Abhanga 1734
The longing for God is like a daughter's endless longing for her mother's house, and worldly attachment is the only snare still standing between you and reaching it.
The verse
वें माहेरास । हे च सर्वकाळ आस ॥१॥ घ्यावी उच्छिष्टाची धणी । तीर्थ इच्छी पायवणी ॥ध्रु.॥ भोग उभा आड । आहे तोंवरी च नाड ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे देवें । माझें सिद्धी पाववावें ॥३॥
Literal translation
(Go) to māhera — this very is all-time longing. Should take the fill of leftovers — as tīrtha-icchā, the foot-water. Bhōga standing across — as long as it's there, the snare. Tuka says: Devā — make me attain siddhi.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| वें माहेरास | "(go) — to māhera" |
| हे च सर्वकाळ आस | "this very — all-time longing" |
| घ्यावी उच्छिष्टाची धणी | "should take — fill of leftovers" |
| तीर्थ इच्छी पायवणी | "as tīrtha-icchā — foot-water" |
| भोग उभा आड | "bhōga — standing across" |
| आहे तोंवरी च नाड | "as long as — the snare" |
| तुका म्हणे देवें | "Tuka says — Devā" |
| माझें सिद्धी पाववावें | "make me — attain siddhi" |
What it means
Go-to-māhera + ucchiṣṭa-fill + foot-water-as-tīrtha + bhōga-as-snare abhang.
The opening: vēm māhērāsa — hē cha sarva-kāḷa āsa — (go) to māhera — this very is all-time longing. The māhera-image (= mother's-house = divine-source; cf. 1588). The all-time longing is for māhera-going.
The two-bhakta-petitions: ghyāvī ucchiṣṭācī dhaṇī — tīrtha icchī pāyavaṇī — should take the fill of leftovers — as tīrtha-icchā, the foot-water. Two desires:
- Ucchiṣṭa-dhaṇī = fill of saints'-leftovers (= ritually-impure-leftovers, but for the bhakta the highest-prasāda). (Cf. 1685's ucchiṣṭa-āsa.)
- Tīrtha-icchī pāyavaṇī = the longed-for tīrtha is the foot-water (= the water in which saints' feet have been washed becomes the bhakta's tīrtha).
The bhōga-snare: bhōga ubhā āḍa — āhē tōmvarī cha nāḍa — bhōga stands across (as obstacle) — as long as it's there, the snare. Bhōga (= karma-fruits-to-be-experienced) blocks the path; as long as bhōga remains, the snare-of-samsāra continues.
The closing: Tukā mhaṇē Devē — mājhēm siddhī pāvavāvēm — Tuka says: Devā — make me attain siddhi. Help me reach the siddhi (= the realization-state where bhōga has been-discharged and māhera-going is possible).
[T]
For someone today
For today: (let me) go to mother's-house — this is my all-time longing; let me take the fill of (saints') leftovers as my satisfaction — and the foot-water as my longed-for tīrtha; bhōga stands across as the obstacle — as long as it's there, the snare continues; Tuka says — Devā, please make me attain siddhi.
Where this applies
- When you feel a constant, quiet homesickness for something deeper than daily life, the way a daughter longs for her mother's house
- When you'd rather have the smallest, humblest share of something sacred than a large portion of something ordinary
- When old habits or unfinished obligations keep pulling you back just when you feel close to real peace
- When you've done what you can and all that's left is to ask for help finishing the journey