Abhanga 1608
The king of Pandhari's name and story are so powerful, confirmed by all of scripture, that they make time and death bow down and turn even worldly pleasure and liberation into servants of the devotee.
The verse
ज्याचे गर्जतां पवाडे । कळिकाळ पायां पडे ॥१॥ तो हा पंढरीचा राणा । पुसा सा चौं अठरा जणां ॥ध्रु.॥ चिंतितां जयासी । भुक्तिमुक्ति कामारी दासी ॥२॥ वैकुंठासी जावें । तुका म्हणे ज्याच्या नांवें ॥३॥
Literal translation
Whose pavāḍas, resounding, make Kalikāḷa fall at his feet — this is the Paṇḍharī-rāṇā; ask the six, four, eighteen. Meditating on whom — bhukti-mukti are maidservants. Tuka says: by whose name, one goes to Vaikuṇṭha.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| ज्याचे गर्जतां पवाडे | "whose — resounding — pavāḍas (heroic-deeds)" |
| कळिकाळ पायां पडे | "Kalikāḷa — falls — at (the) feet" |
| तो हा पंढरीचा राणा | "that one — this is — Paṇḍharī's-king" |
| पुसा सा चौं अठरा जणां | "ask — the six, four, eighteen (= 6 darśanas + 4 śāstras + 18 purāṇas)" |
| चिंतितां जयासी | "meditating — on whom" |
| भुक्तिमुक्ति कामारी दासी | "bhukti-mukti — are kāmārī-dāsī (maidservants)" |
| वैकुंठासी जावें | "to Vaikuṇṭha — one goes" |
| तुका म्हणे ज्याच्या नांवें | "Tuka says — by whose name" |
What it means
Praise-of-Paṇḍharī-rāṇā abhang.
The opening: jyācē garjatām pavāḍē — Kaḷi-kāḷa pāyām paḍē — whose pavāḍas, resounding, make Kalikāḷa fall at his feet. Pavāḍa = a narrative-ballad recounting heroic-deeds; Kaḷi-kāḷa = Kali-yuga personified as Time-the-Death. When the pavāḍas of his deeds resound, even Kalikāḷa falls at his feet. (= kīrtana of his deeds defeats Time itself.)
The catalog-verification: tō hā Paṇḍharīcā rāṇā — pusā sā caum aṭhārā jaṇām — this is the Paṇḍharī-rāṇā — ask the six, four, eighteen. Sā caum aṭhārā (six-four-eighteen) = the traditional-list of 28: 6 darśanas (philosophical-systems) + 4 śāstras (Vedas / scriptural-classes) + 18 purāṇas — i.e. the entire scriptural-corpus. Ask the entire scriptural-corpus — they will all confirm: this is the Paṇḍharī-rāṇā.
The maidservant-claim: cintitām jayāsī — bhukti-mukti kāmārī dāsī — meditating on whom — bhukti-mukti are maidservants. Bhukti = enjoyment / worldly-fulfillment; mukti = liberation. Both bhukti and mukti become maidservants of one who meditates on him — the highest-goals serve the bhakta.
The closing: Vaikuṇṭhāsī jāvēm — jyācyā nāmvē — one goes to Vaikuṇṭha — by whose name. His-name-itself takes one to Vaikuṇṭha.
[T]
For someone today
For today: whose heroic-ballads, when sung, make even Time itself fall at his feet — this is the Paṇḍharī-king; ask the entire scriptural-corpus, they will confirm; meditating on whom, even worldly-enjoyment and liberation become maidservants; Tuka says — by whose name alone, one goes to Vaikuṇṭha.
Where this applies
- When you doubt whether devotion really has power and want scripture, not just feeling, to back it up
- When you are anxious about the passage of time or the fear of death
- When you are torn between chasing worldly pleasure and chasing spiritual liberation, as if you must choose one
- When you feel that simply remembering his name in hard moments could be enough, and you need permission to trust that simplicity