Abhanga 1769
Tukaram tells Panduranga not to abandon him now that he set his speech in motion, since he has broken with the world and has no one else to ask.
The verse
कां हो तुम्ही माझी वदविली वाणी । नेदा हे निवडूनि पांडुरंगा ॥१॥ आणीक म्यां कोणां पुसावा विचार । मुळीं संवसार दुराविला ॥ध्रु.॥ स्वामिसेवा म्हुण घेतली पदरीं । सांगितलें करीं कारण तें ॥२॥ तुका म्हणें नाहीं शिकविलें जेणें । तो याच्या वचनें उगा राहे ॥३॥
Literal translation
Why have you made my speech speak — don't sort it out (= don't disengage from it now), Pāṇḍurangā? To whom else should I ask for vicāra — at the root, I have distanced samsāra. Svāmi-sevā therefore I have taken into my padara — do the work you have told me. Tuka says: the one who hasn't taught it — let him stay quiet at these words.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| कां हो तुम्ही माझी वदविली वाणी | "why — have you — made-my speech-speak" |
| नेदा हे निवडूनि पांडुरंगा | "don't sort-it-out (= don't disengage from it) — Pāṇḍurangā" |
| आणीक म्यां कोणां पुसावा विचार | "to whom else — should I ask — for vicāra?" |
| मुळीं संवसार दुराविला | "at the root — samsāra — I have distanced" |
| स्वामिसेवा म्हुण घेतली पदरीं | "svāmi-sevā — therefore — I have taken — into my padara (cloth-fold)" |
| सांगितलें करीं कारण तें | "do the work — that you have told me" |
| तुका म्हणें नाहीं शिकविलें जेणें | "Tuka says — the one who hasn't taught it" |
| तो याच्या वचनें उगा राहे | "let-him — stay-quiet — at his words" |
What it means
You-made-me-speak-don't-disengage-now abhang. A direct continuation of 1768's Viṭhṭhal-speaks-through-Tuka teaching, now demanding-that Viṭhṭhal-not-disengage from the speech-he-set-going.
The opening: kām hō tumhī mājhī vadavilī vāṇī — nēdā hē nivaḍūni Pāṇḍurangā — why have you made my speech speak — don't sort-it-out, Pāṇḍurangā?. Vadavilī vāṇī = (you have) made-the-speech-speak (causative — you made me utter); nivaḍūni = separating-out, disengaging; nēdā = don't give (= don't allow). You-yourself made me speak — now don't disengage from-the-speech-and-leave-me-alone-with-the-words. (Tuka holds Viṭhṭhal accountable for the speech-he-induced.)
The vicāra-line: āṇīka myām kōṇām pusāvā vicāra — muḷīm samvasāra durāvilā — to whom else should I ask for vicāra — at the root, I have distanced samsāra. Vicāra = deliberation, discrimination; durāvilā = distanced, set-aside. I have nobody else to ask — I have already broken-with-samsāra-at-the-root. (Tuka has burned-his-bridges with the world — Viṭhṭhal can't leave him stranded.)
The svāmi-sevā line: svāmi-sēvā mhuṇa ghētalī padarīm — sāngitalēm karīm kāraṇa tēm — I took svāmi-sevā into my padara — do the work you have told me. Padara = the end-fold of the cloth (= into one's keeping); kāraṇa = cause, work, business. I took your-service into-my-keeping; I do the work you told me. The svāmi (= you) instructed; the dāsa (= I) executes.
The closing: Tukā mhaṇē nāhīm śikavilēm jēṇēm — tō yācyā vacanēm ugā rāhē — Tuka says: the one who hasn't taught it — let him stay quiet at these words. The one who didn't teach Tuka this speech (= a critic, a non-bhakta, anyone not authorized) should stay quiet — these are not their words to interpret. (Defends the authorial-authenticity of his speech against outsider-judgment.)
This abhang is part of the 1768-1769 Viṭhṭhal-as-speaker-through-Tuka pair — Tuka's self-understanding as bardic-instrument of the Lord. (Foundational for the gatha-as-divine-vāṇī claim.)
[T]
For someone today
For today: why have you made my speech speak — don't disengage from it now, Pāṇḍurangā; to whom else should I ask for vicāra — at the root, I have already distanced samsāra; I have taken svāmi-sevā into my keeping — do the work you have told me; Tuka says — the one who hasn't taught it — let him stay quiet at these words.
Where this applies
- When you have committed fully to a calling or path and now feel stranded or unsupported partway through
- When you have walked away from your old life and have nowhere else left to turn for advice
- When you keep doing the work you believe you were meant to do, even without praise or recognition
- When outsiders who never understood your journey try to explain or criticize it for you