Abhanga 1723
For today: with what shall I do pūjā, Keśīrāja? — resolve this very doubt for me now; bathe you with water — but your own-form is everything, what does it cost me?; chandana's fragrance, flowers' perfume — there I am poor, what can I do?; you yourself are the fruit-giver, the betel-and-rice — what could I now offer to you?; offer dakṣiṇā — when the very-metal is Nārāyaṇa, and Brahma itself is the anna — what second-thing remains?; singing — you are the Omkāra, the tāḷī, the nāda-īśvara — there is no place anywhere outside-you to stand-and-dance; Tuka says — to me, everything is your nāma — dhūpa, dīpa — Rāma-Kṛṣṇa-Hari.
The verse
कासियानें पूजा करूं केशीराजा । हा चि संदेह माझा फेडीं आतां ॥१॥ उदकें न्हाणूं तरी स्वरूप तुझें । तेथें काय माझें वेचे देवा ॥ध्रु.॥ गंधाचा सुगंध पुष्पाचा परिमळ । तेथें मी दुर्बळ काय करूं ॥२॥ फळदाता तूंच तांबोल अक्षता । तरी काय आतां वाहों तुज ॥३॥ वाहूं दक्षिणा जरी धातु नारायण । ब्रम्ह तें चि अन्न दुजें काईं ॥४॥ गातां तूं ओंकार टाळी नादेश्वर । नाचावया थार नाहीं कोठें ॥५॥ तुका म्हणें मज अवघें तुझें नाम । धूप दीप रामकृष्णहरि ॥६॥
Literal translation
English: With what to do pūjā, Keśīrāja? — resolve this very doubt now. Bathe with water — but your own-form (is everything) — what does it cost me, Devā? Chandana's fragrance, flower's perfume — there I am durbaḷa — what to do? You yourself are the fruit-giver, the tāmbūla, the akṣata — what now to offer to you? Offer dakṣiṇā — if the metal is Nārāyaṇa — Brahma very is anna — what second? Singing — you the Omkāra, the tāḷī, the nāda-īśvara — no place anywhere to dance. Tuka says: to me, everything is your nāma — dhūpa, dīpa — Rāma-Kṛṣṇa-Hari.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| कासियानें पूजा करूं केशीराजा | "with what — do pūjā — Keśīrāja" |
| हा चि संदेह माझा फेडीं आतां | "this very doubt — resolve now" |
| उदकें न्हाणूं तरी स्वरूप तुझें | "water to bathe — (but) your own-form" |
| तेथें काय माझें वेचे देवा | "there what does it cost me, Devā" |
| गंधाचा सुगंध पुष्पाचा परिमळ | "chandana's fragrance — flower's perfume" |
| तेथें मी दुर्बळ काय करूं | "there I am durbaḷa — what to do" |
| फळदाता तूंच तांबोल अक्षता | "you the fruit-giver — tāmbūla, akṣata" |
| तरी काय आतां वाहों तुज | "what now — to offer to you" |
| वाहूं दक्षिणा जरी धातु नारायण | "offer dakṣiṇā — if metal — Nārāyaṇa" |
| ब्रम्ह तें चि अन्न दुजें काईं | "Brahma — very — anna — what second" |
| गातां तूं ओंकार टाळी नादेश्वर | "singing — you Omkāra — tāḷī — nāda-īśvara" |
| नाचावया थार नाहीं कोठें | "to dance — no place anywhere" |
| तुका म्हणें मज अवघें तुझें नाम | "Tuka says — to me — all your nāma" |
| धूप दीप रामकृष्णहरि | "dhūpa dīpa — Rāma-Kṛṣṇa-Hari" |
What it means
Pūjā-meta-abhang: nothing-to-offer-because-everything-is-already-yours; only-nāma. One of Tukaram's most-celebrated theological-pūjā poems.
