Abhanga 1695
True devotion never runs out and never feels like enough, and it lets you rest because God already knows what you need before you ask.
The verse
आवडी न पुरे सेवितां न सरे । पडियेली धुरेसवें गांठी ॥१॥ न पुरे हा जन्म हें सुख सांटितां । पुढती ही आतां हें चि मागों ॥ध्रु.॥ मारगाची चिंता पालखी बैसतां । नाहीं उसंतितां कोसपेणी ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे माझी विठ्ठल माउली । जाणे ते लागली भूक तान ॥३॥
Literal translation
Longing doesn't fill, taking doesn't end — fallen with the head, the knot. This birth doesn't suffice for storing this sukha — will ask for it more now. No road-worry when sitting in palanquin — no kosa-rest-stretching. Tuka says: my Viṭhṭhal-māulī — knows the hunger-thirst attached (to me).
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| आवडी न पुरे सेवितां न सरे | "longing — doesn't fill — taking — doesn't end" |
| पडियेली धुरेसवें गांठी | "fallen — with head — knot" |
| न पुरे हा जन्म हें सुख सांटितां | "doesn't suffice — this birth — for storing sukha" |
| पुढती ही आतां हें चि मागों | "more, now — this very — will ask" |
| मारगाची चिंता पालखी बैसतां | "road's worry — (when) sitting in palanquin" |
| नाहीं उसंतितां कोसपेणी | "not — rest-stop — for the kos-stretching" |
| तुका म्हणे माझी विठ्ठल माउली | "Tuka says — my — Viṭhṭhal-māulī" |
| जाणे ते लागली भूक तान | "knows — that attached — hunger-thirst" |
What it means
No-saturation-need-more-births + palanquin-no-road-worry abhang.
The opening: āvaḍī na purē sēvitām na sarē — paḍiyēlī dhurē-savē gāṇṭhī — longing doesn't fill, taking doesn't end — fallen with the head, the knot. Dhurē = the head, the front-of-something; gāṇṭhī = knot. The knot is right-with-the-head (= right-from-the-start; the binding is permanent).
The more-birth-petition: na purē hā janma hēm sukha sāṇṭitām — puḍhatī hī ātām hēm chi māgōm — this birth doesn't suffice for storing this sukha — will ask for it more now. This birth is too-small to store-up the bhakti-sukha; will ask for more births to keep-storing. (Compare 1631's ghē'ūm puḍhatī janma — vāṇūm kīrti mukhē nāma.)
The palanquin-image: mārgācī cintā pālakhī baisatām — nāhīm usamtitām kōsa-pēṇī — no road-worry when sitting in palanquin — no kosa-rest-stretching. Pālakhī = palanquin-litter; kōsa = kos (= ~3km), the unit-of-distance; kosa-pēṇī = the resting-stretching at every kos along the way. When sitting in the Lord-as-palanquin, no road-worry, no need to stretch-legs at every kos. (Striking-image: the bhakta carried-as-cargo by the Lord-the-palanquin-bearers; no fatigue-stops needed.)
The closing: Tukā mhaṇē mājhī Viṭhṭhala mā'ulī — jāṇē tē lāgalī bhūka tāna — Tuka says: my Viṭhṭhal-māulī — knows the hunger-and-thirst attached (to me). The Viṭhṭhal-mother knows the bhakta's hunger-and-thirst.
[T]
For someone today
For today: the longing doesn't get filled, taking doesn't end — the knot is fallen right at the head; this birth doesn't suffice for storing up this sukha — I will ask for it more births now; there is no worry of the road when one is sitting in the palanquin — no need to stretch legs at every kos-rest-stop; Tuka says — my Viṭhṭhal-māulī — she knows the hunger and thirst attached to me.
Where this applies
- When you feel like your love for someone or something you cherish never runs dry
- When one lifetime feels too short to hold everything you have come to love
- When you are exhausted from carrying every worry yourself and need to let someone else carry the load
- When you long to be understood without having to explain your needs out loud