Abhanga 1794
For today: out of the fear of samsāra, you have made me unable to flee; everywhere you are — what should we do?; for solitude, in the three worlds, no room; "I am going to the village" — no need to even say it — how should one say it?; as in a dream, when you wake up, you see you are at home; Tuka says — what of yours have I taken?.
The verse
संसाराच्या भेणें । पळों न लाहेसें केलें ॥१॥ जेथें तेथें आपण आहे । आम्हीं करावें तें काये ॥ध्रु.॥ एकांतींसी ठाव । तिहीं लोकीं नाहीं वाव ॥२॥ गांवा जातों ऐसें । न लगे म्हणावें तें कैसें ॥३॥ स्वप्नाचे परी । जागा पाहे तंव घरीं ॥४॥ तुका म्हणे काये । तुझे घेतले म्यां आहे ॥५॥
Literal translation
English: Out of the fear of samsāra — to flee — you have made me unable. Everywhere you are — what should we do? For solitude, in the three worlds, no room. "I am going to the village" — no need to even say it — how should it be said? As in a dream, when you wake up, you see you are at home. Tuka says: what of yours have I taken?.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| संसाराच्या भेणें | "from the fear of samsāra" |
| पळों न लाहेसें केलें | "to flee — not-able — you have made me" |
| जेथें तेथें आपण आहे | "everywhere — you are" |
| आम्हीं करावें तें काये | "what should we do" |
| एकांतींसी ठाव | "for solitude — a place" |
| तिहीं लोकीं नाहीं वाव | "in the three worlds — no room (vāva)" |
| गांवा जातों ऐसें | "'I am going to the village' — thus" |
| न लगे म्हणावें तें कैसें | "no need — how should one say it" |
| स्वप्नाचे परी | "as in a dream" |
| जागा पाहे तंव घरीं | "waking up — one sees, then — (one is) at home" |
| तुका म्हणे काये | "Tuka says — what" |
| तुझे घेतले म्यां आहे | "of yours — have I taken" |
What it means
Lord-fills-everywhere-no-escape + Tuka-took-nothing abhang. A philosophical-amused meditation on the omnipresence-corner.
The opening: samsārācyā bhēṇē — paḷōm na lāhēsē kēlēm — out of fear of samsāra, you have made me unable to flee. The bhakta wanted-to-flee-samsāra; but-the-Lord-himself made-fleeing-impossible. (= the Lord-traps the bhakta into-staying-and-doing-bhakti-here-and-now.)
The omnipresence-line: jēthēm tēthēm āpaṇa āhē — āmhīm karāvēm tēm kāyē — everywhere, you are — what should we do?. Brilliant philosophical-bewilderment: if you-are-everywhere, then where-can-I-flee-to? — flee to-you, only to find you-already-there. (= omnipresence dissolves the very-concept of flight.)
The solitude-line: ēkāntīsī ṭhāva — tihīm lōkīm nāhīm vāva — for solitude, in the three worlds, no room. Vāva = room, vacant-space; tihīm lōkīm = in the three-worlds (svarga, mṛtya, pātāla). There's no-place-of-solitude in the three-worlds because the Lord-fills-them.
The village-line: gāmvā jātōm aisē — na lagē mhaṇāvēm tēm kaisēm — "I am going to the village" — no need (to say) — how should one say it?. The village-trip-formula (= the standard Marathi-traveler's announcement before leaving) is meaningless because there's-no-other-village to-go-to. (= all-villages are this-village; all-places are here.)
The dream-line: svapnāce parī — jāgā pāhē tamva gharīm — as in a dream — when you wake, you see you are at home. Striking image: the bhakta wanders-and-flees in the samsāra-dream; when he-wakes, he-finds himself already-at-home (= already-with-the-Lord, never-actually-elsewhere). (= the samsāra-flight was a dream; the wake-up shows the bhakta-was-always-at-home.)
The closing: Tukā mhaṇē kāyē — tujhē ghētalē myām āhē — Tuka says: what of yours have I taken?. Mock-innocence: I haven't taken anything-of-yours — so-why-are-you-trapping-me-everywhere?. (Or: what have I taken? — nothing — so why-are-you-pursuing-me?.) The playful-bewilderment of the bhakta-who-can-find-no-escape-from-the-Lord.
This abhang is philosophically-rich + emotionally-amused — the Lord's-omnipresence is presented not-as-a-doctrine-to-believe but-as-a-corner-the-bhakta-finds-himself-in. Wherever he turns, the Lord is there — escape is impossible — and that is the bhakta's-good-fortune.
[T]
For someone today
For today: out of the fear of samsāra, you have made me unable to flee; everywhere you are — what should we do?; for solitude, in the three worlds, no room; "I am going to the village" — no need to even say it — how should one say it?; as in a dream, when you wake up, you see you are at home; Tuka says — what of yours have I taken?.
Where this applies
- Fear-of-samsāra-but-can't-flee.* Samsāra-bhē-paḷōm-na.
- Everywhere-you-are-what-to-do.* Jēthē-tēthē-āpaṇa.
- No-solitude-in-three-worlds.* Ēkāntī-tihīm-lōkī-vāva-na.
- Dream-wake-up-find-self-at-home.* Svapnā-jāgā-gharī.
- What-of-yours-have-I-taken.* Tujhē-ghētalē-na.