Abhanga 1610
God genuinely protects those who trust him, as shown by the true story of Gora Kumbhara's child, so real danger, poison, and even Yama's harm lose their power over the devotee.
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
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
- When you are frightened while walking through an unfamiliar or dangerous place
- When you or someone you love has faced a shocking accident or loss and you wonder if divine help is even real
- When you feel you keep making wrong turns in life and worry no one is guiding you
- When fear of accident or death is weighing on you and you need a source of courage