Abhanga 1654
You can honor and thank the divine on the outside while still carrying real inner restlessness, and it is enough to simply trust that this inner truth is known without having to spell it out.
The verse
मथुरेच्या राया । माझें दंडवत पायां ॥१॥ तुमचे कृपेचें पोसनें । माझा समाचार घेणें ॥ध्रु.॥ नाम धरिलें कंठीं । असें आर्तभूत पोटीं ॥२॥ जीवींचें ते जाणा । तुका म्हणे नारायणा ॥३॥
Literal translation
Mathurā-king — my daṇḍavat to your feet. Your kṛpā's nourished-one — take my news. Nāma held in throat — being ārta-bhūta in belly. The heart's news — know — Tuka says, Nārāyaṇa.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| मथुरेच्या राया | "Mathurā-king" |
| माझें दंडवत पायां | "my — daṇḍavat — to (your) feet" |
| तुमचे कृपेचें पोसनें | "your kṛpā's — nourished-one" |
| माझा समाचार घेणें | "my news — take" |
| नाम धरिलें कंठीं | "nāma — held — in throat" |
| असें आर्तभूत पोटीं | "being — ārta-bhūta — in belly" |
| जीवींचें ते जाणा | "the heart's — that — know" |
| तुका म्हणे नारायणा | "Tuka says — Nārāyaṇa" |
What it means
Mathurā-letter abhang. Fourth and final of 4-letter-cluster (1651-1654).
The opening: Mathurēcyā rāyā — mājhēm daṇḍavata pāyām — Mathurā-king — my daṇḍavat to your feet. Mathurā-rāya = the king-of-Mathurā = Kṛṣṇa (Mathurā being Kṛṣṇa's birth-place; the Mathurā-yātrā being a major Vaiṣṇava-pilgrimage). Daṇḍavat = full-body-prostration.
The status: tumacē kṛpēcēm pōsanēm — mājhā samācāra ghēṇē — your kṛpā's nourished-one — take my news. Pōsanēm = nourished-one, the one fed-and-cared-for. I am your-kṛpā-fed; please take note of my news. Samācāra ghēṇē = take my news / inquire about my well-being (= the standard letter-vocabulary).
The body-news: nāma dharilēm kaṇṭhīm — asēm ārta-bhūta pōṭīm — nāma held in throat — ārta-bhūta in belly. Nāma in the throat (= the constant-recitation); ārta-bhūta in the belly (= the afflicted-state inside). The bhakta is two-layered: outer-recitation, inner-affliction.
The closing: jīvīñcēm tē jāṇā — Tukā mhaṇē Nārāyaṇā — the heart's — know — Tuka says, Nārāyaṇa. Know what is in my heart (= even what I haven't-explicitly-said). The omniscient-Lord-knows-without-words — trust in Lord's-knowing.
This is the fourth-and-final of the Bhāgīrathī-letter-cluster (1651-1654 sent via the yātrīs going Vārāṇasī → Gayā → Mathurā). The complete-letter-circuit: 1. Bhāgīrathī (1651) — Gangā at Vārāṇasī 2. Viśva-nātha (1652) — Śiva at Vārāṇasī (with bhātukē-request) 3. Gayā-varjana (1653) — done-without-traveling 4. Mathurā-rāya (1654) — Kṛṣṇa at Mathurā
This four-letter sequence establishes Tukārām's pan-Indian-bhakti-network with a single piece of paper.
[T]
For someone today
For today: Mathurā-king — my full-body-prostration to your feet; I am the one nourished by your grace — please take my news; the nāma is held in my throat — but I am an afflicted-being in my belly; what is in my heart — please know it — Tuka says, Nārāyaṇa.
Where this applies
- When you keep praying or chanting out of habit but still feel an unsettled ache underneath.
- When you don't have the words to explain what's troubling you and just want to be understood without explaining.
- When you feel grateful for being cared for, yet still restless inside.
- When you want to check in with someone you love and trust, even without a specific request.