Abhanga 1672
Your bond with the divine is not something you win by arguing for it — it was yours by right from the beginning, even if you wandered away and forgot.
The verse
निष्ठा उत्तरीं न धरावा राग । आहे लागभाग ठायींचा चि ॥१॥ तूं माझा जनिता तूं माझा जनिता । रखुमाईंच्या कांता पांडुरंगा ॥ध्रु.॥ मुळींच्या ठेवण्यां आहे अधिकार । दुरावोनि दूर गेलों होतों ॥२॥ पोटींच्या आठवा पडिला विसर । काहीं आला भार माथां तेणें ॥३॥ राखिला हा होता बहु चौघां चार । साक्षीने वेव्हार निवडिला ॥४॥ तुका म्हणे कांहीं बोलणें न लगे । आतां पांडुरंगे तूं मी ऐसें ॥५॥
Literal translation
At niṣṭha-uttara, don't hold anger — there is connection-and-share of the original-place. You are my janitā, you are my janitā — Rakhumāī's husband, Pāṇḍurangā. At the mūḷīñcyā ṭhēvaṇyām there is right — I had gone far away. The inner-recall was forgotten — some weight came on head thereby. (It) was kept by four-of-many — with witness, vyavahāra was selected. Tuka says: no more speaking needed — now, Pāṇḍurangē, you-me-like-this.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| निष्ठा उत्तरीं न धरावा राग | "at niṣṭha-uttara — don't hold anger" |
| आहे लागभाग ठायींचा चि | "there is — connection-and-share — of original-place" |
| तूं माझा जनिता तूं माझा जनिता | "you are — my janitā — you are — my janitā" |
| रखुमाईंच्या कांता पांडुरंगा | "Rakhumāī's husband — Pāṇḍurangā" |
| मुळींच्या ठेवण्यां आहे अधिकार | "at the original-deposit — there is right" |
| दुरावोनि दूर गेलों होतों | "gone far away — I had been" |
| पोटींच्या आठवा पडिला विसर | "the inner-recall — forgotten" |
| काहीं आला भार माथां तेणें | "some weight — came on head — by that" |
| राखिला हा होता बहु चौघां चार | "kept — was — much — by four-of-many" |
| साक्षीने वेव्हार निवडिला | "with witness — vyavahāra — selected" |
| तुका म्हणे कांहीं बोलणें न लगे | "Tuka says — no need to speak" |
| आतां पांडुरंगे तूं मी ऐसें | "now — Pāṇḍurangē — you, me, like this" |
What it means
You-are-my-father + reclaiming-the-original-deposit abhang.
The opening: niṣṭha uttarīm na dharāvā rāga — āhē lāga-bhāga ṭhāyīñcā chi — at niṣṭha-uttara (= firm-determined-statement / petition) don't hold anger — there is connection-and-share of original-place itself. Lāga-bhāga = connection / kinship-share. Don't be angry at my insistent-petition; the connection-and-share comes from the original-place (= we have an original kinship — your-status-as-father (or mine-as-mirāsdar)).
The double-vocative: tūm mājhā janitā tūm mājhā janitā — Rakhumāīmcyā kāntā Pāṇḍurangā — you are my janitā, you are my janitā — Rakhumāī's husband, Pāṇḍurangā. Janitā = progenitor / father. Twice-repeated: you are my father, you are my father. The direct-claim of the deity-as-father.
The original-rights: muḷīñcyā ṭhēvaṇyām āhē adhikāra — durāvani dūra gēlōm hōtōm — at the original-deposit (mūḷīñcyā ṭhēvaṇa) there is right — I had gone far away. Mūḷīñcyā ṭhēvaṇa = the deposit-from-the-original-time (= the original-inheritance / mirāśī-from-time-immemorial). I have a right at this original-deposit; I had gone-far-away (= forgotten / wandered) for some time.
The forgetting: pōṭīñcyā āṭhavā paḍilā visara — kāhīm ālā bhāra māthām tēṇē — the inner-recall was forgotten — some weight came on head thereby. The inner-recall (of being-yours) had been forgotten; some weight came-on-head (= some burden from forgetting).
The witness-selection: rākhilā hā hōtā bahu caunghā cāra — sākṣīnē vēvhāra nivaḍilā — (it) was kept by four-of-many — vyavahāra selected with witness. Caunghā cāra = the four-of-many (= the neighborhood-witnesses, the quorum of four-elders that traditionally adjudicate property-disputes in Maratha-villages). The matter was kept by these four-of-many; the vyavahāra was-selected-with-witness (= the legal-decision was rendered with witness; the bhakta-Lord-relationship-deposit-claim has been adjudicated and confirmed).
The closing: Tukā mhaṇē kāhīm bōlaṇēm na lagē — ātām Pāṇḍurangē tūm mī aisēm — Tuka says: no more speaking needed — now, Pāṇḍurangē, you-me-like-this. Now I don't need to speak further; the matter has been-decided — now you-and-I are like-this (= united).
This abhang uses Maratha-property-rights vocabulary (mūḷīñcyā ṭhēvaṇa, adhikāra, caunghā cāra, sākṣīnē vēvhāra nivaḍilā) for the bhakti-relationship — making it a legally-adjudicated, witness-confirmed inheritance-claim. Compare 1638's mirāśī-vocabulary.
[T]
For someone today
For today: don't hold anger at my firm-petition — there is a connection-and-share from the original-place itself; you are my father, you are my father — husband of Rakhumāī, Pāṇḍurangā; at the original-deposit I have my right — I had gone far away (and forgotten); the inner-recall was forgotten, and some weight came on the head thereby; the matter was kept by four witnesses of the village — and the vyavahāra was selected with formal-witness; Tuka says — no more speaking is needed — now, Pāṇḍurangē, you-and-me are like-this.
मराठी: आजसाठी: माझ्या ठाम विनवणीवर राग धरू नकोस — ही जवळीक आणि वाटा मूळच्या नात्यातूनच आलेला आहे; तू माझा जनिता आहेस, तू माझा जनिता आहेस — रखुमाईच्या कांता, पांडुरंगा; मूळच्या ठेवणीवर माझा हक्क आहे — मी दूरवर भरकटून विसरून गेलो होतो; अंतरीची आठवण विसरली गेली, त्यामुळे डोक्यावर काहीसं ओझं आलं; गावातल्या चार साक्षीदारांनी हे प्रकरण सांभाळलं — आणि साक्षीने व्यवहार निवडला गेला; तुका म्हणतो — आता आणखी काही बोलायची गरज नाही — आता, पांडुरंगा, तू आणि मी असे एकरूप आहोत.
Where this applies
- When you feel you must argue or prove you deserve someone's love or belonging.
- When you drifted away from a faith, family, or practice and feel embarrassed to return.
- When old guilt about neglecting something important sits on you like a weight.
- When a long-standing dispute finally gets settled and you just want to stop arguing and rest.