Abhanga 1588
For today: I will go to my own mother-father's-house now — the message has come into my hand through these saints; my joy-and-sorrow was heard in their ears, a surge of karuṇā in the mind; the summons is ready, the snack-meal given out — they will come some day to take me; my chitta has attached to that very path — I watch the way of māhera every day; now they will come bodily themselves, my mother-father.
The verse
आपुल्या माहेरा जाईंन मी आतां । निरोप या संतां हातीं आला ॥१॥ सुख दुःख माझें ऐकिलें कानीं । कळवळा मनीं करुणेचा ॥ध्रु.॥ करुनी सिद्ध मूळ साउलें भातुकें । येती दिसें एकें न्यावयासी ॥२॥ त्या चि पंथें माझें लागलेंसे चत्ति । वाट पाहें नित्य माहेराची ॥३॥ तुका म्हणे आतां येतील न्यावया । अंगें आपुलिया मायबाप ॥४॥
Literal translation
English: I will go to my own māhera now — the message has come into my hand through these saints. My joy-sorrow has been heard in their ears — surge of karuṇā in the mind. The mūḷa (summons) is made ready, the bhātukē (child's-meal) given out — they will come some day to take me. My chitta has attached to that very path — I watch daily the way of the māhera. Tuka says: now they will come to take me — bodily, themselves, my mother-father.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| आपुल्या माहेरा जाईंन मी आतां | "to my own māhera (mother's-house) — I will go — now" |
| निरोप या संतां हातीं आला | "the message — through these saints — has come — to my hand" |
| सुख दुःख माझें ऐकिलें कानीं | "my joy-sorrow — has been heard — in (the) ears" |
| कळवळा मनीं करुणेचा | "kaḷavaḷā (surge-of-feeling) — in mind — of karuṇā" |
| करुनी सिद्ध मूळ साउलें भातुकें | "made ready — the mūḷa (summons / source); — the bhātukē (child's-meal) — given out" |
| येती दिसें एकें न्यावयासी | "they will come — some day — to take (me)" |
| त्या चि पंथें माझें लागलेंसे चत्ति | "on that very path — my chitta — has attached" |
| वाट पाहें नित्य माहेराची | "I watch — the way — daily — of (the) māhera" |
| तुका म्हणे आतां येतील न्यावया | "Tuka says — now — they will come — to take" |
| अंगें आपुलिया मायबाप | "bodily, themselves — my māya-bāpa (mother-father)" |
What it means
Vaikuṇṭha-gamana opening abhang. Māhera-anticipation. The opening of the most narratively-coherent stretch in the gatha — Tukaram's anticipation of the divine-summons to ascend.
The māhera-image: in Maharashtrian-tradition, māhera = the mother's natal-house (where a married-woman returns for visits, longed-for as the original-home). For the bhakta-as-bride, māhera = the divine-source / Vaikuṇṭha. Going to māhera = returning to the original-divine-home. (Distinctive warkari-image — esp. in Tukaram and Janābāī.)
The opening: āpulyā māhērā jā'īna mī ātām — nirōpa yā samtām hātīm ālā — I will go to my own māhera now — the message has come through these saints to my hand. The saints are the messengers who bring the divine-summons.
The cause: sukha-duḥkha mājhē aikilē kānīm — kaḷavaḷā manīm karuṇēcā — my joy-sorrow has been heard in (the) ears — surge of karuṇā in the mind. The Lord heard the bhakta's joy-and-sorrow; karuṇā-surge arose in the divine-mind.
The preparations: karunī siddha mūḷa sā'ulēm bhātukē — yētī disēm ēkē nyāvayāsī — the mūḷa (summons) is made ready, the bhātukē (= child's-snack-meal) is given out; they will come some day to take me. Mūḷa = the formal-summons sent by an elder to fetch a relative; bhātukē = the little-meal-package sent for a returning child. The Lord has prepared the summons + sent the snack-package — they will come to fetch me.
The waiting-image: tyā chi panthē mājhēm lāgalēsē chitti — vāṭa pāhē nitya māhērācī — my chitta has attached to that very path — I watch daily the way of the māhera. The bhakta-bride watching the road daily for her brother to come fetch her home.
The closing: ātām yētīla nyāvayā — angēm āpulyā māya-bāpa — now they will come to take me — bodily, themselves, my mother-father. They will come bodily themselves — not send servants; the mother-father will personally come. (Striking-formulation: the divine-parents personally fetching.)
This abhang opens a 4-abhang anticipation-cluster (1588+1589+1590+1591) preceding the climactic-arrival in 1592.
[T]
For someone today
For today: I will go to my own mother-father's-house now — the message has come into my hand through these saints; my joy-and-sorrow was heard in their ears, a surge of karuṇā in the mind; the summons is ready, the snack-meal given out — they will come some day to take me; my chitta has attached to that very path — I watch the way of māhera every day; now they will come bodily themselves, my mother-father.
Where this applies
- Going-to-māhera-message-through-saints.* Māhera-jā'īna-samta-nirōpa.
- Joy-sorrow-heard-karuṇā-surge.* Sukha-duḥkha-aikilē-karuṇā-kaḷavaḷā.
- Summons-and-snack-prepared-they-come-to-take.* Mūḷa-bhātukē-nyāvayāsī.
- Chitta-on-the-path-daily-watching-māhera-road.* Panthē-chitta-vāṭa-pāhē-māhera.
- Bodily-themselves-mother-father-coming.* Angēm-āpulyā-māya-bāpa.