Abhanga 1551
Trust that God's mind stays fixed on you the way a grazing cow's mind stays on her calf at home, and ask to be rescued quickly, since a body left too long without care flounders like a fish pulled from water.
The verse
धेनु चरे वनांतरीं । चत्ति बाळकापें घरीं ॥१॥ तैसें करीं वो माझे आईं । ठाव देऊनि राखें पायीं ॥ध्रु.॥ न काढितां तळमळी । जिवनाबाहेर मासोळी ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे कुडी । जीवाप्राणांची आवडी ॥३॥
Literal translation
Dhēnu grazes in vanāntara — citta on bāḷaka at home. Do likewise, my āī — give me ṭhāva, keep me at pāya. Not pulled out, taḷamaḷī — fish out of jīvana (water). Tuka says: kuḍī — āvaḍī of jīva-prāṇa.
मराठी: धेनु — चरे — वनांतरीं; — चत्ति — बाळकापें — घरीं. तैसें — करीं — वो — माझे — आईं; — ठाव — देऊनि — राखें — पायीं. न — काढितां — तळमळी; — जिवना-बाहेर — मासोळी. Tukā म्हणे — कुडी; — जीवा-प्राणांची — आवडी.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| धेनु चरे वनांतरीं | "the dhēnu (cow) — grazes — in the vanāntara (deep-forest)" |
| चत्ति बाळकापें घरीं | "(her) citta — to the bāḷaka — at home" |
| तैसें करीं वो माझे आईं | "so — do — O my āī" |
| ठाव देऊनि राखें पायीं | "having given — ṭhāva — keep — at (your) pāya" |
| न काढितां तळमळी | "when not pulled out — flounders (taḷamaḷī)" |
| जिवनाबाहेर मासोळी | "out of water (jīvana) — the māsōḷī (fish)" |
| तुका म्हणे कुडी | "Tuka says — the kuḍī (= body)" |
| जीवाप्राणांची आवडी | "of jīva-prāṇa — āvaḍī (love / attachment)" |
What it means
Cow-grazing-mind-on-calf abhang. A beautiful mother-image. The opening: dhēnu carē vanāntarīm — citti bāḷakāpēm gharīm — thedhēnu(cow) — grazes — in thevana(forest); — (her)citta—on the bāḷaka(calf) — athome. The cow grazes in the forest, but her mind is on the calf at home. (Beautiful mother-image: physical-presence-in-forest, mental-presence-with-calf.)
The mother-prayer: taisēm karīm vō mājhē āīm — ṭhāva dē'ūnī rākhē pāyīm — dolikewise, O myāī(mother); —givemeṭhāva(place) —keepme at (your)pāya. Mother, do the same — give me a place and keep me at your feet. (The bhakta-as-calf request: even when you're elsewhere, keep your mind on me.)
The fish-image: na kāḍhitām taḷamaḷī — jīvanā-bāhēra māsōḷī — whennot pulled out—flounders; — out ofjīvana(water) — thefish. If not pulled out (of difficulty), the bhakta flounders like fish out of water. The pun on jīvana: water and life; out of water = out of life. Pull me out of this difficulty before I die-like-a-fish-out-of-water.
The closing-self-witness: kuḍī — jīva-prāṇāñcī āvaḍī — thekuḍī(body); — hasāvaḍī(love) — forjīva-prāṇa(life-and-breath). The body itself loves life-and-breath; I'm flopping for help while still alive.
[T]
For someone today
For today: the cow grazes in the forest, her mind on the calf at home; mother, do likewise — give me a place at your feet, keep me there; fish out of water flounders if not pulled out; the body itself loves life-and-breath.
Where this applies
- When you feel distant from God and wonder if you are still being watched over
- When you need to picture divine love as a mother's instinctive care, not a distant abstract force
- When you are in crisis and feel like you are running out of time, like a fish out of water
- When you want simple words for asking to be remembered, kept a place, and held close