संत साहित्य
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संत साहित्य · Tukārām · Abhanga 1729 of 4582

Abhanga 1729

For today: blessed is Paṇḍharī — blessed is the Bhīmā-shore — Pundalika brought the very essence; blessed are those people — all of fortune — abundance of prema in every house; blessed is the earth, blessed the trees, blessed the devas as tīrtha-form; blessed are the men and women with nāma-dhyāna in their mouths — the dwellings roar with ānanda; blessed are the animals, birds, insects, even the stones — all-Nārāyaṇa has incarnated (here); Tuka says — blessed are those who came to samsāra — colored in Hari-ranga with their whole bhāva.

When you'd recite Paṇḍharī-mahimā cascade — blessed-place-shore-people-earth-devas-nara-nārī-paśu-pakṣī-kīṭaka-pāṣāṇa-all-Nārāyaṇa

The verse

धन्य ते पंढरी धन्य भीमातीर । आणियेलें सार पुंडलिकें ॥१॥ धन्य तो हि लोक अवघा दैवांचा । सुकाळ प्रेमाचा घरोघरीं ॥ध्रु.॥ धन्य ते ही भूमी धन्य तरुवर । धन्य ते सुरवर तीर्थरूप ॥२॥ धन्य त्या नरनारी मुखीं नाम ध्यान । आनंदें भवन गर्जतसे ॥३॥ धन्य पशु पक्षी कीटक पाषाण । अवघा नारायण अवतरला ॥४॥ तुका म्हणे धन्य संसारातें आलीं । हरिरंगीं रंगलीं सर्वभावें ॥५॥

Literal translation

English: Blessed Paṇḍharī — blessed Bhīmā-shore — Pundalika brought the sāra. Blessed are those people — all of fortune — abundance of prema house-by-house. Blessed earth — blessed trees — blessed devas as tīrtha-form. Blessed nara-nārī — with nāma-dhyāna in mouth — with ānanda the dwelling roars. Blessed animals, birds, insects, stones — all-Nārāyaṇa has incarnated. Tuka says: blessed those who came to samsāra — colored in Hari-ranga with whole bhāva.

Word-by-word gloss
Marathi Meaning
धन्य ते पंढरी धन्य भीमातीर "blessedPaṇḍharī; — blessed Bhīmā-shore"
आणियेलें सार पुंडलिकें "brought the sāraby Pundalika"
धन्य तो हि लोक अवघा दैवांचा "blessedthose peopleall of fortune"
सुकाळ प्रेमाचा घरोघरीं "abundance of premahouse-by-house"
धन्य ते ही भूमी धन्य तरुवर "blessed earthblessed trees"
धन्य ते सुरवर तीर्थरूप "blessed devasas tīrtha-form"
धन्य त्या नरनारी मुखीं नाम ध्यान "blessed nara-nārīnāma-dhyāna in mouth"
आनंदें भवन गर्जतसे "with ānandathe dwelling roars"
धन्य पशु पक्षी कीटक पाषाण "blessed animals, birds, insects, stones"
अवघा नारायण अवतरला "all-Nārāyaṇahas incarnated"
तुका म्हणे धन्य संसारातें आलीं "Tuka says — blessedthose who came to samsāra"
हरिरंगीं रंगलीं सर्वभावें "colored in Hari-rangawith whole bhāva"

What it means

Paṇḍharī-mahimā-cascade-with-paśu-pakṣī-Nārāyaṇa abhang. A 5-verse anaphoric "dhanya" cascade (7 occurrences of dhanya) ascending through cosmic-categories.

The cascade-of-blessings:

  1. Paṇḍharī, Bhīmā-tīrathe place and the river-shore (Bhīmā = Bhīmā-Candrabhāgā river at Paṇḍharpur).
  2. people, prema in every-housethe inhabitants.
  3. earth, trees, devas as tīrthathe natural-world-and-deities.
  4. nara-nārī (men-and-women) with nāma in mouththe human-bhakta-population.
  5. paśu-pakṣī-kīṭaka-pāṣāṇa (animals-birds-insects-stones)the non-human-categories-and-even-inanimate-stones.
  6. (Closing) those who came to samsāra colored in Hari-rangathe bhaktas at-large.

The radical-claim: paśu-pakṣī-kīṭaka-pāṣāṇa avaghā Nārāyaṇa avataralāanimals, birds, insects, stones — all-Nārāyaṇa has incarnated. At Paṇḍharī, every-being and every-stone is Nārāyaṇa-himself-incarnated. The cosmic-Vaiṣṇava-pantheism applied to Paṇḍharī.

The closing-formula: Hari-rangīm rangalīm sarva-bhāvēcolored in Hari-ranga with whole bhāva. Hari-ranga (= Hari-color, Hari-saturation) is one of Tukaram's standing devotional-vocabulary terms.

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For someone today

For today: blessed is Paṇḍharī — blessed is the Bhīmā-shore — Pundalika brought the very essence; blessed are those people — all of fortune — abundance of prema in every house; blessed is the earth, blessed the trees, blessed the devas as tīrtha-form; blessed are the men and women with nāma-dhyāna in their mouths — the dwellings roar with ānanda; blessed are the animals, birds, insects, even the stones — all-Nārāyaṇa has incarnated (here); Tuka says — blessed are those who came to samsāra — colored in Hari-ranga with their whole bhāva.

Where this applies

Related verses