Abhanga 1645
Sincere devotion or effort is never wasted, even if it takes a very long time, because it becomes a debt that eventually must be honored with mercy.
The verse
काय ऐसा जन्म जावा वांयांविण । कांहीं तरी ॠण असो माथां ॥१॥ कोणे तरी काळें होईंल आठव । नाहीं जरी भाव भार खरा ॥ध्रु.॥ शता एकातरी जन्माच्या शेवटीं । कृपाळुवा पोटीं होइल दया ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे नाहीं फांकों तरी देत । सर्वांचें उचित सांपडलें ॥३॥
Literal translation
Should such a birth go in vain? — let some debt at least be on (your) head. At some time, remembrance will come — if not, bhāva is the real burden. At the end of one of a hundred births — in the kṛpālu's belly, dayā will arise. Tuka says: not to scatter though giving — everyone's uciṭa has been found.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| काय ऐसा जन्म जावा वांयांविण | "should — such a birth — go in vain?" |
| कांहीं तरी ॠण असो माथां | "some — at least — debt — be on head" |
| कोणे तरी काळें होईंल आठव | "at some time — will be remembrance" |
| नाहीं जरी भाव भार खरा | "if not — bhāva — real burden" |
| शता एकातरी जन्माच्या शेवटीं | "at end — of one of a hundred births" |
| कृपाळुवा पोटीं होइल दया | "in kṛpālu's belly — will be — dayā" |
| तुका म्हणे नाहीं फांकों तरी देत | "Tuka says — not — to scatter — though giving" |
| सर्वांचें उचित सांपडलें | "all of everyone's — uciṭa — has been found" |
What it means
Let-some-debt-be-on-Lord's-head + 100-births-then-mercy abhang.
The opening: kāya aisā janma jāvā vāyām-vīṇa — kāhīm tarī ṛṇa asō māthām — should such a birth go in vain? — let some debt at least be on (your) head. (= if my whole-life couldn't earn merit, let it at least put-some-debt-on-the-Lord's-head.) The creditor-claim: let me at least be the Lord's-debtor / let the Lord at least owe me something.
The future-recall: kōṇē tarī kāḷē hō'īla āṭhava — nāhīm jarī bhāva bhāra kharā — at some time will be remembrance — if not, bhāva is the real burden. Some-future-time, the recall will come; if not (now), the bhāva-itself is the real-burden-on-his-head.
The 100-births: śatā ēkātarī janmācyā śēvaṭīm — kṛpāḷuvā pōṭīm hō'īla dayā — at the end of one of a hundred births — in the kṛpālu's belly, dayā will arise. Even if it takes a hundred-births, at the end of one of those hundred births, mercy will arise in the kṛpālu's belly. (= the long-term-bhakti-investment will eventually-pay-out.)
The closing: Tukā mhaṇē nāhīm phānkōm tarī dēta — sarvāñcēm uciṭa sāmpaḍalēm — Tuka says: not to scatter though giving — everyone's uciṭa has been found. Phānkōm = to scatter, to spread; uciṭa = the proper-share / what is fitting. Without scattering, when giving — everyone's-proper-share has been found. (= the giving is precise; everyone receives their fitting-share; or :though I'm not spreading-out my effort, my proper-share-from-everyone has been found.)
This abhang is unusual in its long-time-horizon thinking: if not now, in 100 births; if not bhakti-merit, then at least debt-on-Lord's-head; if not remembrance-now, then some-future-time. The patient-bhakta plays-the-long-game with creditor-cleverness.
[T]
For someone today
For today: should such a birth simply go in vain? — at least let some debt be left on your head; at some time, remembrance will come — and if not, the very-bhāva is the real-burden on you; at the end of one of a hundred births, in the kṛpālu's belly, mercy will arise; Tuka says — not scattering, though giving — everyone's proper-share has been found.
Where this applies
- When your prayers or hard work feel unanswered and you wonder if any of it truly matters.
- When you're discouraged that recognition or reward for your effort hasn't come yet.
- When you need patience to keep going despite years without any visible results.
- When you worry that your sincere efforts have simply been forgotten or wasted.