Abhanga 1658
For today: I have never given you a harsh answer — why then has this gap fallen between us?; therefore now separation cannot be borne — my body has been bribed by your close-contact; time-to-time my mouth remembers the nāma — and prema only climbs with each taking; Tuka says — Pāṇḍuranga the mother, taking me on her lap, has consoled me.
The verse
नाहीं दिलें कधीं कठिण उत्तर । तरी कां अंतर पडियेलें ॥१॥ म्हणऊनि आतां वियोग न साहे । लांचावलें देहे संघष्टणें ॥ध्रु.॥ वेळोवेळां वाचे आठवितों नाम । अधिक चि प्रेम चढे घेतां ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे पांडुरंगे जननिये । घेऊनि कडिये बुझाविलें ॥३॥
Literal translation
I never gave a harsh uttara — why then has the antara fallen? Therefore now viyōga cannot be borne — the body has been bribed for close-contact. Time-to-time, speech remembers the nāma — prema only climbs with each taking. Tuka says: Pāṇḍuranga, the jananī, taking on lap, consoled.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| नाहीं दिलें कधीं कठिण उत्तर | "never given — harsh uttara (answer)" |
| तरी कां अंतर पडियेलें | "why — antara (gap) — has fallen?" |
| म्हणऊनि आतां वियोग न साहे | "therefore now — viyōga — not bearable" |
| लांचावलें देहे संघष्टणें | "body has been bribed — for close-contact" |
| वेळोवेळां वाचे आठवितों नाम | "time-to-time — speech remembers — nāma" |
| अधिक चि प्रेम चढे घेतां | "only more — prema — climbs — with each taking" |
| तुका म्हणे पांडुरंगे जननिये | "Tuka says — Pāṇḍuranga — the jananī (mother)" |
| घेऊनि कडिये बुझाविलें | "taking on lap — consoled" |
What it means
Pāṇḍuranga-as-jananī-takes-on-lap-and-consoles abhang.
The puzzling-question: nāhīm dilēm kadhīm kaṭhiṇa uttara — tarī kām antara paḍiyēlēm — I never gave a harsh uttara — why then has the antara fallen? No harsh-words from-my-side (= I never offended you); why has the gap arisen between us?
The viyōga-state: mhaṇa'ūni ātām viyōga na sāhē — lāñcāvalē dēhē sanghaṣṭaṇē — therefore now viyōga (separation) cannot be borne — the body has been bribed for close-contact. Lāñcāvaṇē = to-be-bribed, to-be-allured; the body has been bribed (= addicted, captured) by close-contact-with-the-Lord; now separation cannot be borne.
The nāma-recall: vēḷō-vēḷām vācē āṭhavitōm nāma — adhika chi prēma caḍhē ghētām — time-to-time, speech remembers the nāma — prema only climbs with each taking. The recursive-prema-climb: each utterance increases prema; each-increase makes the next-utterance more-saturated.
The closing: Tukā mhaṇē Pāṇḍurangē janani-yē — ghē'uni kaḍi-yē bujhāvilēm — Tuka says: Pāṇḍuranga, the jananī, taking on lap, consoled. Jananī = mother; kaḍi = waist / lap (specifically of carrying-a-child on the hip); bujhāvilēm = consoled, soothed. Pāṇḍuranga-the-mother took (the bhakta) on her lap and consoled him. (Pattern P11: bhakta-as-child + Pāṇḍuranga-as-mother + lap-consolation.)
This abhang is a beautiful example of the māulī-Pāṇḍuranga register where the deity is not the king-or-master, but the consoling-mother; and the bhakta is not the supplicant-or-warrior, but the wronged-child taken on the lap.
[T]
For someone today
For today: I have never given you a harsh answer — why then has this gap fallen between us?; therefore now separation cannot be borne — my body has been bribed by your close-contact; time-to-time my mouth remembers the nāma — and prema only climbs with each taking; Tuka says — Pāṇḍuranga the mother, taking me on her lap, has consoled me.
Where this applies
- When you feel a puzzling emotional distance from someone you love, even though you know you did nothing to cause it.
- When a taste of real closeness with the divine makes the thought of losing it unbearable.
- When repeating a name or prayer starts to feel less like a duty and more like something your heart craves.
- When you are hurting and need to be comforted gently, like a child, rather than judged.