Abhanga 1577
Outer ritual matters only as far as it kindles inner attention, the breath, spirit, and heartfelt feeling that eventually needs no words or objects at all.
The verse
भक्तीचिया पोटीं बोध कांकडा ज्योती । पंचप्राण जीवें भावें ओंवाळूं आरती ॥१॥ ओंवाळू आरती माझ्या पंढरीनाथा । दोन्ही कर जोडोनि चरणीं ठेवीन माथा ॥ध्रु.॥ काय महिमा वर्णू आतां सांगणें तें किती । कोटि ब्रम्हहत्या मुख पाहतां जाती ॥२॥ राही रखुमाईं दोही दों बाही । मयूर पिच्छचामरें ढाळिति ठायीं ठायीं ॥३॥ तुका म्हणे दीप घेऊनि उन्मनति शोभा । विटेवरी उभा दिसे लावण्यगाभा ॥४॥ ॥१३॥
Literal translation
In bhakti's belly, bōdha is the kānkaḍā-jyōti — pañca-prāṇa, jīva, bhāva, let us circle the ārtī. Let me circle the ārtī to my Paṇḍharī-nātha — both hands joined, I will place my head at his feet. What mahimā shall I describe now — telling how much? Kōṭi Brahma-hatyās go away by seeing the mukha. Rāhī, Rakhumāī, both at his two arms — peacock-feather cāmaras fan here and there. Tuka says: taking the lamp, unmanati śōbhā — standing on the brick, lāvaṇya-gābha appears.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| भक्तीचिया पोटीं बोध कांकडा ज्योती | "in (the) bhakti's pōṭa (belly) — bōdha — kānkaḍā-jyōti (bread-on-spike-flame)" |
| पंचप्राण जीवें भावें ओंवाळूं आरती | "five-prāṇas, jīva, bhāva — let us circle — the ārtī" |
| ओंवाळू आरती माझ्या पंढरीनाथा | "let me circle the ārtī — to my Paṇḍharī-nātha" |
| दोन्ही कर जोडोनि चरणीं ठेवीन माथा | "both hands joined — at (the) feet — I will place — my head" |
| काय महिमा वर्णू आतां सांगणें तें किती | "what mahimā — shall I describe — now — telling — how much" |
| कोटि ब्रम्हहत्या मुख पाहतां जाती | "kōṭi Brahma-hatyās — mukha — seeing — go away (jātī)" |
| राही रखुमाईं दोही दों बाही | "Rāhī Rakhumāī — both — at (the) two arms" |
| मयूर पिच्छचामरें ढाळिति ठायीं ठायीं | "peacock-feather-cāmaras — they fan — here-and-there" |
| तुका म्हणे दीप घेऊनि उन्मनति शोभा | "Tuka says — taking — the lamp — rising into unmana — śōbhā" |
| विटेवरी उभा दिसे लावण्यगाभा | "on (the) brick — standing — appears — lāvaṇya-gābha (beauty-pith)" |
What it means
Closing-Pāṇḍuranga-ārtī. The 13-āratī cluster closes here at marker ॥१३॥. A 4-verse closing-ārtī to Paṇḍharī-nātha.
The opening: bhaktīciyā pōṭīm bōdha kānkaḍā jyōtī — pañca-prāṇa jīvē bhāvē ōmvāḷūm āratī — in bhakti's pōṭa (= belly / interior), bōdha is the kānkaḍā-jyōti (bread-on-spike-flame); pañca-prāṇa, jīva, bhāva — let us circle the ārtī. Kānkaḍā = the bread-on-a-spike used as a torch; bhakti's interior holds the bōdha-flame as the torch. The circling-instruments are internal: five prāṇas, jīva, bhāva — not external lamps, but one's own life-breath, soul, and heart-feeling.
The dhṛuva-line: ōmvāḷūm āratī mājhyā Paṇḍharī-nāthā — dōnhī kara jōḍōni caraṇīm ṭhēvīna māthā — let me circle the ārtī to my Paṇḍharī-nātha — both hands joined, I will place my head at the feet. The two-handed-namaskāra-and-head-at-feet — the ultimate-prostration.
The mahimā-claim: kāya mahimā varṇūm ātām sāngaṇēm tēm kitī — kōṭi Brahma-hatyā mukha pāhātām jātī — what mahimā can I describe — telling how much?; — kōṭi Brahma-hatyās go away by seeing the mukha. The kōṭi-Brahma-hatyā (= ten million Brahmin-killings) expiation-claim — the most extreme of all sins; seeing the mukha alone removes them. (This same line recurs across Tukaram's expiation-corpus.)
The flanking-consorts: Rāhī Rakhumāīm dōhī dōm bāhī — mayūra-piccha-cāmarēm ḍhāḷiti ṭhāyīm ṭhāyīm — Rāhī, Rakhumāī, both at his two arms; peacock-feather cāmaras fan here-and-there. The Paṇḍharī-iconography: Rāhī-Rakhumāī flanking on either side; peacock-feather fly-whisks fanning.
The closing-image: Tukā mhaṇē dīpa ghē'ūni unmanati śōbhā — viṭē-vari ubhā disē lāvaṇya-gābhā — Tuka says: taking the lamp, the śōbhā rises into unmana; — standing on the brick (viṭē-vari), appears the lāvaṇya-gābha (beauty-pith). Unmana = the trans-mental state; viṭē-vari ubhā = the brick-standing Viṭṭhal of Paṇḍharpur; lāvaṇya-gābha = the beauty-pith. When the lamp is raised, the śōbhā-rises-into-unmana — and on the brick stands the beauty-pith. The ārtī-cycle closes with the Paṇḍharī-Viṭṭhal-image — the brick-standing-Lord.
Marker ॥१३॥ — closes the 13-āratī cluster (1565-1577). The 13 ārtīs cover: Pāṇḍuranga, Bhairava, Kālabhairava, Khaṇḍobā/Mhāḷasā, Datta, Hanumanta-Lakṣmaṇa-Rāma-Sītā, Janārdana, Kṛṣṇa, Vibhūti-Tukayā-bandhu (1568-69), Pāṇḍuranga-Lakṣmī-kānta, Kṛṣṇa-nātha, Catur-bhuja, Bāla-Kṛṣṇa, Hareśvara-Śiva, Gaṇa-pati, Pāṇḍuranga (1576), and this closing-Pāṇḍuranga-ārtī.
[T]
For someone today
For today: in bhakti's belly, the bōdha is the bread-on-spike flame; with five-prāṇas, jīva, and heart-feeling, let us circle the ārtī to my Paṇḍharī-nātha — both hands joined, head placed at his feet; what mahimā shall I describe now? — kōṭi Brahma-hatyās go away by merely seeing his face; Rāhī and Rakhumāī flank both his arms, peacock-feather cāmaras fan him here and there; Tuka says: taking the lamp, the śōbhā rises into unmana — and on the brick stands the beauty-pith of Paṇḍharī-Viṭṭhal.
Where this applies
- When you go through a ritual or routine and realize its real value is the inner attention it creates, not the outer motions
- When you feel too small or wordless to properly thank someone or something that has meant everything to you
- When looking honestly at your own failings, and something like real love or forgiveness dissolves the weight of them
- When a practice you do regularly finally quiets your mind past the point of needing words at all