Abhanga 1566
For today: you are the protector of devotion, worthy of every festival — even women and children sing hymns of praise to you. Victory to you, bearer of the Garuḍa flag — we wave the ārtī lamp before you for the sake of devotion. You became Matsya, Kūrma, Varāha, and Narasimha; you are death itself to demons, yet you stay fixed in the meditation of sages. You are the very life of life, and even Brahmā and the other gods cannot fathom your limit. Your Sudarśana disc keeps circling the house, guarding it; you take neither a childlike nor an overwhelming form, yet you remain utterly charming. You alone bring about creation, dissolution, and protection. Tuka holds firmly to your sure feet.
The verse
भक्तिप्रतिपाळक उत्सव सोहळा । मंगळें तुज गाती आबळ बाळा ॥१॥ जय देव जय देव जय गरुडध्वजा । श्रीगरुडध्वजा । आरती ओवाळूं तुज भक्तीकाजा ॥ध्रु.॥ मत्स्य कूर्म वराह नरसिंह जालासी । असुरां काळ मुणि ठाके ध्यानासी ॥२॥ जीवनां जीवन तूं चि होसी दातारा । न कळे पार ब्रम्हादिकां सुरवरां ॥३॥ सुदर्शन घरटी फिरे अवश्वरा । सकुमार ना स्थूळ होसी गोजिरा ॥४॥ उत्पत्ति प्रळय तू चि करिसी पाळण । धरूनि राहिला तुका निश्चयीं चरण ॥५॥
Literal translation
Bhakti-protector, utsava-sōhaḷa — mangaḷas sung to you by ābaḷa-bāḷa. Jaya Deva! Garuḍa-dhvajā! — we circle the ārtī to you, for bhakti-kāja. Matsya-Kūrma-Varāha-Narasimha you became — Kāla to asuras, fixed in muṇis' dhyāna. Life-of-life, you alone become, Dātāra — limit not known even to Brahmādika-sura-varas. Sudarśana circles the house vigorously — neither child-form nor gross, charming you become. Creation-dissolution, you alone do, and protection — holding, Tuka has stayed at the certain feet.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| भक्तिप्रतिपाळक उत्सव सोहळा | "bhakti-pratipāḷaka (protector) — utsava-sōhaḷā (festival-celebration)" |
| मंगळें तुज गाती आबळ बाळा | "mangaḷas — to you — sing — ābaḷa (women), bāḷa (children)" |
| जय देव जय देव जय गरुडध्वजा | "jaya Deva jaya Deva jaya Garuḍa-dhvajā" |
| आरती ओवाळूं तुज भक्तीकाजा | "ārtī — we circle (ōvāḷūm) — to you — for bhakti-kāja" |
| मत्स्य कूर्म वराह नरसिंह जालासी | "Matsya, Kūrma, Varāha, Narasimha — you became" |
| असुरां काळ मुणि ठाके ध्यानासी | "to asuras — Kāḷa; — muṇis — fix in dhyāna" |
| जीवनां जीवन तूं चि होसी दातारा | "life-of-life — you alone — become, Dātārā" |
| न कळे पार ब्रम्हादिकां सुरवरां | "doesn't know — limit — even Brahmādikas and sura-varas" |
| सुदर्शन घरटी फिरे अवश्वरा | "Sudarśana — circles the house — vigorously" |
| सकुमार ना स्थूळ होसी गोजिरा | "neither child-form nor gross-form — you become — gōjirā (charming)" |
| उत्पत्ति प्रळय तू चि करिसी पाळण | "creation, dissolution — you alone — do — protection" |
| धरूनि राहिला तुका निश्चयीं चरण | "holding — has stayed — Tuka — at niścayī-caraṇa (= certain feet)" |
What it means
Garuḍa-dhvaja-ārtī. A 5-verse Viṣṇu-ārtī — celebrating the Garuḍa-flag-bearing-Viṣṇu. Listing his avatāras (Matsya, Kūrma, Varāha, Narasimha — first four of the daśāvatāra); celebrating his Sudarśana-cakra perpetually-circling-the-house (= protecting); affirming his form-paradoxes (neither child nor gross, yet charming); and his trimūrti-functions (creation, dissolution, and protection — all done by him alone).
The ābaḷa-bāḷa-singing opening — even women-and-children sing his mangaḷa-hymns — is a touch-of-domestic-bhakti.
The closing-claim: dharūnī rāhilā Tukā niścayīm caraṇa — holding, Tuka has stayed — at theniścayī-caraṇa(= certain / determined feet). Tuka has firmly held his feet.
[T]
For someone today
For today: you are the protector of devotion, worthy of every festival — even women and children sing hymns of praise to you. Victory to you, bearer of the Garuḍa flag — we wave the ārtī lamp before you for the sake of devotion. You became Matsya, Kūrma, Varāha, and Narasimha; you are death itself to demons, yet you stay fixed in the meditation of sages. You are the very life of life, and even Brahmā and the other gods cannot fathom your limit. Your Sudarśana disc keeps circling the house, guarding it; you take neither a childlike nor an overwhelming form, yet you remain utterly charming. You alone bring about creation, dissolution, and protection. Tuka holds firmly to your sure feet.
मराठी: आजसाठी: तू भक्तीचा रक्षणकर्ता आहेस, प्रत्येक उत्सवाला पात्र आहेस — अगदी स्त्रिया आणि लहान मुलेसुद्धा तुझी मंगळगीतं गातात. गरुडध्वजा, तुझा विजय असो — भक्तीखातर आम्ही तुला आरती ओवाळतो. तू मत्स्य, कूर्म, वराह आणि नरसिंह अवतार घेतलास; असुरांसाठी तू साक्षात काळ आहेस, तरी मुनींच्या ध्यानात स्थिर राहतोस. तू जीवनाचंही जीवन आहेस, आणि ब्रह्मदेवसुद्धा तुझी सीमा जाणत नाही. तुझं सुदर्शनचक्र घराभोवती अखंड फिरत राहून रक्षण करतं; तू ना बालरूप ना स्थूल, तरी अत्यंत मोहक आहेस. उत्पत्ती, प्रलय आणि पालन हे सर्व तूच करतोस. तुका तुझ्या निश्चित चरणांना घट्ट धरून राहिला आहे.
Where this applies
- When you feel like you need special training or intelligence before you can pray or worship sincerely
- When life keeps changing shape around you and you need to trust that something steady holds it all together
- When you are frightened by cruelty in the world and need reassurance that protection is real
- When you want to keep your devotion simple and constant rather than complicated or showy