A 6-verse cascade through the traditional sixteen-fold pūjā (ṣōḍaśa-upacāra) — but at each step, the bhakta finds the offering-already-belongs-to-the-Lord:
Step 1 — bathing: udakē nhāṇūm tarī sva-rūpa tujhēm — bathe with water — but your own-form (is the water itself, is everything). What does it cost me? — nothing — because the very-water is your form.
Step 2 — fragrance and flowers: gandhācā sugandha puṣpācā parimaḷa — tēthē mī durbaḷa kāya karūm — chandana's fragrance, flower's perfume — there I am durbaḷa, what to do? (= the very-fragrance and perfume are you; I have nothing-original to offer.)
Step 3 — fruit, betel, rice: phaḷa-dātā tūm chi tāmbōla akṣatā — you yourself are the fruit-giver, the tāmbūla, the akṣata. You are the offering-and-the-receiver simultaneously.
Step 4 — money-offering: vāhūm dakṣiṇā jarī dhātu Nārāyaṇa — Brahma tē chi anna dujēm kāīm — offer dakṣiṇā — when the metal is Nārāyaṇa, Brahma is the very-anna — what second? (= the very-coin-metal is Nārāyaṇa; the very-food (Brahma) is also you.)
Step 5 — singing-and-dancing: gātām tūm ōmkāra tāḷī nāda-īśvara — nācāvayā thāra nāhīm kōṭhē — singing — you the Omkāra, the tāḷī, the nāda-īśvara — no place anywhere to dance. You are the song, the rhythm, the sound; nowhere outside-you to-stand-and-dance.
The closing-resolution: Tukā mhaṇē maja avaghēm tujhēm nāma — dhūpa dīpa Rāma-Kṛṣṇa-Hari — Tuka says: to me, everything is your nāma — dhūpa, dīpa — Rāma-Kṛṣṇa-Hari. The resolution: only-the-nāma can be offered — because the nāma is the only-thing originally-the-bhakta's-act, not pre-belonging-to-the-Lord. The nāma serves as dhūpa-dīpa-and-everything-else.
This abhang is one of Tukaram's most-philosophically-rich — advaita-pūjā-paradox: every-offering-already-is-Lord, so the only-original-offering is the nāma uttered-as-bhāva.
[T]
For someone today
For today: with what shall I do pūjā, Keśīrāja? — resolve this very doubt for me now; bathe you with water — but your own-form is everything, what does it cost me?; chandana's fragrance, flowers' perfume — there I am poor, what can I do?; you yourself are the fruit-giver, the betel-and-rice — what could I now offer to you?; offer dakṣiṇā — when the very-metal is Nārāyaṇa, and Brahma itself is the anna — what second-thing remains?; singing — you are the Omkāra, the tāḷī, the nāda-īśvara — there is no place anywhere outside-you to stand-and-dance; Tuka says — to me, everything is your nāma — dhūpa, dīpa — Rāma-Kṛṣṇa-Hari.
Where this applies
- With-what-to-pūjā-Keśīrāja-resolve-doubt.* Kāsiyānē-pūjā-Keśīrāja-sandēha.
- Water-bathing-but-your-form.* Udaka-nhāṇūm-sva-rūpa.
- Chandana-perfume-flower-perfume-I-poor.* Gandha-sugandha-puṣpa-parimaḷa-durbaḷa.
- Fruit-tāmbūla-akṣata-already-yours.* Phaḷa-dātā-tāmbōla-akṣatā.
- Metal-Nārāyaṇa-Brahma-anna.* Dhātu-Nārāyaṇa-Brahma-anna.
- Omkāra-tāḷī-nāda-īśvara-no-place-to-dance.* Ōmkāra-tāḷī-nāda-īśvara-thāra-na.
- To-me-nāma-is-dhūpa-dīpa-Rāma-Kṛṣṇa-Hari.* Avaghēm-tujhēm-nāma-dhūpa-dīpa-Rāma-Kṛṣṇa-Hari.