Abhanga 1679
The body and every relationship are borrowed and temporary, so the one lasting bond worth holding onto is with God, and the only real prayer is never to forget him.
The verse
तुझा विसर नको माझिया जीवा । क्षण एक केशवा मायबापा ॥१॥ जाओ राहो देह आतां ये चि घडी । कायसी आवडी याची मज ॥ध्रु.॥ कुश्चीळ इंद्रियें आपुलिया गुणें । यांचिया पाळणें कोण हित ॥२॥ पुत्र पत्नी बंधु सोयरीं खाणोरीं । यांचा कोण धरी संग आतां ॥३॥ पिंड हा उसना आणिला पांचांचा । सेकीं लागे ज्याचा त्यासी देणें ॥४॥ तुका म्हणे नाहीं आणिक सोइरें । तुजविण दुसरें पांडुरंगा ॥५॥
Literal translation
Don't let me forget you, my soul, even for one moment, Keśava māya-bāpā. Let the body go-or-stay this very moment — what longing for it have I? The impure indriyas, by their own guṇa — who is their hita-keeper? Son, wife, brother, relations, distant-people — who keeps their sanga now? This piṇḍa is borrowed, brought from the five-elements — in the end, must be given to whom it belongs. Tuka says: no other sōirē — except you, second, Pāṇḍurangā.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| तुझा विसर नको माझिया जीवा | "your forgetting — not — to my soul" |
| क्षण एक केशवा मायबापा | "for one moment — Keśava — māya-bāpā" |
| जाओ राहो देह आतां ये चि घडी | "go-or-stay — body — this very moment" |
| कायसी आवडी याची मज | "what longing — for it — to me" |
| कुश्चीळ इंद्रियें आपुलिया गुणें | "impure indriyas — by their own guṇa" |
| यांचिया पाळणें कोण हित | "their hita-keeper — who" |
| पुत्र पत्नी बंधु सोयरीं खाणोरीं | "son-wife-brother-relations-distant" |
| यांचा कोण धरी संग आतां | "who keeps — their sanga — now" |
| पिंड हा उसना आणिला पांचांचा | "this piṇḍa — borrowed — brought from — the five" |
| सेकीं लागे ज्याचा त्यासी देणें | "in the end — whose-it-is, to him — must be given" |
| तुका म्हणे नाहीं आणिक सोइरें | "Tuka says — no other sōirē" |
| तुजविण दुसरें पांडुरंगा | "except you — second — Pāṇḍurangā" |
What it means
No-relative-except-Pāṇḍuranga + body-borrowed-must-return abhang.
The opening: tujhā visara nakō mājhiyā jīvā — kṣaṇa ēka Kēśavā māya-bāpā — don't let me forget you for one moment, Keśava māya-bāpā. Māya-bāpā = mother-father; Keśava-as-both-parents.
The body-indifference: jā'ō rāhō dēha ātām yē chi ghaḍī — kāyasī āvaḍī yācī maja — let body go-or-stay this very moment — what longing for it have I?
The indriyas: kuścīḷa indriyē āpuliyā guṇē — yāñciyā pāḷaṇē kōṇa hita — the impure indriyas by their own guṇa — who is the hita-keeper of those? The senses are impure-by-nature; no-one cares for their welfare (= they don't deserve to be cared-for).
The relations: putra patnī bandhu sōyarīm khāṇōrīm — yāñcā kōṇa dharī sanga ātām — son-wife-brother-relations-distant — who keeps their sanga now? (= no-one really keeps continuous-association with them; the family-relations are abandoned.)
The piṇḍa-elements-image: piṇḍa hā usanā āṇilā pāñcāñcā — sēkīm lāgē jyācā tyāsī dēṇēm — this piṇḍa is borrowed-and-brought from the five (elements) — in the end, must be given to whom it belongs. The body as borrowed-from-five-elements (pañca-mahābhūta) and must-be-returned-to-each-element-separately: earth to earth, water to water, fire to fire, air to air, ether to ether. This is the classical pañcī-karaṇa-decomposition doctrine in plain folk-language.
The closing: Tukā mhaṇē nāhīm āṇika sōirēm — tujha-vīṇa dusarēm Pāṇḍurangā — Tuka says: no other sōirē — except you, second, Pāṇḍuranga. Sōirē = relative, in-law, helper-by-bond. No-other relative except Pāṇḍuranga.
[T]
For someone today
For today: don't let me forget you for even one moment, Keśava — mother-and-father; let this body go or stay this very instant — what longing have I for it?; the impure senses, by their own quality — who is their welfare-keeper?; son, wife, brother, relations near and far — who keeps real-association with them now?; this body is only borrowed-and-brought from the five-elements — in the end, must be given to whom-it-belongs; Tuka says — there is no other relative — except you, Pāṇḍuranga.
Where this applies
- When you get anxious about aging or illness and cling tightly to your body's health and appearance
- When you realize a relationship you thought was permanent, with family or friends, was never fully in your control
- When you catch your mind wandering from what matters most and want to return to remembering God
- When grief over losing someone forces you to see that every bond, even close family, is temporary and borrowed