Abhanga 1773
Give your whole heart to one devotion and clear away the distractions, and know that even someone deeply fallen can be lifted in a single instant of grace.
The verse
एका गावें आम्हीं विठोबाचे नाम । आणिकांपें काम नाहीं आतां ॥१॥ मोडूनियां वाटा सूक्ष्म सगर । केला राज्यभार चाले ऐसा ॥ध्रु.॥ लावूनि मृदांग टाळश्रुतिघोष । सेवूं ब्रम्हरस आवडीनें ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे महापातकी पतित । ऐसियांचे हित हेळामात्रें ॥३॥
Literal translation
With one cry, we sing Viṭhobā's Name — with others there's no business now. Breaking up the routes fine and clear, we have made the rāja-bhāra to walk smoothly. Setting the mṛdānga and tāḷa-śruti-ghōṣa, we taste the brahma-rasa with love. Tuka says: the mighty-sinner, the fallen — for such ones, the well-being is by mere hēḷā-mātra.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| एका गावें आम्हीं विठोबाचे नाम | "with one cry / one mouth — we sing — Viṭhobā's Name" |
| आणिकांपें काम नाहीं आतां | "with-others — no business — now" |
| मोडूनियां वाटा सूक्ष्म सगर | "breaking up — the routes — fine — clear / passable" |
| केला राज्यभार चाले ऐसा | "we have made — the rāja-bhāra (= the royal-burden / governance) — thus to walk (= to move smoothly)" |
| लावूनि मृदांग टाळश्रुतिघोष | "setting — mṛdānga (drum) — tāḷa-śruti-ghoṣa (cymbal-string-roar)" |
| सेवूं ब्रम्हरस आवडीनें | "we taste — brahma-rasa — with love" |
| तुका म्हणे महापातकी पतित | "Tuka says — the great-pātakī (mighty-sinner) — the patita (fallen)" |
| ऐसियांचे हित हेळामात्रें | "of-such-ones — the hita (well-being) — by hēḷā-mātra (= a mere instant / mere glance)" |
What it means
One-Nāma-only + uplift-of-patita-by-mere-glance abhang.
The opening: ēkā gā'ēm āmhīm Viṭhōbācē nāma — āṇikāmpē kāma nāhīm ātām — with one cry, we sing Viṭhobā's Name — with others there's no business now. Ēkā gā'ēm = with one mouth / one cry / unanimously; we sing-only-Viṭhobā's-Name; we have no other business. Single-Name + single-business.
The route-clearing line: mōḍūniyām vāṭā sūkṣma sagara — kēlā rāja-bhāra cālē aisā — breaking up the routes fine and clear, we have made the rāja-bhāra to walk smoothly. Mōḍūniyām vāṭā = breaking-up-the-side-paths; sūkṣma sagara = fine, clear / open; rāja-bhāra = royal-burden / royal-rule; cālē aisā = thus-to-walk / to-move-smoothly. We broke-up all the side-paths, made the routes-clear; the rāja-bhāra (= the rule-of-Viṭhobā / kīrtana-rule) now walks smoothly. (= cleared the path of all distractions; Viṭhobā's-Nāma-rule now flows.)
The kīrtana-line: lāvūni mṛdānga ṭāḷa-śruti-ghōṣa — sēvūm brahma-rasa āvaḍīnēm — setting mṛdānga and tāḷa-śruti-ghōṣa, we taste brahma-rasa with love. Mṛdānga = the clay-drum used in kīrtana; tāḷa = cymbals / time-keeping; śruti = the drone-string; ghōṣa = the loud-collective-cry. The full kīrtana-instrumentation — and with this we taste brahma-rasa with love (āvaḍīnēm). Brahma-rasa = the rasa-of-the-absolute; bhakti-rasa = brahma-rasa.
The closing: Tukā mhaṇē mahāpātakī patita — aisiyāñcē hita hēḷā-mātrēm — Tuka says: the mighty-sinner, the fallen — for such ones, the well-being is by mere hēḷā-mātra. Mahāpātakī = the great-sinner (= one who has done the mahā-pātakas / great-sins); patita = fallen (= caste-fallen / morally-fallen); hēḷā-mātra = by-a-mere-instant / by-a-mere-glance. Even the great-sinner and the fallen are uplifted by Viṭhobā's mere-glance. (= grace-of-the-Lord operates in an instant; no elaborate-purification needed.)
This abhang has one of the most-quoted lines on Viṭhobā's-uplift-of-the-patita: aisiyāñcē hita hēḷā-mātrēm — for such ones, the well-being is by a mere instant. (Pairs with other patita-pāvana abhangs in the gatha.)
[T]
For someone today
For today: with one cry we sing Viṭhobā's Name — we have no business with others now; breaking up the side-paths, we made the rāja-bhāra walk smoothly; setting the mṛdānga and tāḷa-śruti-ghōṣa, we taste the brahma-rasa with love; Tuka says — even the mighty-sinner, even the fallen — their well-being (comes) by Viṭhobā's mere instant.
Where this applies
- When you are pulled in ten directions and need to choose one practice and truly stick with it
- When you feel too far gone, too sinful or too broken to deserve any grace or forgiveness
- When you are singing or chanting together with others and want to understand why full-hearted unity matters
- When you keep postponing real change because you think you must clean yourself up first before you are worthy