Abhanga 1547
Hold God's form quietly in your mind and let your tongue keep repeating the name; that simple practice reaches the one who purifies the fallen and cares for every living being.
The verse
पतितपावना । दिनानाथा नारायणा ॥१॥ तुझें रूप माझे मनीं । राहो नाम जपो वाणी ॥ध्रु.॥ ब्रम्हांडनायका । भक्तजनाच्या पाळका ॥२॥ जीवांचिया जीवा । तुका म्हणे देवदेवा ॥३॥
Literal translation
Patita-pāvana — Dīna-nāthā Nārāyaṇa. Your rūpa in my mana — let it stay; let vāṇī jap nāma. Brahmāṇḍa-nāyakā — pāḷaka of bhakta-jana. Jīvāñciyā jīvā — Tuka says — Deva-Deva.
मराठी: पतित-पावना; — दिना-नाथा — नारायणा. तुझें — रूप — माझे — मनीं; — राहो — नाम — जपो — वाणी. ब्रम्हांड-नायका; — भक्त-जनाच्या — पाळका. जीवांचिया — जीवा; — Tukā म्हणे — देव-देवा.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| पतितपावना | "Patita-pāvana (= purifier of the fallen)" |
| दिनानाथा नारायणा | "Dīna-nātha — Nārāyaṇa" |
| तुझें रूप माझे मनीं | "your rūpa — in my mana" |
| राहो नाम जपो वाणी | "let it stay (rāhō); — nāma — let vāṇī — jap" |
| ब्रम्हांडनायका | "Brahmāṇḍa-nāyakā (= king of the cosmic-egg)" |
| भक्तजनाच्या पाळका | "pāḷaka — of bhakta-jana" |
| जीवांचिया जीवा | "jīva — of jīvas (= life-of-the-living)" |
| तुका म्हणे देवदेवा | "Tuka says — Deva-Deva" |
What it means
Stotra-style-prayer abhang. The simplest of forms — a recitation-style chain of epithets. The opening: Patita-pāvanā — Dīna-nāthā Nārāyaṇā — Purifier-of-the-fallen — Lord-of-the-lowly — Nārāyaṇa. Three classical epithets stacked.
The mind-mouth prayer: tujhēm rūpa mājhē manīm — rāhō nāma japō vāṇī — yourrūpa— in mymana— let it stay; —nāma— letvāṇī—jap(= recite). Form-in-mind, name-on-tongue — the dual-bhakti-form.
The next-pair: Brahmāṇḍa-nāyakā — bhakta-janācyā pāḷakā — King-of-Brahmāṇḍa — Protector-of-bhakta-people. Cosmic-king + bhakta-protector — the macro-and-micro-functions of Hari.
The closing-summit: jīvāñciyā jīvā — Tukā mhaṇē Deva-Devā — Life-of-the-jīva — Tuka says — Deva-of-Devas. Inner-life-of-life + supreme-Deva — innermost-and-highest at once.
This abhang serves as a minimal-stotra-template — Patita-pāvana → Dīna-nātha → Nārāyaṇa → Brahmāṇḍa-nāyaka → bhakta-pāḷaka → jīva-of-jīvas → Deva-Deva. The simplest possible bhakti-prayer: just-a-string-of-name-epithets with the dual-bhakti-form-and-name-mind-and-mouth request.
[T]
For someone today
For today: Purifier-of-fallen, Lord-of-lowly, Nārāyaṇa; let your form stay in my mind, let my mouth recite your name; King-of-Brahmāṇḍa, Protector-of-bhaktas; Life-of-jīvas, Deva-of-Devas.
Where this applies
- When you feel too flawed or fallen and wonder if grace is still open to you
- When you want a simple daily prayer without elaborate ritual or philosophy
- When your mind is scattered and you need one image and one name to hold onto
- When you feel unprotected or alone and need to remember you are cared for