Abhanga 1768

Tukaram says his words are not his own, Viṭṭhal speaks through him, and he is only the laborer, and the child, playing within a flow of grace he did not create.

The verse

Literal translation

What it means

Viṭhṭhal-speaks-through-Tuka abhang.

The opening: bōlavilē jēṇēm — tō chi yācēm guhya jāṇē — the one who made me speak — only he knows the secret of this. Tuka attributes his own speech to Viṭhṭhal; the guhya (= secret-meaning) of his words is known only to the speaker-behind-the-speech.

The labor-image: mī tōm kābāḍācā dhanī — jē'vūm māgāvēm thinkōni — I am only the labor's-master — to eat, I have to beg with spittle. Kābāḍācā dhanī = the master-of-toil (= the one-who-only-does-the-grunt-work); thinkōni = with humble-spitting (= the way a beggar timidly-asks). I work, but for food I still must beg.

The measure-image: majurācyā hātēm — māpa jālēm gēlēm ritēm — by the laborer's hand, the measure was filled — went out empty. The māpa (= measuring-vessel) fills and empties through the laborer's hand — the laborer himself doesn't keep it. (= Tuka is only the conduit; the substance flows through him.)

The father-image: jālā puravitā — Pāṇḍuranga mājhā pitā — the provider has become — Pāṇḍuranga, my father. The actual-provider is Pāṇḍuranga; Tuka is only the laborer-in-his-house.

The child-play image: māya-bāpāsavēm — bāḷēm kautukēm khēḷāvē + jaisā karitī dhandā — taisā paḍōniyām chandā + tyācyā sāca gāīm mhaisī — yēṇē khēḷāvē mātīśīm — with mother-father, the child plays fondly; as they do their business, so falls the rhythm; his true cows-buffaloes, with these I play in the mud. The child plays-around-the-parents' work; Tuka plays-around-Viṭhṭhal's-business — Viṭhṭhal's true cows-and-buffaloes are real (= Tuka's experience-of-bhakti is real-because-Viṭhṭhal-arranges-it); Tuka only plays-in-the-mud (= his Marathi speech is the mud-play that Viṭhṭhal allows).

The closing: Tukā mhaṇē bōla — mājhā bōlatō Viṭhṭhala — Tuka says: the words, mine — Viṭhṭhal speaks. The most-direct articulation of Tuka's bardic-self-understanding: I appear-to-speak, but Viṭhṭhal-speaks-through-me. (Foundational for the gatha-as-Viṭhṭhal-vāṇī tradition.)

[T]

For someone today

For today: the one who made me speak — only he knows the secret of this; I am only the labor's-master, I have to beg humbly even for food; through the laborer's hand the measure fills and goes out empty; Pāṇḍuranga, my father, has become the provider; the child plays with fond-delight beside mother-and-father; as they do their work, so falls the rhythm; his true cows-and-buffaloes — with this I play in the mud; Tuka says — my words — Viṭhṭhal speaks them.

Where this applies

• When you create something, art, writing, a good deed, and cannot quite say where the inspiration came from
• When your daily work feels like plain labor, yet you still trust that someone is providing for you
• When you want full credit for something good you did and need to loosen that grip
• When you feel anxious about proving your worth entirely through your own effort

Related verses

• Abhanga 4481 — Tukaram promises that sincerely calling on the Lord's name, knowingly or unknowingly, with
• Abhanga 4482 — Tukaram teaches that no ritual equals sincerely speaking the Lord's name, that self-center
• Abhanga 3829 — Pundalika's total devotion to serving his parents was so powerful that God himself stood w
• Abhanga 4080 — True trust removes fear of death and of others' opinions, turns hard effort into joyful pl