Abhanga 1591
For today: by the experience of this place, this comes to be known in the soul; one jīva in both places — my appeal arises in his body too; hunger eats hunger itself and is fed — there is no sigh for food; Tuka says — sukha has come, the inner-being has been satisfied to fullness by that quality.
The verse
येथीलिया अनुभवें । कळों जीवें हें येतसे ॥१॥ दोहीं ठायीं एक जीव । माझी कींव त्या अंगीं ॥ध्रु.॥ भूक भुके चि खाउनि धाय । नाहीं हाय अन्नाची ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे सुख जालें । अंतर धालें त्यागुणें ॥३॥
Literal translation
English: By the experience of this place, this comes to be known in the soul. One jīva in both places — my appeal is in his body. Hunger eats hunger itself and is fed — no haya for food. Tuka says: sukha has come — the antaḥkaraṇa has been satisfied by that quality.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| येथीलिया अनुभवें | "by the experience of this place" |
| कळों जीवें हें येतसे | "to know — in soul (jīvē) — this — comes" |
| दोहीं ठायीं एक जीव | "in both places — one jīva" |
| माझी कींव त्या अंगीं | "my appeal (kīmva) — in his body" |
| भूक भुके चि खाउनि धाय | "hunger — eats hunger itself — and is fed (dhāya)" |
| नाहीं हाय अन्नाची | "no sigh — for food" |
| तुका म्हणे सुख जालें | "Tuka says — sukha — has come" |
| अंतर धालें त्यागुणें | "the antaḥkaraṇa — has been satisfied — by that quality" |
What it means
One-jīva-in-both-places mystical-feeding abhang. Vaikuṇṭha-gamana cluster.
The opening epistemology: yēthīliyā anubhavēm — kaḷōm jīvē hēm yētasē — by the experience of this place, this comes to be known in the soul. Knowing comes through experience; not through hearsay.
The non-dual claim: dōhīm ṭhāyīm ēka jīva — mājhī kīmva tyā angīm — one jīva in both places — my appeal is in his body. One soul in two places — the bhakta and the Lord share one jīva; the bhakta's appeal arises in the Lord's body too. (Striking-formulation: the kīmva (the imploring-appeal) arises within the Lord himself — the bhakta-and-deity are one-jīva.)
The mystical-feeding: bhūka bhukē chi khā'uni dhāya — nāhīm hāya annācī — hunger eats hunger itself and is fed — no sigh for food. Hunger eats hunger and is satisfied — no need for food (anna). The hunger-feeding-on-hunger image: the longing-itself becomes the food that satisfies the longing. (= the love-hunger is its own satisfaction; hunger consumed by hunger leaves no residual longing-for-anna.)
The closing: sukha jālēm — antara dhālēm tyā guṇē — sukha has come — the antaḥkaraṇa has been satisfied (dhālēm) by that quality. Dhālēm = fed-to-fullness, satisfied to the point of fullness. The antaḥkaraṇa has been fed-full by that very quality (= the longing-itself).
This abhang's central image — bhūka bhukē chi khā'uni dhāya — is one of Tukaram's strongest mystical-paradox lines: the hunger consumes the hunger and is filled. Compare 1524's thirst-drank-thirst — same paradox-pattern in different register.
[T]
For someone today
For today: by the experience of this place, this comes to be known in the soul; one jīva in both places — my appeal arises in his body too; hunger eats hunger itself and is fed — there is no sigh for food; Tuka says — sukha has come, the inner-being has been satisfied to fullness by that quality.
Where this applies
- Experience-here-knowing-comes-in-soul.* Yēthīla-anubhava-jīvē-kaḷōm.
- One-jīva-in-both-places-appeal-in-his-body.* Dōhīm-ṭhāyīm-ēka-jīva-kīmva-angīm.
- Hunger-eats-hunger-and-is-fed.* Bhūka-bhukē-khā'uni-dhāya.
- Sukha-comes-antaḥkaraṇa-satisfied.* Sukha-antara-dhālēm.