Abhanga 1518
Piling up rules and restrictions won't earn you God's grace, but even the smallest utterance of the divine name is enough to carry you across life's ocean.
The verse
विधिनिषेधाचा भारा । तेणें दातारा नातुडेसी ॥१॥ नाम तुझें हरी । भवसागरीं तारूं तें ॥ध्रु.॥ नाहीं आणीक ध्यान । रे साधन मज चाड ॥२॥ काना मात्र वांयांविण । तुका म्हणे बिंदुलीं ॥३॥
Literal translation
Vidhi-niṣedha's bhāra — by that, Dātārā, you don't get caught. Your nāma, Hari — that is the tārūm on bhava-sāgara. No other dhyāna — sādhana relish for me. Tuka says: kāna-mātra without vāyām — by binduḷī.
मराठी: विधि-निषेधाचा — भारा; — तेणें — दातारा — नातुडेसी. नाम — तुझें — हरी; — भव-सागरीं — तारूं — तें. नाहीं — आणीक — ध्यान; — रे — साधन — मज — चाड. काना — मात्र — वांयांविण; — Tukā म्हणे — बिंदुलीं.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| विधिनिषेधाचा भारा | "of vidhi-niṣedha — bhāra (load)" |
| तेणें दातारा नातुडेसी | "by that — Dātārā (Giver) — don't get caught (nātuḍēsī)" |
| नाम तुझें हरी | "your nāma — Hari" |
| भवसागरीं तारूं तें | "in bhava-sāgara — that — is the boat (tārūm)" |
| नाहीं आणीक ध्यान | "no other — dhyāna" |
| रे साधन मज चाड | "rē — sādhana — to me — cāḍa (= relish)" |
| काना मात्र वांयांविण | "kāna-mātra — without vāyām" |
| तुका म्हणे बिंदुलीं | "Tuka says — by binduḷī (= the dot / anusvāra)" |
What it means
Vidhi-niṣedha-can't-grasp-Hari abhang. The opening: vidhi-niṣēdhācā bhārā — tēṇē Dātārā nātuḍēsī — theloadofvidhi-niṣedha; — by that —Dātārā(Giver, Hari) —doesn't get caught. Hari is not graspable by piling-up vidhi-niṣedha-load. (Compare 1515's vidhi-niṣadha-ḍōha-Deva-na-kadhīm — same theme; here the not-graspable version.)
The boat-claim: nāma tujhēm Harī — bhava-sāgarīm tārūm tēm — yournāma,Hari— inbhava-sāgara(= ocean of samsāra) —that— is theboat(tārūm). Only the name is the boat across the bhava-sāgara. (Compare 1509's nāva-aitī-baisā — boat ready, get on it; same theme.)
The exclusivity: nāhīm āṇīka dhyāna — rē sādhana maja cāḍa — no otherdhyāna; —no sādhana-relish for me.Single-pointed-dependence on nāma.
The closing-claim: kāna mātra vāyām-vīṇa — binduḷī — kāna-mātra withoutvāyām— by thebinduḷī(= theanusvāra-dot). The Devanagari-script-image: kāna (the kāna-mātra is the ā-sign / vowel-mark), vāyām (the waw / labial / extension-vāya-stroke) — and the binduḷī (= the anusvāra-dot, the smallest mark). Even just the smallest-mark of the name suffices — the bindu alone. (Striking-claim: the tiniest fraction of nāma already saves. Distinctive bhakti-formulation in script-imagery.)
[T]
For someone today
For today: the load of vidhi-niṣedha can't grasp Hari; only the name is the boat across the bhava-ocean; no other dhyāna or sādhana relish; even just the tiniest mark — a bindu — suffices.
Where this applies
- When you feel like you're failing at religious rules or rituals and think that disqualifies you from grace
- When you're overwhelmed by how many spiritual practices you feel you're supposed to do and don't know where to start
- When you want one simple, reliable practice to hold onto during hard times
- When you doubt that a small, quiet prayer or repeated name could really matter