Abhanga 1610
For today: whom Deva keeps, who can kill? — even a thorn doesn't pierce while wandering in the forest; doesn't burn, doesn't drown, no harm comes — poison itself, behold, becomes amṛta; doesn't miss the way, doesn't fall in any tangle — never, ever, is there Yama-bādhā; Tuka says — Nārāyaṇa, coming to Gōrā-Kumbhāra's vārī, removed the curse — so it is for any bhakta.
The verse
देव राखे तया मारील कोण । न मोडे कांटा हिंडतां वन ॥१॥ न जळे न बुडे नव्हे कांहीं । विष तें ही अमृत पाहीं ॥ध्रु.॥ न चुके वाट न पडे फंदीं । नव्हे कधीं कधीं यमबाधा ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे नारायण । येता गोर्या वारी वाण ॥३॥
Literal translation
English: Whom Deva keeps, who can kill? — thorn doesn't pierce in wandering forest. Doesn't burn, doesn't drown, no harm — poison itself, behold, is amṛta. Doesn't miss the way, doesn't fall in phanda — never, ever, Yama-bādhā. Tuka says: Nārāyaṇa, coming to Gōrā's vārī, removes the vāṇa.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| देव राखे तया मारील कोण | "whom Deva keeps — who can kill?" |
| न मोडे कांटा हिंडतां वन | "does not pierce — thorn — wandering — forest" |
| न जळे न बुडे नव्हे कांहीं | "does not burn, not drown, no — anything (= no harm)" |
| विष तें ही अमृत पाहीं | "poison — that very — amṛta — behold" |
| न चुके वाट न पडे फंदीं | "doesn't miss the way, doesn't fall — in phanda (tangle / trick)" |
| नव्हे कधीं कधीं यमबाधा | "not — ever, ever — Yama-bādhā (Yama's harm)" |
| तुका म्हणे नारायण | "Tuka says — Nārāyaṇa" |
| येता गोर्या वारी वाण | "coming — to Gōrā's vārī — removes — the vāṇa (curse / obstacle)" |
What it means
Deva-protects-his-bhakta abhang with Gōrā-Kumbhāra reference.
The opening: Deva rākhē tayā mārīla kōṇa — na mōḍē kāṇṭā hiṇḍatām vana — whom Deva keeps, who can kill? — thorn doesn't pierce in wandering forest. Even thorns refuse to pierce the divine-protected.
The element-immunity: na jaḷē na buḍē navhē kāhīm — viṣa tē hī amṛta pāhīm — doesn't burn, doesn't drown, no harm — poison itself, behold, is amṛta. The bhakta is immune to fire, water, poison; poison itself transforms into amṛta. (Compare Mīrābāī's-poison-cup-becomes-nectar miracle.)
The path-immunity: na cukē vāṭa na paḍē phandīm — navhē kadhīm kadhīm Yama-bādhā — doesn't miss the way, doesn't fall in phanda; never, ever, Yama-bādhā. Phanda = trick / tangle / snare; Yama-bādhā = harm-by-Death. Never falls in trickery, never afflicted by Yama.
The closing: Tukā mhaṇē Nārāyaṇa — yētā gōryā vārī vāṇa — Tuka says: Nārāyaṇa, coming to Gōrā's vārī, removes the vāṇa. Gōrā = Gōrā Kumbhāra, the potter-saint of Tērḍhokī (a 13th-century-warkari-saint, contemporary of Jñāneśvar; one of the foundational warkari-figures). Gōrā's vārī = Gōrā's pilgrimage / time-of-vārī. The traditional Gōrā-Kumbhāra story: while making pots, his small son fell into the wet clay and was crushed; Gōrā's wife was furious; Pāṇḍuranga came in person and restored the child. Vāṇa = curse / obstacle / defect; Nārāyaṇa, coming to Gōrā's vārī, removes the vāṇa — the historical-precedent of divine-personal-intervention.
This abhang places Tukaram in the historical-warkari saint-lineage (Gōrā → Nāmdev → Eknāth → Tukārām) by citing Gōrā by name as a precedent for divine-protection.
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For someone today
For today: whom Deva keeps, who can kill? — even a thorn doesn't pierce while wandering in the forest; doesn't burn, doesn't drown, no harm comes — poison itself, behold, becomes amṛta; doesn't miss the way, doesn't fall in any tangle — never, ever, is there Yama-bādhā; Tuka says — Nārāyaṇa, coming to Gōrā-Kumbhāra's vārī, removed the curse — so it is for any bhakta.
Where this applies
- Deva-keeps-no-killing-thorn-doesn't-pierce.* Deva-rākhē-mārīla-na-kāṇṭā-na-mōḍē.
- Doesn't-burn-drown-poison-becomes-amṛta.* Na-jaḷē-na-buḍē-viṣa-amṛta.
- No-Yama-bādhā-no-trickery.* Yama-bādhā-na-phanda-na.
- Nārāyaṇa-came-to-Gōrā's-vārī-removed-the-vāṇa.* Nārāyaṇa-Gōrā-vārī-vāṇa-vāra.