संत साहित्य
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संत साहित्य · Tukārām · Abhanga 1684 of 4582

Abhanga 1684

For today: I have no longing for your jñāna — when I take it, your name itself feels sweet; an ignorant suckling-child of longing — I speak words with mere-longing; I don't know bhakti at all, I have no vairāgya — I have placed your burden on Viṭha-bā'ī; Tuka says — I dance becoming shameless — there is no other bhāva in my mind.

When you'd assert simple-bhakti-not-jñāna — don't-need-jñāna; child-suckling-speaks-with-longing; no-bhakti-no-vairāgya-burden-on-Viṭhā-ī; nācē-nirlajja

The verse

मज नाहीं तुझ्या ज्ञानाची ते चाड । घेतां वाटे गोड नाम तुझें ॥१॥ नेणतें लेंकरूं आवडीचें तान्हें । बोलतों वचनें आवडीनें ॥ध्रु.॥ भक्ती नेणें कांहीं वैराग्य तें नाहीं । घातला विठाईं भार तुज ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे नाचें निर्लज्ज होऊनि । नाहीं माझे मनीं दुजा भाव ॥३॥

Literal translation

English: To me, no longing for your jñāna — taking your name feels sweet. Ignorant child, of longing, suckling — I speak vacanas with longing. Don't know bhakti at all, no vairāgya — placed your burden on Viṭhā-ī. Tuka says: I dance becoming nirlajja — no other bhāva in my mind.

Word-by-word gloss
Marathi Meaning
मज नाहीं तुझ्या ज्ञानाची ते चाड "to meno longingof your jñāna"
घेतां वाटे गोड नाम तुझें "takingfeels sweetyour name"
नेणतें लेंकरूं आवडीचें तान्हें "ignorant childof longingsuckling"
बोलतों वचनें आवडीनें "I speakvacanaswith longing"
भक्ती नेणें कांहीं वैराग्य तें नाहीं "don't know bhaktianything; — no vairāgya"
घातला विठाईं भार तुज "placed — on Viṭhā'ī — your burden"
तुका म्हणे नाचें निर्लज्ज होऊनि "Tuka says — I dancebecoming nirlajja"
नाहीं माझे मनीं दुजा भाव "no other bhāvain my mind"

What it means

Don't-need-jñāna-only-name-sweet + dance-shameless abhang.

The opening: maja nāhīm tujhyā jñānācī tē cāḍa — ghētām vāṭē gōḍa nāma tujhēto me, no longing for your jñāna — taking your name feels sweet. No-jñāna-longing; just-the-name-feels-sweet. (Compare 1517's taking-the-name-only.)

The child-image: nēṇatēm lēnkarūm āvaḍīcēm tānhēm — bōlatōm vacanēm āvaḍīnēignorant child of longing, suckling — I speak vacanas with longing. Tānhēm = suckling-infant. I am a babbling-suckling-child speaking words-with-longing-only.

The triple-disclaim: bhakti nēṇē kāhīm vairāgya tēm nāhīm — ghātalā Viṭhā'īm bhāra tujaI don't know bhakti at all — no vairāgya — placed your burden on Viṭhā-ī. I have neither bhakti-knowledge nor vairāgya-(detachment); I have placed the burden on Viṭha-bā'ī (mother-Viṭṭhal).

The famous closing: Tukā mhaṇē nācē nirlajja hō'ūni — nāhīm mājhē manīm dujā bhāvaTuka says: I dance becoming nirlajja — no other bhāva in my mind. Nācē nirlajja hō'ūni = dances becoming shameless (= kīrtana-dance without social-self-consciousness). No-other-bhāva in mind = only bhakti-saturation.

This abhang is one of the most-loved warkari kīrtana-pieces — its radical-simplicity (don't-know-jñāna-don't-know-bhakti-don't-have-vairāgya — only-the-name-tastes-sweet — dance-shameless) makes it the touchstone of warkari simple-bhakti.

[T]

For someone today

For today: I have no longing for your jñāna — when I take it, your name itself feels sweet; an ignorant suckling-child of longing — I speak words with mere-longing; I don't know bhakti at all, I have no vairāgya — I have placed your burden on Viṭha-bā'ī; Tuka says — I dance becoming shameless — there is no other bhāva in my mind.

Where this applies

Related verses