Abhanga 1826
For today: Hari-kathā's love is in deva — he does service to the dāsas; therefore wanders behind, behind — at the gate keeps watch; shameless, the divine-feaster dances in the ranga — flooding the body with prēma; Tuka says — the deva sold himself — himself, with bhāva, as a samsār-companion.
The verse
हरिकथेची आवडी देवा । करितो सेवा दासांची॥१॥ म्हणोनि हिंडे मागें मागें । घरटी जागे घालितसे ॥ध्रु.॥ निर्लज्ज भोजें नाचत रंगीं । भरतें अंगीं प्रेमाचें ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे विकलें देवें । आपण भावें संवसाटी ॥३॥
Literal translation
English: Hari-kathā's love (in) deva — he does service to the dāsas. Therefore wanders behind, behind — at the gate keeps watch. Shameless, the bhōja dancing in the ranga — flooding the body with prēma. Tuka says: the deva sold (himself) — himself, with bhāva, as a samsār-companion.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| हरिकथेची आवडी देवा | "Hari-kathā's love — to (the) deva" |
| करितो सेवा दासांची | "(he) does service — of the dāsas" |
| म्हणोनि हिंडे मागें मागें | "therefore — (he) wanders — behind, behind" |
| घरटी जागे घालितसे | "(at) the gate — (he) keeps watch — vigilant" |
| निर्लज्ज भोजें नाचत रंगीं | "shameless — the bhōja (= divine-feaster) — dancing — in the ranga (= bhakti-arena)" |
| भरतें अंगीं प्रेमाचें | "flooding — the body — of prēma" |
| तुका म्हणे विकलें देवें | "Tuka says — the deva sold — (himself)" |
| आपण भावें संवसाटी | "himself — with bhāva — as a samsār-companion" |
What it means
Lord-as-bhakta's-servant + sold-himself-with-bhāva abhang. A complete-inversion of the deva-bhakta-relationship.
The opening: hari-kathēcī āvaḍī dēvā — karitō sēvā dāsāñcī — Hari-kathā's love in deva — he does service to the dāsas. Striking-inversion: the deva himself loves-Hari-kathā so-much that he-does-service-to-the-bhakta-dāsas (= bhakta-as-master, deva-as-servant). (Echoes the bhakta-better-than-deva register of 1786.)
The wandering-line: mhaṇōni hiṇḍē māgē māgē — gharaṭī jāgē ghālitasē — therefore wanders behind, behind — at the gate keeps watch. Hiṇḍē māgē māgē = wanders-behind-them; gharaṭī jāgē = at-the-gate, vigilant. The deva walks-behind the bhakta-dāsas, keeps-night-watch at-their-gate. (= the Lord as the dāsa-watching-the-master.)
The dancing-line: nirlajja bhōjē nācata rangīm — bharatē angī prēmācē — shameless, the bhōja dancing in the ranga — flooding the body with prēma. Bhōja = the divine-feaster / glorious-one; ranga = the kīrtana-stage / bhakti-arena; bharatē = flooding, filling. The deva — without shame — dances-in-the-bhakti-stage, flooding-his-body with prēma.
The closing: Tukā mhaṇē vikalē dēvē — āpaṇa bhāvē samvasāṭī — Tuka says: the deva sold (himself) — himself, with bhāva, as a samsār-companion. Vikalē = sold; samvasāṭī = samsār-companion / fellow in samsāra. The deva sold-himself to-the-bhakta with-bhāva as-a-samsār-companion. (= the deva is-not-aloof; he-has-bartered-himself for-bhakta-fellowship.)
This abhang is the boldest deva-bhakta-inversion register: the Lord serves-the-bhakta, watches-his-gate, dances-shamelessly-in-the-kīrtana, has-sold-himself-to-be-the-bhakta's-samsār-companion. One of the most-tender Lord-as-servant-of-bhakta abhangs.
[T]
For someone today
For today: Hari-kathā's love is in deva — he does service to the dāsas; therefore wanders behind, behind — at the gate keeps watch; shameless, the divine-feaster dances in the ranga — flooding the body with prēma; Tuka says — the deva sold himself — himself, with bhāva, as a samsār-companion.
Where this applies
- Hari-kathā-love-deva-serves-dāsas.* Hari-kathā-āvaḍī-deva-sevā-dāsa.
- Wanders-behind-keeps-gate-watch.* Māgē-māgē-gharaṭī-jāgē.
- Shamelessly-dances-in-ranga-flooded-with-prēma.* Nirlajja-bhōja-nāca-prēma.
- Deva-sold-himself-with-bhāva-as-companion.* Vikalē-deve-bhāvē-samvasāṭī.