Abhanga 1669
Tukaram urges Vitthal to come quickly because a devotee who holds on so tightly should not be kept waiting, and he openly questions why an all-seeing God seems slow to notice his own moment of need.
The verse
तरीं आम्ही तुझी धरियेली कास । नाहीं कोणी दास वांयां गेला ॥१॥ आगा पंढरीच्या उभ्या विटेवरी । येई लवकरी धांवें नेटे ॥ध्रु.॥ पालवितों तुज उभी करोनि बाहे । कृपावंता पाहे मजकडे ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे तुज बहु कान डोळे । कां हे माझे वेळे ऐसी परी ॥३॥
Literal translation
Then we have grasped your kāsa — no dāsa has gone in vain. Hey, Paṇḍharī's standing on the brick — come quickly, run with strength. I beckon you raising arms straight — kṛpāvantā, look toward me. Tuka says: you have many ears, many eyes — why this kind of treatment at my time?
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| तरीं आम्ही तुझी धरियेली कास | "then — we — grasped — your kāsa" |
| नाहीं कोणी दास वांयां गेला | "no dāsa — gone in vain" |
| आगा पंढरीच्या उभ्या विटेवरी | "hey — Paṇḍharī's — standing on brick" |
| येई लवकरी धांवें नेटे | "come quickly — run with strength" |
| पालवितों तुज उभी करोनि बाहे | "I beckon — to you — raising arms straight" |
| कृपावंता पाहे मजकडे | "kṛpāvantā — look — toward me" |
| तुका म्हणे तुज बहु कान डोळे | "Tuka says — to you — many — ears, eyes" |
| कां हे माझे वेळे ऐसी परी | "why — this — at my time — such kind" |
What it means
Grasped-your-kāsa + come-quickly + many-ears-eyes-why-treat-thus abhang.
The grasp-claim: tarīm āmhī tujhī dhariyēlī kāsa — nāhīm kōṇī dāsa vāyām gēlā — we have grasped your kāsa — no dāsa has gone in vain. Kāsa = the loose-end of the dhotī tucked-at-the-back; grasping someone's-kāsa = physically-clinging-to / tugging-from-behind. We have grasped your kāsa — now you must respond, since no dāsa-grasping-the-Lord's-kāsa goes in vain.
The come-quickly: āgā Paṇḍharīcyā ubhyā viṭē-varī — yē'ī lavakarī dhāvēm nēṭē — hey, Paṇḍharī's standing-on-brick — come quickly, run with strength. Āgā = vocative for-pulling-attention (= "hey!"); nēṭē = with strength / with force.
The arm-raising: pālavitōm tuja ubhī karōni bāhē — kṛpāvantā pāhē maja-kaḍē — I beckon you, raising arms straight — kṛpāvantā, look toward me. Pālavīṇē = to beckon, to wave-arm-in-call.
The closing-complaint: Tukā mhaṇē tuja bahu kāna ḍōḷē — kām hē mājhē vēḷē aisī parī — Tuka says: you have many ears, many eyes — why this kind of treatment at my time? Kāna ḍōḷē (= many-ears, many-eyes) of the omniscient-omnipresent Lord — yet at my time, this kind of (delayed) response?
[T]
For someone today
For today: we have grasped your cloth-edge — no servant of yours has gone in vain; hey, you who stand on the brick at Paṇḍharī — come quickly, run with strength; I am beckoning to you, raising my arms straight — kṛpāvantā, look toward me; Tuka says — you have so many ears and eyes — why this kind of treatment when it's my time?
Where this applies
- When you feel you have held on to your faith so long that you deserve a response now
- When you are waiting for help and want to call out urgently instead of quietly enduring
- When you notice others seem to receive attention while your own turn feels delayed
- When you want to express honest frustration with God without feeling that it breaks your devotion