Abhanga 1711
For today: we have made the various mukti-states paltry — for this reason: to us is taking birth yuga-after-yuga; bhakti-rasa is not the kind of sukha that tires — again-and-again, the longing to drink it; into Deva's very-hand, we have made him hold form — we won't let him become formless; Tuka says — the chitta has stayed steady — meditate on those feet standing on the brick.
The verse
मोक्षपदें तुच्छ केलीं याकारणें । आम्हां जन्म घेणें युगायुगीं ॥१॥ विटे ऐसें सुख नव्हे भक्तिरस । पुडतीपुडती आस सेवावें हें ॥ध्रु.॥ देवा हातीं रूप धरविला आकार । नेदूं निराकार होऊं त्यासी ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे चत्ति निवांत राहिलें । ध्याई तीं पाउलें विटेवरि ॥३॥
Literal translation
Mokṣa-padas (we) have made paltry for this reason — to us (is) taking birth yuga-after-yuga. Bhakti-rasa is not the kind of sukha that tires — again-and-again longing to drink this. To Deva's hand we made him hold form, the ākāra — won't let him become nirākāra. Tuka says: chitta has stayed steady — meditate on those feet on the brick.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| मोक्षपदें तुच्छ केलीं याकारणें | "mokṣa-padas — paltry made — for this reason" |
| आम्हां जन्म घेणें युगायुगीं | "to us — taking birth — yuga-after-yuga" |
| विटे ऐसें सुख नव्हे भक्तिरस | "tiring — no such sukha — bhakti-rasa" |
| पुडतीपुडती आस सेवावें हें | "again-and-again — longing — to drink this" |
| देवा हातीं रूप धरविला आकार | "to Deva's hand — form — we made hold — the ākāra" |
| नेदूं निराकार होऊं त्यासी | "won't let — nirākāra — become — to him" |
| तुका म्हणे चत्ति निवांत राहिलें | "Tuka says — chitta — steady — has stayed" |
| ध्याई तीं पाउलें विटेवरि | "meditate — those feet — on the brick" |
What it means
Mokṣa-paltry-want-rebirth-bhakti + Lord-must-stay-form-not-nirākāra abhang.
The mokṣa-paltry: mōkṣa-padē tucchā kēlīm yā-kāraṇē — āmhām janma ghēṇē yugā-yugīm — we have made the mokṣa-padas paltry for this reason — taking birth yuga-after-yuga. Tucchā = paltry, contemptible. We have made the various-mukti-states paltry; we want to-take-birth yuga-after-yuga (= the anti-mukti-pro-rebirth warkari touchstone).
The non-tiring rasa: viṭē aisēm sukha navhē bhakti-rasa — puḍatī-puḍatī āsa sēvāvēm hēm — bhakti-rasa is not such sukha that tires — again-and-again, longing to drink this. Viṭē = tires-of, gets-bored-with; puḍatī-puḍatī = again-and-again. Bhakti-rasa never tires the bhakta.
The crucial form-claim: Devā hātīm rūpa dharavilā ākāra — nēdūm nirākāra hō'ūm tyāsī — to Deva's hand we made him hold form, the ākāra — won't let him become nirākāra. The radical-bhakti-claim: the bhaktas have forced the Lord to take form; we will not let him slip-back-into-formlessness (nirākāra). (Striking-formulation: the Vedānta-nirākāra-Brahman is rejected in favor of bhakta-imposed-sākāra; the form is the bhakta's-creation-and-insistence.)
The closing: Tukā mhaṇē chitti nivānta rāhilēm — dhyā'ī tīm pā'ulēm viṭē-vari — Tuka says: chitta steady — meditate those feet on the brick. Meditate on those-feet-on-the-brick (= the Viṭṭhal-on-the-brick at Paṇḍharī).
[T]
For someone today
For today: we have made the various mukti-states paltry — for this reason: to us is taking birth yuga-after-yuga; bhakti-rasa is not the kind of sukha that tires — again-and-again, the longing to drink it; into Deva's very-hand, we have made him hold form — we won't let him become formless; Tuka says — the chitta has stayed steady — meditate on those feet standing on the brick.
Where this applies
- When you are tempted to think spiritual growth means abandoning all form, feeling, and attachment rather than deepening a living relationship
- When you worry that devotion or love will eventually grow stale, and you need reassurance that real love keeps renewing itself
- When you crave something concrete to focus your mind on, rather than an abstract idea you can't hold onto
- When you are drawn to a specific practice, image, or place that steadies your restless mind