Abhanga 1693
English: According to longing, (he) made the show — infinite thereafter became the name.
The verse
आवडीसारिखें संपादिलें सोंग । अनंत हें मग जालें नाम ॥१॥ कळे ऐशा वाटा रचिल्या सुलभा । दुर्गम या नभाचा ही साक्षी ॥ध्रु.॥ हातें जेवी एक मुखीं मागे घांस । माउली जयास तैसी बाळा ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे माझें ध्यान विटेंवरी । तैसी च गोजिरी दिसे मूर्ति ॥३॥
Literal translation
English: According to longing, (he) made the show — infinite thereafter became the name. Paths made easy so all-can-know — even the durgama sky is witness. As one (mother) eats with hand while asking the morsel from (her) mouth — māulī to whom (the child), thus to the child. Tuka says: my dhyāna at the brick — that-very lovely mūrti appears.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| आवडीसारिखें संपादिलें सोंग | "according to longing — (he) made — the show" |
| अनंत हें मग जालें नाम | "infinite — thereafter — became the name" |
| कळे ऐशा वाटा रचिल्या सुलभा | "so that all-can-know — paths made — easy" |
| दुर्गम या नभाचा ही साक्षी | "durgama — of this sky — also witness" |
| हातें जेवी एक मुखीं मागे घांस | "one — eats with hand — in mouth — asks the morsel" |
| माउली जयास तैसी बाळा | "māulī — to whom — thus to (the) child" |
| तुका म्हणे माझें ध्यान विटेंवरी | "Tuka says — my dhyāna — at the brick" |
| तैसी च गोजिरी दिसे मूर्ति | "that-very lovely — appears — the mūrti" |
What it means
Lord-makes-show-by-our-longing + māulī-feeds-child-from-her-own-mouth abhang.
The opening: āvaḍī-sārikhēm sampādilēm sōnga — ananta hēm maga jālēm nāma — according to (our) longing, (he) made the show — infinite became the name thereafter. Sōnga = role / disguise / show. The Lord takes on the form according-to-the-bhakta's-longing; thereafter, his name becomes-infinite. (Compare 1607's dhariyēlīm sōṇgēm — yēṇē avaghīm Pāṇḍurangēm.)
The accessible-paths: kaḷē aisā vāṭā racilyā sulabhā — durgama yā nabhācā hī sākṣī — paths made easy so all-can-know — durgama sky is witness. Even the inaccessible-sky is witness (= the cosmic-witness confirms the paths-made-easy).
The striking mother-image: hātē jēvī ēka mukhīm māgē ghāmsa — mā'ulī jayāsa taisī bāḷā — one (mother) eats with hand while in (her own) mouth asking the morsel — māulī to whom (= the child she feeds) thus. The folk-image of mother-and-child eating: a mother eats one morsel with her hand but also takes the morsel from (the child's) mouth (= sometimes a mother playfully takes a bite from the morsel-already-in-the-child's-mouth). That very-mode is how the māulī-Lord behaves with the child-bhakta. (The mother-and-child sharing-from-the-same-mouth image — mutuality of feeding.)
The closing: Tukā mhaṇē mājhēm dhyāna viṭē-varī — taisī chi gōjirī disē mūrti — Tuka says: my dhyāna at the brick — that-very lovely mūrti appears. My dhyāna is at the brick (= Viṭṭhal-on-the-brick at Paṇḍharī); just-that-form (lovely) appears in dhyāna.
[T]
For someone today
For today: according to our longing, he himself took on the show — and thereafter his name became infinite; the paths have been made so easy that all-can-know — even the inaccessible sky stands witness; just as one mother eats with her hand while asking-back-the-morsel from her child's mouth — so the māulī feeds her child; Tuka says — my dhyāna is at the brick — and that-very lovely mūrti appears (in dhyāna).
Where this applies
- Form-according-to-longing-name-infinite.* Āvaḍī-sōnga-ananta-nāma.
- Paths-easy-sky-as-witness.* Vāṭā-sulabhā-nabha-sākṣī.
- Mother-eats-with-hand-asks-from-child's-mouth.* Hātē-jēvī-mukhīm-māgē-ghāmsa-māulī-bāḷā.
- Dhyāna-at-brick-lovely-mūrti.* Dhyāna-viṭē-vari-gōjirī-mūrti.