Abhanga 1829
For today: singing Kṛṣṇa in song, meditating Kṛṣṇa in chitta — they too become Kṛṣṇa by Kṛṣṇa-dhyāna; in sitting, sleeping, eating — say: the enjoyer is Nārāyaṇa; in oviyā-grinding, sing Nārāyaṇa — while pounding, while doing work; men, women, of any jāti — by bhāva, one prīti for Nārāyaṇa; Tuka says — with one bhāva, worship Hari — the radiance is the second, the form is one.
The verse
कृष्ण गातां गीतीं कृष्ण ध्यातां चित्ती । ते ही कृष्ण होती कृष्णध्यानें ॥१॥ आसनीं शयनीं भोजनीं जेवितां । म्हणारे भोगिता नारायण ॥ध्रु.॥ ओविये दळणीं गावा नारायण । कांडितां कांडण करितां काम ॥२॥ नर नारी याति हो कोणी भलतीं । भावें एका प्रीती नारायणा ॥३॥ तुका म्हणे एका भावें भजा हरी । कांति ते दुसरी रूप एक ॥४॥
Literal translation
English: Singing Kṛṣṇa in song, meditating Kṛṣṇa in chitta — they too become Kṛṣṇa by Kṛṣṇa-dhyāna. In sitting, sleeping, eating — say: the enjoyer is Nārāyaṇa. In oviyā-grinding sing Nārāyaṇa — while pounding, while doing work. Men, women, of any jāti — by bhāva, one prīti for Nārāyaṇa. Tuka says: with one bhāva, worship Hari — the radiance is the second, the form is one.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| कृष्ण गातां गीतीं कृष्ण ध्यातां चित्ती | "singing Kṛṣṇa — in song — meditating Kṛṣṇa — in chitta" |
| ते ही कृष्ण होती कृष्णध्यानें | "they too — become Kṛṣṇa — by Kṛṣṇa-dhyāna" |
| आसनीं शयनीं भोजनीं जेवितां | "in sitting — in sleeping — in eating — while eating" |
| म्हणारे भोगिता नारायण | "say — the enjoyer — (is) Nārāyaṇa" |
| ओविये दळणीं गावा नारायण | "in oviyā-grinding — sing Nārāyaṇa" |
| कांडितां कांडण करितां काम | "while pounding — while doing work" |
| नर नारी याति हो कोणी भलतीं | "men, women, of any jāti" |
| भावें एका प्रीती नारायणा | "by bhāva — one prīti — for Nārāyaṇa" |
| तुका म्हणे एका भावें भजा हरी | "Tuka says — with one bhāva — worship Hari" |
| कांति ते दुसरी रूप एक | "the radiance — (is) the second — (but) the form is one" |
What it means
Bhakti-accessible-to-all-in-everyday-work + anti-jāti-and-anti-gender abhang. Foundational Vārkarī mass-bhakti universalism.
The opening: Kṛṣṇa gātām gītī Kṛṣṇa dhyātām chittī — tē hī Kṛṣṇa hōtī Kṛṣṇa-dhyānē — singing Kṛṣṇa in song, meditating Kṛṣṇa in chitta — they too become Kṛṣṇa by Kṛṣṇa-dhyāna. The bhakta becomes-the-object-of-his-bhakti through Kṛṣṇa-dhyāna. (= transformation-by-meditation.)
The everyday-life line: āsanīm śayanīm bhōjanīm jēvitām — mhaṇā rē bhōgitā Nārāyaṇa — in sitting, sleeping, eating — while eating, say: the enjoyer is Nārāyaṇa. During-all-everyday-acts, recognize Nārāyaṇa as the enjoyer. (= anti-special-time-of-bhakti; bhakti-in-the-flow-of-life.)
The work-line: ōviyē daḷaṇīm gāvā Nārāyaṇa — kāṇḍitām kāṇḍaṇa karitām kāma — in oviyā-grinding sing Nārāyaṇa — while pounding, while doing work. Ōviyā = the women's-grinding-song (= the traditional-Marathi-women's-song while grinding-grain at the chakkī). Sing-Nārāyaṇa during-the-grinding, pounding, and-everyday-work. (= bhakti-of-the-working-woman; the most-democratic register.)
The anti-jāti-and-anti-gender line: nara nārī yāti hō kōṇī bhalatīm — bhāvē ēkā prīti Nārāyaṇā — men, women, of any jāti — by bhāva, one prīti for Nārāyaṇa. Men, women, of-any-jāti can-have-this prīti. Bhāva is-the-only-qualification; jāti-and-gender are no-bar.
The closing: Tukā mhaṇē ēkā bhāvē bhajā Hari — kānti tē dusarī rūpa ēka — Tuka says: with one bhāva, worship Hari — the radiance is the second, the form is one. Kānti = radiance, splendor; rūpa ēka = form is one. Many-radiances appear, but-the-form-is-one (= though many-faces of Nārāyaṇa appear, the underlying-form is single).
This abhang is foundational for the Vārkarī tradition's claim that bhakti is accessible to all-people-of-any-jāti-or-gender, in-the-midst-of-everyday-work. Pairs with the anti-caste cluster (1606, 1676, 1687, 1690, 1718, 1751-1752, 1783, 1825).
[T]
For someone today
For today: singing Kṛṣṇa in song, meditating Kṛṣṇa in chitta — they too become Kṛṣṇa by Kṛṣṇa-dhyāna; in sitting, sleeping, eating — say: the enjoyer is Nārāyaṇa; in oviyā-grinding, sing Nārāyaṇa — while pounding, while doing work; men, women, of any jāti — by bhāva, one prīti for Nārāyaṇa; Tuka says — with one bhāva, worship Hari — the radiance is the second, the form is one.
Where this applies
- Singing-Kṛṣṇa-becomes-Kṛṣṇa-by-dhyāna.* Kṛṣṇa-gātā-dhyātā-hōtī.
- In-sitting-sleeping-eating-Nārāyaṇa-bhōgitā.* Āsana-śayana-bhōjana-Nārāyaṇa.
- In-oviyā-grinding-pounding-work-sing-Nārāyaṇa.* Ōviyā-daḷaṇī-kāṇḍaṇa.
- Men-women-any-jāti-one-prīti-for-Nārāyaṇa.* Nara-nārī-yāti-bhalatīm-prīti.
- One-bhāva-Hari-radiance-is-second-form-is-one.* Ēkā-bhāva-Hari-kānti-rūpa-ēka.