Abhanga 1683
True devotion sees the same divine presence in every being and every form, so it serves all equally and accepts both the bitter and the sweet for love's sake.
The verse
आम्ही न देखों अवगुणां । पापी पवित्र शाहाणा ॥१॥ अवघीं रूपें तुझीं देवा । वंदूं भावें करूं सेवा ॥ध्रु.॥ मज मुक्ती सवें चाड । नेणें पाषाण धातु वाड ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे घोटीं । विष अमृत तुजसाटीं ॥३॥
Literal translation
We do not see avaguṇa — sinner, holy, wise. All forms are yours, Devā — will venerate with bhāva, do sēvā. To me, no longing for mukti — don't recognize stone, metal, enlarged-shape. Tuka says: will gulp poison and amṛta for your sake.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| आम्ही न देखों अवगुणां | "we — do not see — avaguṇas" |
| पापी पवित्र शाहाणा | "sinner, holy, wise" |
| अवघीं रूपें तुझीं देवा | "all forms — yours — Devā" |
| वंदूं भावें करूं सेवा | "will venerate — with bhāva — do sēvā" |
| मज मुक्ती सवें चाड | "to me — with mukti — no longing" |
| नेणें पाषाण धातु वाड | "don't know — stone, metal — enlarged-shape" |
| तुका म्हणे घोटीं | "Tuka says — will gulp" |
| विष अमृत तुजसाटीं | "poison and amṛta — for your sake" |
What it means
No-distinction-all-forms-yours + gulp-poison-amṛta abhang.
The opening: āmhī na dēkhōm avaguṇām — pāpī pavitra śāhāṇā — we do not see avaguṇas — sinner, holy, wise (all equal). We don't perceive faults; we make no distinction among sinner, holy, and wise.
The all-forms: avaghīm rūpēm tujhīm Devā — vandūm bhāvē karūm sēvā — all forms are yours, Devā — will venerate with bhāva, do sēvā. (= every form is your form; we venerate all with bhāva; the Viṣṇu-in-all-beings doctrine of 1619.)
The mukti-rejection: maja muktī savē cāḍa — nēṇē pāṣāṇa dhātu vāḍa — to me, no longing for mukti — don't recognize stone, metal, enlarged-shape. Pāṣāṇa-dhātu-vāḍa = stone-metal-large-shape (= the physical-image-distinctions of various-deities). (= we don't distinguish-by-material or by-size of the image; all are equally Lord.)
The closing: Tukā mhaṇē ghōṭīm — viṣa amṛta tujasāṭīm — Tuka says: will gulp poison and amṛta — for your sake. I'll gulp both viṣa (poison) and amṛta (nectar) — they are equal-for-your-sake. (Striking-formulation: no-distinction even between life-giving and death-giving; both equal in service.)
[T]
For someone today
For today: we do not see faults — sinner, holy, wise are all equal to us; all forms are yours, Devā — we will venerate them with feeling and do service; I have no longing for mukti — I don't recognize differences of stone-or-metal or enlarged-image-shape; Tuka says — I will gulp poison and amṛta alike, for your sake.
Where this applies
- When you catch yourself judging someone as beneath you because of their past
- When you're tempted to treat a poor or plain-looking person with less respect than someone impressive
- When you find yourself craving a spiritual reward for your devotion rather than the devotion itself
- When love asks you to accept something bitter along with the sweet, without picking and choosing