Abhanga 1772
English: We are strong — the dāsa of the samartha — we have tied this kāsa for kalikāla.
The verse
बळिवंत आम्ही समर्थाचे दास । घातली या कास कळिकाळासी ॥१॥ तेथें मानसाचा कोण आला पाड । उलंघोनि जड गेलों आधीं ॥ध्रु.॥ संसाराचे बळी साधिलें निधान । मारिले दुर्जन षडवर्ग ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे एक उरला धरिता ठाव । येर केले वाव तृणवत ॥३॥
Literal translation
English: We are strong — the dāsa of the samartha — we have tied this kāsa for kalikāla. There, no mānasa can match us — we have crossed the heavy first. Through the samsāra-bali we have attained the nidhāna — killed the durjana ṣaḍa-varga. Tuka says: one place to hold remains — the rest we have made empty like a blade-of-grass.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| बळिवंत आम्ही समर्थाचे दास | "we are strong — the dāsa-of-the-samartha (= the mighty-one)" |
| घातली या कास कळिकाळासी | "we have tied — this kāsa (= waist-cloth-for-fight) — for kalikāla (= the dark-age, time-of-death)" |
| तेथें मानसाचा कोण आला पाड | "there — of mānasa (mortal-man) — who came — in measure (= who can match)" |
| उलंघोनि जड गेलों आधीं | "crossing — the heavy — we have gone — already, first" |
| संसाराचे बळी साधिलें निधान | "through the samsāra-bali (= the sacrifice-of-samsāra) — we attained the nidhāna (= treasure)" |
| मारिले दुर्जन षडवर्ग | "killed — the durjana (the wicked-six) — the ṣaḍa-varga (= the six-internal-enemies: kāma-krodha-lobha-moha-mada-mātsarya)" |
| तुका म्हणे एक उरला धरिता ठाव | "Tuka says — one — remains — the place to hold (= Hari)" |
| येर केले वाव तृणवत | "the rest — we have made — empty — like a blade-of-grass (tṛṇavata)" |
What it means
Ṣaḍa-varga-victory + warrior-bhakta abhang. A fierce, victorious-warrior register: the bhakta as the strong-servant of the samartha-Lord who has defeated the inner-enemies.
The opening: baḷivanta āmhī samarthācē dāsa — ghātalī yā kāsa kaḷikāḷāsī — we are strong — the dāsa of the samartha — we have tied this kāsa for kalikāla. Kāsa = the cloth-tied-around-waist for fighting / wrestling (= girding-up-for-battle); kaḷikāla = the dark-age / kalikāla as personification of time-of-death. We have girded-up to take-on kalikāla itself.
The mānasa-line: tēthēm mānasācā kōṇa ālā pāḍa — ulamghōni jaḍa gēlōm ādhīm — there, no mānasa can match us — we have crossed the heavy first. Pāḍa = measure, equality; jaḍa = the heavy (= the heavy-difficulties, the obstacle-mass). Ordinary-mortal cannot stand up to us; we have already-crossed the heavy-difficulties.
The treasure-attainment line: samsārācē baḷī sādhilēm nidhāna — māritē durjana ṣaḍa-varga — through the samsāra-bali we attained the nidhāna — killed the durjana ṣaḍa-varga. Samsārācē baḷī = the sacrifice-offered-of-samsāra (= we made samsāra into a bali / sacrificial-offering); nidhāna = treasure, hidden-stock; ṣaḍa-varga = the six-internal-enemies: kāma (lust), krōdha (anger), lōbha (greed), mōha (delusion), mada (pride), mātsarya (envy) — the classical-vedānta-classification of inner-foes. By offering samsāra-itself as bali, we attained the nidhāna and killed the six-enemies. (Striking — samsāra-becomes-the-sacrificial-victim, not the sacrificer.)
The closing: Tukā mhaṇē ēka uralā dharitā ṭhāva — yēra kēlē vāva tṛṇavata — Tuka says: one place to hold remains — the rest we made empty like a blade-of-grass. Dharitā ṭhāva = the place-to-hold (= the only place to grasp / hold-on-to = Hari); tṛṇavata = like-a-blade-of-grass (= trifling, valueless, empty). Only Hari remains as the place-to-hold; everything-else has been-made-empty, valueless-like-a-blade-of-grass.
This abhang is in Tukaram's fierce-warrior-bhakta register: the defeated-the-ṣaḍa-varga, conquered-samsāra, only-Hari-remains triumphant-tone. (Pairs with other warrior-bhakta abhangs in the gatha.)
[T]
For someone today
For today: we are strong — the dāsa of the samartha-Lord — we have tied the fighting-kāsa for kalikāla; there, no mortal can match us — we have already crossed the heavy first; through making samsāra itself a bali, we have attained the nidhāna — killed the wicked-six (kāma-krodha-lobha-moha-mada-mātsarya); Tuka says — one place remains to hold (= Hari) — the rest we have made empty like a blade-of-grass.
Where this applies
- Strong-dāsa-of-samartha-tied-kāsa-for-kalikāla.* Baḷivanta-samartha-dāsa-kāsa-kaḷikāḷa.
- No-mānasa-can-match-crossed-heavy-already.* Mānasa-pāḍa-na-ulamghōni-jaḍa.
- Samsāra-bali-attained-nidhāna-killed-ṣaḍa-varga.* Samsāra-bali-nidhāna-ṣaḍa-varga.
- One-place-to-hold-remains-rest-empty-like-grass.* Ēka-uralā-yēra-tṛṇavata.