Abhanga 1565
Free of puṇya-pāpa, lord of all — draṣṭā, yet alipta-gati like a naḷaṇī.
The verse
पुण्यपापविरहित सकळां अधिपति । दृष्टा परि नळणी अलिप्त गति ॥१॥ जय देव जय देव जय पंढरिनाथा । श्रीपंढरिनाथा । नुरे पाप विठ्ठल म्हणतां सर्वथा ॥ध्रु.॥ नेणतां विधियुक्त राते पूजेनी । न माये ब्रम्हांडीं संपुष्टशयनीं ॥२॥ भक्ता शरणागता चाले तो पुढें । दावी वाट जाऊ नेदी वांकडे ॥३॥ तेथें नरनारी कवण बाळकें । काय पापपुण्य कवण सुखदुःखें ॥४॥ जाणों म्हणतां तुज टकलीं बहुतेकें । तुका म्हणे शरण आलों मज राखें ॥५॥
Literal translation
Free of puṇya-pāpa, lord of all — draṣṭā, yet alipta-gati like a naḷaṇī. Jaya Deva! Pāṇḍharī-nāthā! No pāpa remains when one says Viṭhṭhala at all. Not knowing the vidhi-yukta night-pūjā — yet doesn't fit in Brahmāṇḍa on his coiled-couch. To the śaraṇāgata bhakta, he walks ahead — shows the path, doesn't let one go crookedly. There, what nara-nārī, what bāḷaka, what pāpa-puṇya, sukha-duḥkha? Many claiming to know you have been ṭakalīm — Tuka says: I have come in refuge, protect me.
मराठी: पुण्य-पाप-विरहित — सकळां — अधिपति; — दृष्टा — परि — नळणी — अलिप्त — गति. जय — देव — जय — देव — जय — पंढरि-नाथा; — श्री-पंढरि-नाथा; — नुरे — पाप — विठ्ठल — म्हणतां — सर्वथा. नेणतां — विधि-युक्त — राते — पूजेनी; — न — माये — ब्रम्हांडीं — संपुष्ट-शयनीं. भक्ता — शरणागता — चाले — तो — पुढें; — दावी — वाट — जाऊ — नेदी — वांकडे. तेथें — नर-नारी — कवण — बाळकें? — काय — पाप-पुण्य — कवण — सुख-दुःखें? जाणों — म्हणतां — तुज — टकलीं — बहुतेकें; — Tukā म्हणे — शरण — आलों — मज — राखें.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| पुण्यपापविरहित सकळां अधिपति | "free of puṇya-pāpa — adhipati (lord) of all" |
| दृष्टा परि नळणी अलिप्त गति | "draṣṭā — yet — naḷaṇī (= quill / reed-tube — passes-through-without-touching) — alipta (unattached) — gati (gait)" |
| जय देव जय देव जय पंढरिनाथा | "jaya Deva jaya Deva jaya Paṇḍharī-nātha!" |
| नुरे पाप विठ्ठल म्हणतां सर्वथा | "no remainder (nurē) of pāpa — when (one) says Viṭhṭhala — at all" |
| नेणतां विधियुक्त राते पूजेनी | "not knowing — vidhi-yukta (prescribed) — by night-pūjā (= rāte-pūjā)" |
| न माये ब्रम्हांडीं संपुष्टशयनीं | "doesn't fit (māyē) — in Brahmāṇḍa — on the sampuṣṭa-śayana (= coiled-couch / Śeṣa)" |
| भक्ता शरणागता चाले तो पुढें | "bhakta — śaraṇāgata — walks — that one — ahead" |
| दावी वाट जाऊ नेदी वांकडे | "shows — path; — does not let — go — crookedly" |
| तेथें नरनारी कवण बाळकें | "there — what nara-nārī (men, women) — child?" |
| काय पापपुण्य कवण सुखदुःखें | "what pāpa-puṇya, sukha-duḥkha?" |
| जाणों म्हणतां तुज टकलीं बहुतेकें | "saying — they know — you — thrown-down (ṭakalīm) — many" |
| तुका म्हणे शरण आलों मज राखें | "Tuka says — I have come — in refuge — protect me" |
What it means
Pāṇḍharī-nātha-ārtī. Āratī genre: a 5-verse invocational-hymn for the closing of pūjā / ārati-tray-circling. Classical-pattern: jaya-deva-jaya-deva-jaya-X-deity refrain after each verse.
The opening theological-formula: puṇya-pāpa-virahita sakaḷām adhipati — draṣṭā parī naḷaṇī alipta gati — free of puṇya-pāpa, lord of all; —draṣṭā(witness) — yet —naḷaṇī(= reed-tube)-like —alipta(unattached) gait. Naḷaṇī — the reed-tube through which something passes-without-touching — Hari witnesses-without-being-affected.
The refrain-line: jaya Deva jaya Deva jaya Paṇḍharī-nāthā — nurē pāpa Viṭhṭhala mhaṇatām sarvathā — Jaya Deva! Pāṇḍharī-nāthā! — No pāpa remains when (one) says Viṭhṭhala at all. (Compare 1483's uccārāvīm-vācē-nāma — same nāma-power, here as ārtī-acclaim.)
The middle: nēṇatām vidhi-yukta rātē pūjēnī — na māyē Brahmāṇḍī sampuṣṭa-śayanī — whether (one)knowsthevidhi-yukta(prescribed) —night-pūjā(rātē-pūjā / night-watch-pūjā); — (Hari) doesn'tfitin Brahmāṇḍa — on hissampuṣṭa-śayana(= coiled-couch = Śeṣa-couch). Whether the rātē-pūjā is properly-performed or not, Hari is in his cosmic-form, on Śeṣa-the-coiled-serpent.
The protective-promise: bhaktā śaraṇāgatā cālē tō puḍhēm — dāvī vāṭa jā'ū nēdī vānkaḍē — for theśaraṇāgata-bhakta, he walksahead; — shows thepath, doesn't let (one)go crookedly. Hari leads from-the-front; doesn't let the bhakta deviate.
The transcendence-claim: tēthēm nara-nārī kavaṇa bāḷakēm — kāya pāpa-puṇya kavaṇa sukha-duḥkhē — there —what man-woman-child? —what pāpa-puṇya, sukha-duḥkha?. In Hari's domain, no gendered-or-categorical distinctions remain.
The closing-prayer: jāṇōm mhaṇatām tuja ṭakalīm bahutēkēm — śaraṇa ālōm maja rākhē — many —saying"I know" — have beenthrown-down; — Tuka says —I have come—in refuge—protect me. Many know-it-alls have been thrown-down; I just take refuge — protect me.
[T]
For someone today
For today: Hari is free of merit-and-sin, lord of all, witness yet unattached; saying Viṭhṭhala leaves no sin-remainder; he doesn't fit in the cosmos on his coiled-couch; he walks ahead of the refugee-bhakta and shows the path; in his domain, no man-woman-child distinction, no pāpa-puṇya-sukha-duḥkha; many claiming to know have been thrown-down — I take refuge; protect me.
Where this applies
- When you feel too burdened by past mistakes to believe you deserve forgiveness or peace
- When you are trying hard to prove your spiritual knowledge instead of simply asking for help
- When you feel lost and need to know that guidance will walk ahead of you, not just wait for you to arrive
- When social labels like man, woman, or child seem to define your worth, and you need a reminder that none of that matters in the end
- When you finally stop pretending to have all the answers and simply say I need help