Abhanga 1625
English: Sleeping-and-singing — Nārāyaṇa stands; sitting-doing-kīrtana — sways.
The verse
निजल्यानें गातां उभा नारायण । बैसल्या कीर्तन करितां डोले ॥१॥ उभा राहोनियां मुखीं नाम वदे । नाचे नाना छंदें गोविंद हा ॥ध्रु.॥ मारगीं चालतां मुखीं नाम वाणी । उभा चक्रपाणी मागें पुढें ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे यासी कीर्तनाची गोडी । प्रेमे घाली उडी नामासाटीं ॥३॥
Literal translation
English: Sleeping-and-singing — Nārāyaṇa stands; sitting-doing-kīrtana — sways. Standing — in mouth speaks the nāma; dances in many fascinations — this Govinda. Walking on the path — nāma in mouth; Cakra-pāṇi stands behind-and-ahead. Tuka says: to him, kīrtana-sweetness — with prema, leaps-for-the-nāma's-sake.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| निजल्यानें गातां उभा नारायण | "sleeping-and-singing — standing — Nārāyaṇa" |
| बैसल्या कीर्तन करितां डोले | "sitting — doing kīrtana — sways" |
| उभा राहोनियां मुखीं नाम वदे | "standing — in mouth — speaks nāma" |
| नाचे नाना छंदें गोविंद हा | "dances — in many fascinations — this Govinda" |
| मारगीं चालतां मुखीं नाम वाणी | "walking on path — in mouth — nāma-speech" |
| उभा चक्रपाणी मागें पुढें | "standing — Cakra-pāṇi — behind-and-ahead" |
| तुका म्हणे यासी कीर्तनाची गोडी | "Tuka says — to him — kīrtana-sweetness" |
| प्रेमे घाली उडी नामासाटीं | "with prema — throws-leaping — for the nāma's sake" |
What it means
Govinda-himself-follows-the-bhakta abhang. The Lord shadows the bhakta in every state.
The four-fold-attendance:
State 1 (sleeping): nijalyānē gātām ubhā Nārāyaṇa — while sleeping-and-singing, Nārāyaṇa stands. (= while the bhakta lies sleeping but with the nāma still on his lips, Nārāyaṇa stands beside him.)
State 2 (sitting): baisalyā kīrtana karitām ḍōlē — while sitting-doing-kīrtana, he sways. (= the Lord himself sways with the kīrtana-rhythm.)
State 3 (standing): ubhā rāhōniyām mukhīm nāma vadē — nācē nānā chandē Govinda hā — standing-up, in mouth speaks the nāma; dances in many fascinations — this Govinda. (= while the bhakta stands singing nāma, Govinda dances in many enchantments.)
State 4 (walking): mārga cālatām mukhīm nāma vāṇī — ubhā Cakra-pāṇi māgē-puḍhē — walking on the path, nāma in mouth; Cakra-pāṇi stands behind-and-ahead. (= as the bhakta walks the path, Cakra-pāṇi (= Viṣṇu, holder-of-the-discus) stands behind-and-ahead, escorting on both sides.)
The reason: Tukā mhaṇē yāsī kīrtanācī gōḍī — prēmē ghālī uḍī nāmā-sāṭīm — Tuka says: to him, kīrtana-sweetness — with prema, he leaps for the nāma's sake. Yāsī = to-him = to the Lord. The Lord himself has kīrtana-sweetness; he leaps with prema at the nāma's sake. (Striking-formulation: not the bhakta leaps for nāma, but the Lord leaps for nāma — the role-reversal of bhakti — the Lord is the bhakta-of-the-nāma.)
This abhang inverts the standard bhakta-pursues-Lord image into Lord-pursues-bhakta-and-nāma: in every-state — sleeping, sitting, standing, walking — the Lord is adjacent, swaying, dancing, escorting. The nāma is the magnet; the Lord is drawn-to-it irresistibly.
[T]
For someone today
For today: while sleeping-and-singing, Nārāyaṇa stands beside; while sitting-and-doing-kīrtana, he sways with you; while standing and speaking the nāma in your mouth, Govinda himself dances in many fascinations; while walking on the path with the nāma, Cakra-pāṇi stands behind-and-ahead of you; Tuka says — to him, kīrtana is sweet — and with love he leaps for the very sake of the nāma.
Where this applies
- Sleeping-singing-Nārāyaṇa-stands.* Nijalyānē-gātām-Nārāyaṇa-ubhā.
- Sitting-kīrtana-Lord-sways.* Baisalyā-kīrtana-ḍōlē.
- Standing-nāma-Govinda-dances-in-many-fascinations.* Ubhā-nāma-Govinda-nānā-chandē-nācē.
- Walking-Cakra-pāṇi-behind-and-ahead.* Mārga-cālatām-Cakra-pāṇi-māgē-puḍhē.
- Lord-leaps-with-prema-for-the-nāma's-sake.* Prēmē-uḍī-nāmā-sāṭīm.