Abhanga 1676
The divine shows up for the people respectable society has cast out, not only for those who follow every rule.
The verse
तुझाठायीं ओस । दोन्ही पुण्य आणि दोष ॥१॥ झडलें उरलें किती । आम्ही धरियेलें चित्ती ॥ध्रु.॥ कळलासी नष्टा । यातिक्रियाकर्मभ्रष्टा ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे बोला । नाहीं ताळा गा विठ्ठला ॥३॥
Literal translation
At-your-place, ōsa — both puṇya and dōṣa. Shed and remainder — how much? — we held in chitta. You became known to (the) corrupt — (those) yāti-kriyā-karma-bhraṣṭa. Tuka says: speaking — no tāḷa, O Viṭhṭhalā.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| तुझाठायीं ओस | "at-your-place — empty / lonely" |
| दोन्ही पुण्य आणि दोष | "both — puṇya and dōṣa" |
| झडलें उरलें किती | "shed-and-remainder — how much" |
| आम्ही धरियेलें चित्ती | "we — held — in chitta" |
| कळलासी नष्टा | "you became known — to (the) corrupt (naṣṭa)" |
| यातिक्रियाकर्मभ्रष्टा | "yāti-kriyā-karma-bhraṣṭa (= those-fallen-from-jāti-rite-karma)" |
| तुका म्हणे बोला | "Tuka says — speaking" |
| नाहीं ताळा गा विठ्ठला | "no rhythm — O Viṭhṭhalā" |
What it means
Lord-keeps-company-with-fallen + anti-jāti-kriyā-karma abhang. A radical-egalitarian declaration.
The opening: tujha-ṭhāyīm ōsa — dōnhī puṇya āṇi dōṣa — at-your-place, ōsa — both puṇya and dōṣa. Ōsa = empty, lonely, abandoned. At your place, both puṇya and dōṣa are empty (= neither is present-as-distinct). (= the Lord transcends the puṇya-dōṣa duality.)
The we-held-it: jhaḍalēm uralēm kitī — āmhī dhariyēlēm chittī — shed-and-remainder, how much? — we held in chitta. We have held this (truth) in chitta — however much was shed-or-remained doesn't matter to us.
The radical-claim: kaḷalāsī naṣṭā — yāti-kriyā-karma-bhraṣṭā — you became known to (the) corrupt, the yāti-kriyā-karma-bhraṣṭa. Naṣṭa = corrupt, ruined; yāti-kriyā-karma-bhraṣṭa = those-who-have-fallen-from-jāti-(caste-)duty, kriyā-(ritual-)duty, and karma-(prescribed-action). The bold-statement: the Lord became known specifically to the caste-fallen, ritual-fallen, action-fallen people — i.e., those rejected by orthodox-society are precisely the ones to whom the Lord reveals himself. (Striking-anti-caste claim joining 1606's Candrabhāgē-bhalatē-yātī.)
The closing-complaint: Tukā mhaṇē bōlā — nāhīm tāḷā gā Viṭhṭhalā — Tuka says: speaking — no tāḷa (rhythm), O Viṭhṭhalā. In your speaking, there is no rhythm (= your speaking-and-acting are inconsistent / the Lord doesn't behave according to-orthodox-expectation).
This abhang is one of Tukaram's boldest anti-caste lines: explicitly stating that the Lord reveals himself to the jāti-fallen, not to the orthodox. It belongs with 1606 (Candrabhāgē-bhalatē-yātī), 1563 (Mīrābāī-Cōkhāmēḷā-Kabīra trans-caste lineage).
[T]
For someone today
For today: at your place, both puṇya and dōṣa are empty-and-equal; how much was shed and how much remains — we have held in our chitta; you became known specifically to the corrupt — those who have fallen from caste-duty, ritual-duty, action-duty; Tuka says — in your speaking, there's no rhythm, O Viṭhṭhalā.
Where this applies
- When you feel too flawed or too far outside social norms to belong in a spiritual community.
- When you judge someone's spiritual worth by their caste, class, or how well they follow rules.
- When you feel written off by a religious or social establishment for not fitting the mold.
- When you notice grace reaching someone society has rejected, and it unsettles your expectations.