Abhanga 1664
When longing for God becomes physical and urgent, formality falls away and you simply beg for closeness, the way a child begs its mother to hurry.
The verse
क्षेम देयाला हो । स्फुरताती दंड बाहो ॥१॥ आतां झडझडां चालें । देई उचलूं पाउलें ॥ध्रु.॥ सांडीं हंसगती । बहु उत्कंठा हे चित्ती ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे आईं । श्रीरंगे विठाबाईं ॥३॥
Literal translation
For embracing, the daṇḍa-bāho throb. Now walk with haste — let me lift the steps. Abandon the hamsa-gati — much utkaṇṭhā in chitta. Tuka says: mother — Śrī-ranga-Viṭha-bā'ī.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| क्षेम देयाला हो | "for embracing" |
| स्फुरताती दंड बाहो | "throb — daṇḍa-bāho (= arms)" |
| आतां झडझडां चालें | "now — with haste — walk" |
| देई उचलूं पाउलें | "let me lift — steps" |
| सांडीं हंसगती | "abandon — hamsa-gati" |
| बहु उत्कंठा हे चित्ती | "much utkaṇṭhā — in chitta" |
| तुका म्हणे आईं | "Tuka says — mother (āī)" |
| श्रीरंगे विठाबाईं | "Śrī-ranga — Viṭha-bā'ī" |
What it means
Embrace-petition + Viṭha-bā'ī-as-mother abhang.
The arms-throb: kṣēma dēyālā hō — sphuratātī daṇḍa-bāhō — for embracing — daṇḍa-bāho (arms) throb. Kṣema (= "well-being / embrace") dē'yā-lā = for-giving; daṇḍa-bāho sphuratātī = the upper-arms (daṇḍa) and forearms (bāho) throb. Throbbing of arms is a folk-omen-of-meeting-the-beloved (compare 1594).
The hasten-prayer: ātām jhaḍa-jhaḍām cālē — dē'ī ucalūm pā'ulēm — now, walk with haste — let me lift the steps. Jhaḍa-jhaḍa = quick-quick / shaking-down quickly. Walk swiftly; let me lift my steps faster.
The abandon-grace: sāṇḍīm hamsa-gati — bahu utkaṇṭhā hē chittī — abandon the hamsa-gati — much utkaṇṭhā in chitta. Hamsa-gati = the slow-graceful-gait of a swan (= a traditional poetic-image for the dignified-slow-walk of beautiful-women / royalty / divinities). Abandon the slow-graceful-walk — the bhakta wants the deity to come hastily, not in slow-grace; much utkaṇṭhā in chitta won't allow waiting.
The closing: Tukā mhaṇē ā'īm — Śrī-rangē Viṭha-bā'īm — Tuka says: mother — Śrī-ranga-Viṭha-bā'ī. Viṭha-bā'ī = the feminine form of Viṭṭhal — Viṭṭhal-as-mother. (Distinct from the more-common māulī-Pāṇḍuranga: Viṭha-bā'ī uses the feminine-noun-suffix -bā'ī directly, making the deity grammatically-feminine.) The mother-vocative-with-feminine-name.
[T]
For someone today
This verse captures pure, urgent longing for God's presence. Tukaram's arms tremble in anticipation of an embrace, and he begs the deity to hurry rather than approach in the slow, graceful gait usually reserved for royalty or the divine. His heart cannot bear the wait. He calls out to Vitthal using the feminine name Vithabai, addressing God as a mother whose arrival he craves the way a child craves his mother's embrace.
मराठी: हा अभंग देवाच्या सान्निध्यासाठीची उत्कट, अनावर ओढ व्यक्त करतो. आलिंगनाच्या ओढीने तुकारामांचे हात-बाहू थरथरत आहेत, आणि ते देवाला विनवतात की राजेशाही किंवा दैवी संथ, डौलदार चालीने न येता लवकर यावे. त्यांच्या मनाला वाट पाहणे सहन होत नाही. ते विठ्ठलाला स्त्रीलिंगी नाव विठाबाई म्हणून हाक मारतात, जणू आई असल्यासारखे, जिच्या मिठीची ओढ लहान मूल जशी आपल्या आईसाठी लावते तशी.
Where this applies
- When you're desperately waiting for someone you love and every second of delay feels unbearable
- When someone's slow, formal behavior feels wrong because your heart just wants closeness now
- When you find yourself praying with raw, physical longing rather than composed words
- When you think of the divine less as an authority and more as a mother you're aching to be held by