Abhanga 1660
Wherever you go, you carry your devotion with you, and a heart truly attached to the Divine turns every place into a place of presence and quiet protection.
The verse
जेथें जेथें जासी । तेथें मज चि तूं पासी ॥१॥ ऐसा पसरीन भाव । रिता नाहीं कोणी ठाव ॥ध्रु.॥ चत्ति जडलें पायीं । पाळती हें ठायीं ठायीं ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे पोटीं । देव घालुनि सांगें गोष्टी ॥३॥
Literal translation
Wherever you go, there near me you are. Such bhāva I will spread — no place empty. Chitta attached at feet — guard place-by-place. Tuka says: putting Deva in the belly, tells the tales.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| जेथें जेथें जासी | "wherever — you go" |
| तेथें मज चि तूं पासी | "there — me very — you — near" |
| ऐसा पसरीन भाव | "such — will spread — bhāva" |
| रिता नाहीं कोणी ठाव | "empty — no — any — place" |
| चत्ति जडलें पायीं | "chitta — attached — at feet" |
| पाळती हें ठायीं ठायीं | "guard — place-by-place" |
| तुका म्हणे पोटीं | "Tuka says — in belly" |
| देव घालुनि सांगें गोष्टी | "putting Deva — tells tales" |
What it means
Lord-near-me-everywhere + Deva-in-belly-tells-tales abhang.
The opening reversal: jēthē jēthē jāsī — tēthē maja chi tūm pāsī — wherever you go — there near me you are. The startling-inversion: not "wherever I go, you are with me" but "wherever you go, you-are near-me". (= wherever you go, you-still-don't-leave-me; you-are-always-near-me; the immanence-of-the-Lord-from-the-bhakta's-locus.)
The bhāva-spread: aisā pasarīna bhāva — ritā nāhīm kōṇī ṭhāva — such bhāva I will spread — no place empty. I will spread my bhāva so wide that no place is empty (of you). (Saturation-of-attention.)
The chitta-guard: chitti jaḍalēm pāyīm — pāḷatī hēm ṭhāyīm ṭhāyīm — chitta attached at feet — guard place-by-place. My chitta is attached to your feet; (by that), guard takes place-by-place (= the chitta-at-feet acts as a continuous-protective-guard everywhere).
The closing: Tukā mhaṇē pōṭīm — Deva ghāluni sāngē gōṣṭī — Tuka says: in belly, putting Deva, tells tales. Deva-pōṭīm-ghāluni = putting Deva in (one's) belly (= carrying Deva inside, having him as one's interior-guest); sāngē gōṣṭī = tells (him) tales / converses with him. The bhakta carries Deva-inside-the-belly and converses with him. (Striking-folk-image: carrying-the-deity-inside-as-a-pocket-companion, telling-him-stories continuously.)
[T]
For someone today
For today: wherever you go, there near me you are; I will spread such bhāva that no place is empty (of you); my chitta is attached at your feet — and guard takes place from spot to spot; Tuka says — putting Deva in my belly, I tell him my tales.
Where this applies
- When you travel or move somewhere new and worry you'll lose the connection you felt at home.
- When you want your faith to feel less tied to a place and more like something you carry inside you.
- When you need reassurance that your devotion quietly protects you wherever you happen to be.
- When you want a simpler, more conversational way to talk to God, like chatting with a close friend.