Abhanga 1858
For today: deva is compassionate, deva is compassionate — bears the clamor of many; deva is generous, deva is generous — for a little (offering) knows how to give much; deva is good, deva is good — Tuka has clung to the feet.
The verse
देव दयाळ देव दयाळ । साहे कोल्हाळ बहुतांचा ॥१॥ देव उदार देव उदार । थोड्यासाटीं फार देऊं जाणे ॥२॥ देव चांगला देव चांगला । तुका लागला चरणीं ॥३॥
Literal translation
English: Deva is dayāḷa, deva is dayāḷa — bears the clamor of many. Deva is udāra, deva is udāra — for a little (offering) gives much, (he) knows. Deva is cāngalā, deva is cāngalā — Tuka has clung to the feet.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| देव दयाळ देव दयाळ | "deva is dayāḷa (compassionate) — (repeated)" |
| साहे कोल्हाळ बहुतांचा | "bears — the kōl'hāḷa (din / clamor) — of many" |
| देव उदार देव उदार | "deva is udāra (generous) — (repeated)" |
| थोड्यासाटीं फार देऊं जाणे | "for a little (offering) — gives much — (he) knows" |
| देव चांगला देव चांगला | "deva is cāngalā (good) — (repeated)" |
| तुका लागला चरणीं | "Tuka has clung — to the feet" |
What it means
Deva-deva-litany-praise abhang. Opens the 1858-1865 deva-deva litany cluster.
Each verse follows a tight folk-litany pattern: deva [adjective], deva [adjective] — explanation.
Verse 1 — dayāḷa: the deva bears-the-clamor-of-many bhaktas. (= the deva's dayā extends-to-all.)
Verse 2 — udāra: for-a-little-offering, the deva-knows how-to-give-much. (= the deva's generosity is disproportionate-to-the-offering.)
Verse 3 — cāngalā: Tuka has-clung-to-the-feet. (= the deva is good-and-Tuka-recognizes-it.)
The cluster (1858-1865) recites the many-aspects of the deva in folk-litany-form — praise alternating with comic-tease. This abhang is the opening pure-praise.
[T]
For someone today
For today: deva is compassionate, deva is compassionate — bears the clamor of many; deva is generous, deva is generous — for a little (offering) knows how to give much; deva is good, deva is good — Tuka has clung to the feet.
Where this applies
- Compassionate-bears-clamor-of-many.* Deva-dayāḷa-kōl'hāḷa.
- Generous-much-for-a-little.* Deva-udāra-thōḍyā-phāra.
- Good-Tuka-clung-to-feet.* Deva-cāngalā-caraṇa.