Abhanga 1627
For today: what other place is there where self-pride leaves at the very moment of arrival? — only here at Paṇḍharī, where even the wicked weep instantly; where else do streams of tears flow and the body horripilate as it does here?; Tuka says — at the kālā festival, where the prasāda mixes everything-together — where else was non-distinction actually seen?
The verse
उठाउठीं अभिमान । जाय ऐसें स्थळ कोण ॥१॥ तें या पंढरीस घडे । खळां पाझर रोकडे ॥ध्रु.॥ अश्रूचिया धारा । कोठें रोमांच शरीरा ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे काला । कोठें अभेद देखिला ॥३॥
Literal translation
English: Where else is the place that self-pride leaves at-once? — That happens here at Paṇḍharī — instant tear-flow even from the wicked. Streams of tears — where else? — body-horripilation? Tuka says: the kālā — where else was abhēda seen?
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| उठाउठीं अभिमान | "at-once (uṭhā-uṭhī) — abhimāna (self-pride)" |
| जाय ऐसें स्थळ कोण | "goes — which place is such?" |
| तें या पंढरीस घडे | "that — here — at Paṇḍharī — happens" |
| खळां पाझर रोकडे | "to the wicked — tear-flow — immediately" |
| अश्रूचिया धारा | "of tears — streams" |
| कोठें रोमांच शरीरा | "where else — horripilation — to the body?" |
| तुका म्हणे काला | "Tuka says — the kālā" |
| कोठें अभेद देखिला | "where else — abhēda — was seen?" |
What it means
Paṇḍharī's-special-power + kālā-as-abhēda abhang. A site-praise of Paṇḍharī highlighting four uniquely-Paṇḍharī phenomena.
Effect 1 — Abhimāna leaves at-once: uṭhā-uṭhīm abhimāna — jāya aisēm sthaḷa kōṇa — where else is the place where self-pride leaves at-once? Uṭhā-uṭhī = immediately, the moment one rises. Where else does abhimāna depart at-once?
Effect 2 — Wicked-weep-instantly: tēm yā Paṇḍharīsa ghaḍē — khaḷām pājhara rōkaḍē — that happens here at Paṇḍharī — to the wicked, tear-flow immediately. Khaḷa = the wicked, the unkind; pājhara = tear-flow, breaking-open; rōkaḍē = cash-down, immediately, on-the-spot. Even the wicked weep at-once at Paṇḍharī.
Effect 3 — Tear-streams + body-horripilation: aśrūciyā dhārā — kōṭhē rōmāñca śarīrā — streams of tears — where else body-horripilation? Rōmāñca = horripilation, hair-standing-on-end (a standard sāttvika-bhāva-sign in classical-bhakti-aesthetics).
Effect 4 — Kālā = abhēda: Tukā mhaṇē kāḷā — kōṭhē abhēda dēkhilā — Tuka says: the kālā — where else was abhēda seen? The kālā is the Paṇḍharpur-festival prasāda — a mixed-curd-rice-with-fruits prepared during Āṣāḍha-vārī; traditionally distributed-without-caste-distinction. Kālā literally means mix / blend; the prasāda blends-everything-together. Abhēda = non-distinction, non-difference. Where else was abhēda seen? — only at the kālā at Paṇḍharī, where the curd-rice-mix is the literal-image of caste-distinction-erasure.
This is one of Tukaram's strongest social-affirmations of Paṇḍharī's uniqueness: it is not just a deity-temple, but the site of social-and-spiritual transformations not-found-elsewhere: abhimāna-loss, wicked-weeping, sāttvika-bhāva-arousal, and especially — caste-mixing-as-religious-practice (the kālā). (Compare 1606's Candrabhāgē nhātī — bhalatē yātī — same Paṇḍharī-as-caste-equalizer claim.)
[T]
For someone today
For today: what other place is there where self-pride leaves at the very moment of arrival? — only here at Paṇḍharī, where even the wicked weep instantly; where else do streams of tears flow and the body horripilate as it does here?; Tuka says — at the kālā festival, where the prasāda mixes everything-together — where else was non-distinction actually seen?
Where this applies
- Abhimāna-leaves-at-once-only-here.* Uṭhā-uṭhī-abhimāna-jāya-Paṇḍharī.
- Wicked-weep-instantly.* Khaḷa-pājhara-rōkaḍē.
- Tear-streams-body-horripilation.* Aśrū-dhārā-rōmāñca.
- Kālā-equals-abhēda.* Kāḷā-abhēda.