Abhanga 1827
When your heart is set on reaching someone or something you love, the road there feels light, the obstacles shrink, and even the waiting becomes part of the joy.
The verse
साधन संपत्ति हें चि माझें धन । सकळ चरण विठोबाचे ॥१॥ शीतळ हा पंथ माहेराची वाट । जवळी च नीट सुखरूप ॥ध्रु.॥ वैष्णवांचा संग रामगाणें गाणें । मंडित भूषण अळंकार ॥२॥ भवनदी आड नव्हतीसी जाली । कोरडी च चाली जावें पायी ॥३॥ मायबाप दोघें पाहातील वाट । ठेवूनिया कटीं कर उभी ॥४॥ तुका म्हणे केव्हां देखेन कळस । पळाली आळस निद्रा भूक ॥५॥
Literal translation
Sādhana-wealth — this is my dhana — the entire (is) Viṭhōbā's feet. Cool, this path — the way to māhēra — very-near, straight, of sukha-form. Vaiṣṇavas' company, singing rāma-songs — adorned (as) ornament-decoration. The bhava-river — (in the way) — no longer is — dry to walk-on, to go on foot. Mother-and-father, both, will watch the path — placing on the waist hands, standing. Tuka says: when will I see the kaḷasa? — sloth, sleep, hunger have fled.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| साधन संपत्ति हें चि माझें धन | "sādhana-wealth — this is my dhana" |
| सकळ चरण विठोबाचे | "the entire — (is) Viṭhōbā's feet" |
| शीतळ हा पंथ माहेराची वाट | "cool — this path — the way to māhēra (mother's-house)" |
| जवळी च नीट सुखरूप | "very-near — straight — of the form of sukha" |
| वैष्णवांचा संग रामगाणें गाणें | "Vaiṣṇavas' company — singing rāma-songs" |
| मंडित भूषण अळंकार | "adorned — (as) ornament-decoration" |
| भवनदी आड नव्हतीसी जाली | "the bhava-river — (in the way) — no longer is" |
| कोरडी च चाली जावें पायी | "dry — to walk-on — to go on foot" |
| मायबाप दोघें पाहातील वाट | "mother-and-father — both — will watch the path" |
| ठेवूनिया कटीं कर उभी | "placing on the waist — hands — standing" |
| तुका म्हणे केव्हां देखेन कळस | "Tuka says — when — will I see — the kaḷasa (temple-spire)" |
| पळाली आळस निद्रा भूक | "fled — sloth, sleep, hunger" |
What it means
Vārī-pilgrimage-anticipation abhang. A foundational mood-abhang of the Vārkarī Vārī (pilgrimage to Pandhari).
The opening: sādhana sampatti hē chi mājhē dhana — sakaḷa caraṇa Viṭhōbācē — sādhana-wealth — this is my dhana — the entire (is) Viṭhōbā's feet. Sādhana-sampatti = the wealth-of-sādhana; dhana = wealth. My only-wealth is Viṭhōbā's feet (= the goal of the Vārī).
The path-line: śītaḷa hā pantha māhērācī vāṭa — javaḷī chi nīṭa sukha-rūpa — cool, this path — the way to māhēra — very-near, straight, of sukha-form. Māhēra = the natal-home / mother's-house (= Pandhari as the bhakta's-mother's-home); śītaḷa = cool (= cool-because-pleasing); javaḷī chi nīṭa = very-near, straight; sukha-rūpa = of-the-form-of-sukha. The Vārī-path is cool, the way to mother's-home, very-near, straight, sukha-formed.
The companions: Vaiṣṇavāñcā sanga rāma-gāṇē gāṇē — maṇḍita bhūṣaṇa aḷankāra — Vaiṣṇavas' company, singing rāma-songs — adorned as ornament-decoration. The pilgrimage-companion is Vaiṣṇava-sanga; the song is rāma-gāṇa; together they are the adornment. (= the journey-itself is festive.)
The bhava-river image: bhava-nadī āḍa navhatīsī jālī — kōraḍī chi cālī jāvē pāyī — the bhava-river — (in the way) — no longer is — dry to walk-on, to go on foot. Bhava-nadī = the river of samsāra; āḍa = in-the-way / blocking. The bhava-river that-used-to-block-the-path has-dried-up; the bhakta walks-across dry-footed. (= the samsāra-obstacle has dissolved-as-the-Vārī-mood-takes-hold.)
The watching-parents: māya-bāpa dōghē pāhātīla vāṭa — ṭhē'ūniyā kaṭīm kara ubhī — mother and father, both, will watch the path — placing on the waist hands, standing. The classical-Pāṇḍuranga-pose: Viṭhṭhal and Rakhumāī standing-with-hands-on-the-waist (kaṭāvarī kara) at-the-temple-of-Pandhari, watching for-the-bhakta's-arrival. (= the iconic standing-pose of Viṭhṭhal.)
The closing: Tukā mhaṇē kēvhām dēkhēna kaḷasa — paḷalī āḷasa nidrā bhūka — Tuka says: when will I see the kaḷasa? — sloth, sleep, hunger have fled. Kaḷasa = the temple-spire (= the first-glimpse the Vārkarī gets as he approaches Pandhari); paḷalī = fled, vanished; āḷasa nidrā bhūka = sloth, sleep, hunger. In the eager-anticipation of seeing the kaḷasa, the body's-three-impulses (sloth, sleep, hunger) have vanished. (= the bhakta is wholly-absorbed in the goal.)
This abhang is one of the foundational Vārī-mood abhangs — recited-by-the-Vārkarī-pilgrims as they walk-toward-Pandhari. The journey-the-companions-the-cool-path-the-dry-bhava-river-the-watching-parents-the-temple-spire — all in five short verses.
[T]
For someone today
For today: sādhana-wealth — this is my dhana — the entire is Viṭhōbā's feet; cool, this path — the way to my māhēra — very-near, straight, of sukha-form; Vaiṣṇavas' company, singing rāma-songs — adorned as ornament-decoration; the bhava-river — no longer in the way — dry to walk-on, to go on foot; mother and father, both, will watch the path — standing with hands on waist; Tuka says — when will I see the kaḷasa? — sloth, sleep, hunger have fled.
Where this applies
- When you dread a long trip or task and need a reason to see it as joyful instead of a burden
- When you are traveling with a group toward a shared goal and their company makes the miles easier
- When an old obstacle that used to worry you turns out to have already resolved itself
- When you are so eager for a reunion or homecoming that you forget to feel tired or hungry