Abhanga 1686
Every good thing you have ever tasted, life, sweetness, joy, love, finds its truest source in one divine presence, which also personally accepts you.
The verse
जीवाचें जीवन अमृताची तनु । ब्रम्हांड भूषणु नारायण ॥१॥ सुखाचा सांगात अंतकासी अंत । निजांचा निवांत नारायण ॥ध्रु.॥ गोडाचें ही गोड हर्षाचें ही कोड । प्रीतीचा ही लाड नारायण ॥२॥ भावाचा निज भाव नांवांचा हा नांव । अवघा पंढरिराव अवतरलासे ॥३॥ तुका म्हणे जें हें साराचें हें सार । माझा अंगीकार तेणें केला ॥४॥
Literal translation
Life of life, body of amṛta, Brahmāṇḍa-ornament — Nārāyaṇa. Sukha's companion, end of antaka, nivānta of nijas — Nārāyaṇa. Sweetness of the sweet, marvel of joy, prīti's lāḍa — Nārāyaṇa. Bhāva's nija-bhāva, name of names — Paṇḍhari-rāva has incarnated. Tuka says: that which is the essence of essence — he made my angīkāra.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| जीवाचें जीवन अमृताची तनु | "life of life — body of amṛta" |
| ब्रम्हांड भूषणु नारायण | "Brahmāṇḍa-ornament — Nārāyaṇa" |
| सुखाचा सांगात अंतकासी अंत | "sukha's companion — end of antaka (death)" |
| निजांचा निवांत नारायण | "of nijas — utterly-still — Nārāyaṇa" |
| गोडाचें ही गोड हर्षाचें ही कोड | "sweetness of the sweet — marvel of joy" |
| प्रीतीचा ही लाड नारायण | "prīti's lāḍa — Nārāyaṇa" |
| भावाचा निज भाव नांवांचा हा नांव | "bhāva's nija-bhāva — of names — this name" |
| अवघा पंढरिराव अवतरलासे | "all — Paṇḍhari-rāva — has descended-incarnated" |
| तुका म्हणे जें हें साराचें हें सार | "Tuka says — that-which — the essence of essence" |
| माझा अंगीकार तेणें केला | "my angīkāra — he made" |
What it means
All-superlatives-Nārāyaṇa praise abhang. A cascading-genitive structure (X of X = Nārāyaṇa) that piles up meta-superlatives.
The cascading-praises:
Verse 1: jīvācēm jīvana (life of life) + amṛtācī tanu (body of amṛta) + Brahmāṇḍa bhūṣaṇa (Brahmāṇḍa-ornament) — Nārāyaṇa.
Dhṛuva: sukhācā sāngāta (sukha's companion) + antakāsī anta (end of antaka = death) + nijāñcā nivānta (utterly-still of the nijas) — Nārāyaṇa.
Verse 2: gōḍācēm gōḍa (sweetness of sweet) + harṣācēm kōḍa (marvel of joy) + prītīcā lāḍa (prīti's lāḍa-fondling) — Nārāyaṇa.
Verse 3: bhāvācā nija bhāva (bhāva's own-bhāva) + nāmvāñcā nāmva (name of names) — all of these = Paṇḍhari-rāva who has incarnated.
Closing: jēm sārācēm hēm sāra (the essence-of-essence) — that very — made my angīkāra (formal-acceptance).
This abhang is one of Tukaram's most-celebrated praise-cascades — the meta-superlative pattern (X-of-X) asserts Nārāyaṇa as the inner-essence of every desirable-quality. The closing brings it down to the personal: that very Essence-of-essence has made me his own.
[T]
For someone today
For today: Nārāyaṇa is the life within life, the very body of nectar, the ornament of the whole universe. He is the companion of joy, the end of death, and the utterly still center of everything that is truly your own. He is the sweetness within sweetness, the wonder within joy, the tenderness within love. He is the truest essence of devotion, the name behind every name — all of this has taken form as the Lord of Paṇḍharī. Tuka says: it is that very essence of every essence who has claimed me as his own.
मराठी: आजसाठी: नारायण हा जीवनातील जीवन आहे, अमृताचा देह आहे, ब्रह्मांडाचा अलंकार आहे. तो सुखाचा सोबती आहे, मृत्यूचा अंत आहे, आणि जे खरोखर आपले आहे त्या सर्वांचे शांत केंद्र आहे. तो गोडव्यातील गोडवा आहे, आनंदातील आश्चर्य आहे, प्रेमातील माधुर्य आहे. तो भावातील खरा भाव आहे, प्रत्येक नावामागचे नाव आहे — हे सर्व पंढरीरायाच्या रूपाने अवतरले आहे. तुका म्हणतो: सारातील हेच सार त्यानेच मला आपलेसे केले आहे.
Where this applies
- When you experience a moment of deep sweetness or joy and wonder where that feeling truly comes from
- When you're searching for words to describe what love or peace ultimately means to you
- When you feel small next to something vast and want a way to name that vastness
- When you want reassurance that you can be personally accepted by something greater than yourself