Abhanga 1578
For today: blessed the day — today the saints' darśana came; in their very house dwells the Paṇḍharī-deity; how samsāra itself has become puṇya-rūpa — between Deva and bhakta there's no second consideration; my prior puṇya truly brought it — by much fortune the saints' darśana happened; blessed for us, the yoking is yoked — the saints' feet now, with my very life I will not let go.
The verse
धन्य दिवस आजि दरुषण संतांचें । नांदे तया घरीं दैवत पंढरीचें ॥१॥ धन्य पुण्य रूप कैसा जालें संसार । देव आणि भक्त दुजा नाहीं विचार ॥ध्रु.॥ धन्य पूर्व पुण्य वोडवलें निरुतें । संतांचें दर्शन जालें भाग्यें बहुतें ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे धन्य आम्हां जोडली जोडी । संतांचे चरण आतां जीवें न सोडीं ॥३॥
Literal translation
Blessed the day, today — saints' darśana; in their house dwells the Paṇḍharī-deity. Blessed, puṇya-rūpa — how samsāra has become — Deva and bhakta — no second consideration. Blessed, prior puṇya truly brought it — saints' darśana happened by much fortune. Tuka says: blessed for us, the yoking is yoked — saints' feet now, with life I will not let go.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| धन्य दिवस आजि दरुषण संतांचें | "blessed — the day, today — darśana of saints" |
| नांदे तया घरीं दैवत पंढरीचें | "dwells — in (their) house — the daivata of Paṇḍharī" |
| धन्य पुण्य रूप कैसा जालें संसार | "blessed — puṇya-rūpa — how has samsāra become" |
| देव आणि भक्त दुजा नाहीं विचार | "Deva and bhakta — no second consideration" |
| धन्य पूर्व पुण्य वोडवलें निरुतें | "blessed — prior puṇya — truly brought" |
| संतांचें दर्शन जालें भाग्यें बहुतें | "darśana of saints — happened — much fortune" |
| तुका म्हणे धन्य आम्हां जोडली जोडी | "Tuka says — blessed — to us — yoked — the yoking" |
| संतांचे चरण आतां जीवें न सोडीं | "saints' feet — now — with life — I will not let go" |
What it means
Saints'-darśana-blessing abhang. A fourfold-dhanya (= "blessed") declaration upon receiving the saints' darśana.
The opening: dhanya divasa āji daruṣaṇa samtāñcē — nāndē tayā gharīm daivata Paṇḍharīcē — blessed the day, today — the saints' darśana; in their house dwells the Paṇḍharī-deity. The daivata-of-Paṇḍharī (= Viṭṭhal) lives in the saints' house. (= the saints carry the deity wherever they go; their house is His house.)
The non-duality: dhanya puṇya rūpa kaisā jālē samsāra — Deva āṇi bhakta dujā nāhīm vicāra — blessed puṇya-rūpa — how samsāra has become; Deva and bhakta — no second consideration. In the saints' company, samsāra itself has become puṇya-rūpa; Deva-and-bhakta — no duality. (Bhakti-advaita: no second between Deva and bhakta.)
The prior-puṇya: dhanya pūrva puṇya vōḍavalēm nirutēm — samtāñcē darśana jālēm bhāgyē bahutēm — blessed, prior puṇya truly brought it; saints' darśana happened by much fortune. Saint-darśana is not earned by current effort but by prior puṇya brought to fruition.
The closing-vow: dhanya āmhām jōḍalī jōḍī — samtāñcē caraṇa ātām jīvē na sōḍīm — blessed for us, the yoking is yoked; the saints' feet — with my life, I will not let go. Jōḍalī jōḍī — the yoking has been yoked (= the connection has been forged). With my very life, I will not let go of the saints' feet. (Pattern P3 register — saint-pāya-vow.)
[T]
For someone today
For today: blessed the day — today the saints' darśana came; in their very house dwells the Paṇḍharī-deity; how samsāra itself has become puṇya-rūpa — between Deva and bhakta there's no second consideration; my prior puṇya truly brought it — by much fortune the saints' darśana happened; blessed for us, the yoking is yoked — the saints' feet now, with my very life I will not let go.
Where this applies
- When you spend time with someone whose presence alone changes how you see the rest of your day
- When you finally receive a long-awaited opportunity and realize it came from years of quiet effort, not a single lucky moment
- When you decide to hold on to a meaningful friendship or mentorship rather than letting it fade with time
- When being around good, grounded people makes ordinary life suddenly feel worthwhile