संत साहित्य · Tukārām · Abhanga 1823 of 4582

Abhanga 1823

For today: who is born, who births? — your māyā is not understood, kṛpāvanta; who is the giver, who is the asker? — your māyā; who enjoys, who makes-enjoy? — your māyā; what is form, what is formlessness? — your māyā; everywhere, you alone — have become all; Tuka says — for this, there is no second.

When you try to figure out exactly who is responsible for good or bad things happening in your life.

When you catch yourself dividing the world into giver and receiver, actor and audience, and the line keeps blurring.

When you sit quietly and sense that everything around you, and you yourself, are part of one single presence.

The verse

कवण जन्मता कवण जन्मविता । न कळे कृपावंता माव तुझी ॥१॥ कवण हा दाता कवण हा मागता । न कळे कृपावंता माव तुझी ॥ध्रु.॥ कवण भोगिता कवण भोगविता । न कळे कृपावंता माव तुझी ॥२॥ कवण ते रूप कवण अरूपता । न कळे कृपावंता माव तुझी ॥३॥ सर्वां ठायीं तूं चि सर्व ही जालासी । तुका म्हणे यासी दुजें नव्हे ॥४॥

Literal translation

Who is born, who births? — not understood, kṛpāvanta, your māyā. Who is the giver, who is the asker? — not understood, kṛpāvanta, your māyā. Who enjoys, who makes-enjoy? — not understood, kṛpāvanta, your māyā. What is form, what is formlessness? — not understood, kṛpāvanta, your māyā. Everywhere, you alone — have become all. Tuka says: for this, there is no second.

Word-by-word gloss

Marathi	Meaning
कवण जन्मता कवण जन्मविता	"who — is born — who — births"
न कळे कृपावंता माव तुझी	"not understood — kṛpāvanta — your māyā"
कवण हा दाता कवण हा मागता	"who — the giver — who — the asker"
कवण भोगिता कवण भोगविता	"who — enjoys — who — makes-enjoy"
कवण ते रूप कवण अरूपता	"what — form — what — formlessness"
सर्वां ठायीं तूं चि सर्व ही जालासी	"everywhere — you alone — all — (have) become"
तुका म्हणे यासी दुजें नव्हे	"Tuka says — for this — no second"

What it means

Paradoxical-cascade + advaita-resolution abhang. Five-fold parallel-construction with a unifying refrain, closing in advaita-pronouncement.

Pair 1 — Birth: kavaṇa janmatā kavaṇa janmavitā — who is born, who births? (= the question of jīva-and-Īśvara as cause-and-effect of birth).

Pair 2 — Giving: kavaṇa hā dātā kavaṇa hā māgatā — who is the giver, who is the asker? (= in the bhakti-relationship, the deva-gives, the bhakta-asks; but who-is-actually-which?).

Pair 3 — Enjoyment: kavaṇa bhōgitā kavaṇa bhōgavitā — who enjoys, who makes-enjoy? (= the enjoyer-vs-creator-of-enjoyment paradox).

Pair 4 — Form: kavaṇa tē rūpa kavaṇa arūpatā — what is form, what is formlessness? (= the saguṇa-nirguṇa paradox).

The refrain: na kaḷē kṛpāvantā māva tujhī — not understood, kṛpāvanta, your māyā. The paradoxes are not-resolvable by-discrimination; only-the-Lord's-māyā explains-them.

The advaita-resolution: sarvām ṭhāyīm tūm chi sarva hī jālāsī — Tukā mhaṇē yāsī dujē navhē — everywhere, you alone — have become all. Tuka says: for this, there is no second. Pure advaita-pronouncement: you-alone-have-become-everything; no-second-exists.

This abhang is one of Tuka's most-elegant compressed advaita-cascades — four-paradox-pairs followed by a unifying advaita-statement. Vārkarī compressed neti-neti / advaita-paradox abhang — pairs with 1801's classical-image-cascade.

[T]

For someone today

Where this applies

When you are arguing about who deserves credit or blame and realize both sides are tangled together
When you try to logically pin down who is really giving and who is really receiving in a relationship
When you notice that pleasure and its source cannot really be separated from each other
When you are caught up in debates about outward appearance versus inner reality and find no clean answer

Non-dual / Advaita Bhakti