Abhanga 1574

Devotion does not need wealth or elaborate ritual; simple, sincere offerings and steady attention are enough to reach even the most unconventional divine figure.

The verse

Literal translation

What it means

Hareśvara-Śiva-ārtī. A 5-verse āratī to Śiva — among the 13 āratīs in this section, this is the Śiva-ārtī (cf. 1496-1499 earlier addresses-to-Sadāśiva). The opening: paridhāna vyāghrāmbara cidā-bhasma-lēpanā — śmaśāna krīḍā-sthaḷa tumhā jī tri-nayanā — clothing — tiger-skin; —cit-bhasma-lēpana(= consciousness-ash-smearing); —śmaśāna—play-place— for you, sir,tri-nayana. Standard Śiva-iconography: tiger-skin-clad, ash-smeared, cremation-ground-haunt, three-eyed.

The bhōḷā-Śiva-claim: udaka bēla-pattra ṭāḷī vāhilyā dēsī — āpulēm pada dāsām ṭhāva dē'ī Kailāsīm — water, bel-leaves,tāḷī(clapping) — whenoffered—you give— your ownpada—to dāsas—place— inKailāsa. Even simple offerings get rewarded with Kailāsa-residence. (= the bhōḷā-Sambhu register: easily-pleased-Śiva. Cf. 1555's Viṭhṭhala bhōḷā daivata — same theme applied to Viṭhṭhal.)

The Veda-greatness-unknown: karitō Veda stutī kīrti mukhēm āpaṇa — jāṇatām nēṇavē hō tumacēm mahimāna — Veda makesstutī,kīrtiby its own mouth; —knowing, doesn't get-known — yourmahima. Standard formula.

The Hara-Hara-roar: hara-hara vāṇī garjē prēma sañcarē angīm — rāhili dṛṣṭi caraṇīm ranga mīnalā rangīm — Hara-Hara — vāṇī — roars; — prēma — enters — body; — dṛṣṭi — stayed — at caraṇa; — ranga — merged — in ranga.The Hara-Hara-call resonates; prema enters; gaze stuck at feet; the bhakta's color merges with Śiva's.

The closing-prostration: akhaṇḍa rāhūm dyāvēm mājhēm caraṇīm citta — ghātalē sāṣṭānga māgē mastakīm hāta — unbroken — let stay — my citta — at caraṇa; — placed — sāṣṭānga (eight-limb-prostration); — behind — hand — on head.I've fully-prostrated with hand on head.

[T]

For someone today

For today: Śiva, clothed in a tiger skin, smeared with ash, dances at play in the cremation ground, three-eyed and wild; victory to Hareśvara, Pārvatī's husband, giver of liberation. Even simple offerings — water, bel leaves, and clapping hands — earn you a place in Kailāsa. The Vedas praise you endlessly, yet your greatness still can't be fully known. The cry of Hara-Hara resounds, love floods the body, my gaze stays fixed on your feet, and my very being merges into yours. Let my heart stay unbroken at your feet — I have bowed down completely, my hand upon my head.

मराठी: आजसाठी: व्याघ्रांबर परिधान केलेला, अंगाला भस्म फासलेला शिव स्मशानात लीलेने वावरतो, त्रिनेत्र आणि रांगडा. जय हरेश्वरा, पार्वतीच्या पतीचा जयजयकार असो, कैवल्यदातारा. साधं पाणी, बेलपत्र आणि टाळ्यांचा नैवेद्यसुद्धा कैलासात जागा मिळवून देतो. वेद तुझी अखंड स्तुती करतात, तरीही तुझा महिमा पूर्णपणे कळत नाही. हर हर चा जयघोष घुमतो, प्रेम अंगात संचारतं, माझी दृष्टी तुझ्या चरणांवर खिळून राहते, आणि माझा रंग तुझ्या रंगात मिसळून जातो. माझं चित्त अखंड तुझ्या चरणी राहू दे — मी साष्टांग नमस्कार घातला आहे, मस्तकावर हात ठेवून.

Where this applies

• When you feel you need expensive offerings or elaborate rituals to be truly devoted, and need reminding that simple sincerity is enough
• When you are drawn to someone who seems rough or unconventional on the outside but is deeply generous underneath
• When words and study fail to fully explain something you revere, and you turn instead to simple repeated practice
• When you ask for just one thing in your spiritual life, steady, unbroken attention, rather than many complicated goals

Related verses

• Abhanga 2467 — What looks like your whole world, like a fig to the insect living inside it, is only a tin
• Abhanga 4481 — Tukaram promises that sincerely calling on the Lord's name, knowingly or unknowingly, with
• Abhanga 4482 — Tukaram teaches that no ritual equals sincerely speaking the Lord's name, that self-center
• Abhanga 4497 — Tukaram describes a life so soaked in devotion that Krishna's presence fills every ordinar