Abhanga 1516
For today: we Viṣṇu-dāsas swing the cloth in the world — we don't let pāpa-puṇya touch our body; nirbhara always in the antara, since Deva took the entire load; the all-Constructor's power is ours, his marked-servants'; we don't even see anything other than Deva.
The verse
पटे ढाळूं आम्ही विष्णुदास जगीं । लागों नेदूं अंगीं पापपुण्य ॥१॥ निर्भर अंतरीं सदा सर्वकाळ । घेतला सकळ भार देवें ॥ध्रु.॥ बळिवंत जेणें रचिलें सकळ । आम्हां त्याचें बळ अंकितांसी ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे आम्ही देखत चि नाहीं । देवाविण कांहीं दुसरें तें ॥३॥
Literal translation
Paṭē-ḍhāḷūm — we Viṣṇu-dāsas — in the jaga; we don't let pāpa-puṇya touch the body. Nirbhara in antara, sadā sarva-kāḷa — Deva took sakaḷa-bhāra. The baḷivanta who racilēm sakaḷa — his baḷa is for us, his ankita-s. Tuka says: we don't even see — anything other than Deva.
मराठी: पटे — ढाळूं — आम्ही — विष्णु-दास — जगीं; — लागों — नेदूं — अंगीं — पाप-पुण्य. निर्भर — अंतरीं — सदा — सर्व-काळ; — घेतला — सकळ — भार — देवें. बळिवंत — जेणें — रचिलें — सकळ; — आम्हां — त्याचें — बळ — अंकितांसी. Tukā म्हणे — आम्ही — देखत — चि — नाहीं; — देवा-विण — कांहीं — दुसरें — तें.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| पटे ढाळूं आम्ही विष्णुदास जगीं | "paṭa (cloth) — we swing (ḍhāḷūm) — we Viṣṇu-dāsas — in the jaga" |
| लागों नेदूं अंगीं पापपुण्य | "we don't allow (nēdūm) — touch (lāgōm) — to (the) body — pāpa-puṇya" |
| निर्भर अंतरीं सदा सर्वकाळ | "nirbhara (= filled / un-burdened) — in (the) antara — always — sarva-kāḷa" |
| घेतला सकळ भार देवें | "taken — entire (sakaḷa) — bhāra (load) — by Deva" |
| बळिवंत जेणें रचिलें सकळ | "the baḷivanta (mighty) — by whom — constructed (racilēm) — entire" |
| आम्हां त्याचें बळ अंकितांसी | "to us — his — baḷa (power) — to (his) ankitas (= marked / servants)" |
| तुका म्हणे आम्ही देखत चि नाहीं | "Tuka says — we — do not see at all (dēkhata chi nāhīm)" |
| देवाविण कांहीं दुसरें तें | "except Deva — anything — other — that" |
What it means
Viṣṇu-dāsa-confidence-portrait abhang. The opening paṭē-ḍhāḷūm image: paṭē ḍhāḷūm āmhī Viṣṇu-dāsa jagīm — lāgōm nēdūm angīm pāpa-puṇya — weswing the paṭa(cloth / banner) — weViṣṇu-dāsas — in thejaga; — wedon't let—pāpa-puṇya—touchthe body. The paṭa-ḍhāḷūm — swinging-the-cloth-as-a-flag — the bhakta-warrior's banner-swing. (Compare 1488's vīra-juñjhāra-portrait; 1493's juñjhāra-Viṣṇu-dāsa; this is a third in the series. Pāpa-puṇya don't touch — same theme as 1493.)
The internal-state: nirbhara antarīm sadā sarva-kāḷa — ghētalā sakaḷa bhāra Devēm — nirbhara — in the antara — always — sarva-kāḷa; — Deva took — the entire load. Nirbhara puns: un-burdened + fully-laden — both work — we are fully filled / fully unburdened in our interior, always; because Deva took the entire load. (Compare 1406's kaḍē-baisōm-tēṇēm-asōm-nirbhara — sit on hip, be nirbhara; same theme.)
The power-borrowing: baḷivanta jēṇē racilēm sakaḷa — āmhām tyācēm baḷa ankitāmsī — themighty one— by whom —constructed— entire; — to us —his power— for (us his)ankitas (= servants). TheConstructor-of-all's power is at our disposal because we are his marked-servants. (= classical bhakta-borrowing-divine-power; cf. 1495's Hari-as-bhakta's-debtor — same Hari-aligned-with-bhakta theme.)
The closing-claim: āmhī dēkhata chi nāhīm — Devāvīṇa kāhīm dusarēm — we —don't even see—anything—other— exceptDeva. Strong: we don't perceive anything-non-Hari at all. (Compare 1503's jēm-jēm-bhēṭē-mī-aisēm — same sarva-bhūta-sama-darśana, here applied as only-Deva-perception.)
[T]
For someone today
For today: we Viṣṇu-dāsas swing the cloth in the world — we don't let pāpa-puṇya touch our body; nirbhara always in the antara, since Deva took the entire load; the all-Constructor's power is ours, his marked-servants'; we don't even see anything other than Deva.
Where this applies
- When you're carrying guilt or self-righteousness about your past mistakes or good deeds
- When you feel crushed by responsibilities and wish you could hand some of the weight to something bigger than yourself
- When you face a difficult challenge and need to draw on strength beyond your own
- When you catch yourself judging the world as split into sacred and ordinary instead of seeing it as whole