-mukha (glorious face)" |
| पंढरी सांडूनि न वजें कोठें | "Paṇḍharī — having abandoned — I will not go (na vajēm) — anywhere" |
| न करीं कांहीं आस मुक्तीचे सायास | "I will not make — any āsa (desire) — of mukti's — sāyāsa (toil)" |
| न भें संसारास येतां जातां | "I will not fear (na bhē) — samsāra — coming and going" |
| तुका म्हणे कांहीं व्हावें ऐसें जीवा | "Tuka says — what should be (vhāvēm aisēm) — for (the) jīva?" |
| नाहीं या केशवाविण दुजें | "there is none — except this Kēśava — second / other" |
What it means
Single-pointed-Keśava-vow abhang. A 5-verse list of exclusion-vows, each a na (negation):
(1) na pūjīm āṇikām Devām na karīm tyāñcī sēvā — na manīm yā Kēśavāviṇa dujēm — won't worship/serve other Devas; won't take anything other than Keśava to mind. The single-deity-vow — sharper than 1430's Viṭhṭhalāvāñcūnī-vāṇī-nā'ikēm — adds the won't worship other devas explicitly.
(2) kāya uṇē jālēm maja tayā-pāyīm — tēm mī māgōm kāī kavaṇāsī — what's beendeficientat his feet — that I would ask of anyone? The self-sufficient-feet-of-Hari-argument: if Hari has supplied all, who else to ask?
(3) āṇikācī kīrtī nā'ikēm na bōlēm — cāḍa yā Viṭhṭhalēmviṇa nāhīm — won't hear or speak others' fame; no relish except Viṭhṭhal. The speech-and-ear-vow.
(4) na pāhēm lōcanīm śrī-mukhāvāñcūnī — Paṇḍharī sāṇḍūnī na vajēm kōṭhēm — won't see anything except the śrī-mukha; won't leave Paṇḍharī to go anywhere. The eye-and-foot-vow.
(5) na karīm kāhīm āsa muktīcē sāyāsa — na bhē samsārāsa yētām jātām — no desire for mukti-toil; no fear of samsāra coming-and-going. The no-mukti-no-samsāra-fear-vow. (Pairs with 1457's nakō rē hē mukti — same renunciation of mukti-as-goal.)
The closing: kāhīm vhāvēm aisēm jīvā — nāhīm yā Kēśavāviṇa dujēm — what should be like this for the jīva? — there is none except Kēśava, no second. The what-should-be phrasing acknowledges the human-desire-to-have-something; Kēśava is the only valid answer. (Compare 1421's avaghēm-bhāṇḍavala-Viṭhṭhala-ēkalā — entire capital is one Viṭhṭhal; same single-stake formulation.)
[T]
For someone today
For today: no other devas; nothing lacking at his feet; no other kīrti spoken or heard; eyes only on his face, never leave Paṇḍharī; no mukti-toil, no samsāra-fear; only Keśava, nothing else.
Where this applies
- When you find yourself pulled toward many teachers or paths at once and can't settle on one
- When you feel you are missing something and start looking outside for what you actually already have
- When you catch yourself comparing your practice to someone else's reputation or success
- When the fear of ordinary life, or the ambition to escape it through some final achievement, is crowding out simple devotion