Abhanga 1859
For today: deva is residing-everywhere, here-and-there continuously; deva is the obstructer — traps me; deva is sticky — once stuck adheres to the jīva; deva is the innocent fool — with bhāva, toddles near; don't-become-deva — Tuka says — makes tangle in (your) business.
The verse
देव बासर देव बासर । असे निरंतर जेथें तेथें ॥१॥ देव खोळंबा देव खोळंबा । मज झळंबा म्हूण कोंडी ॥ध्रु.॥ देव लागट देव लागट । लाविलिया चट जीवीं जडे ॥२॥ देव बावळा देव बावळा । भावें जवळा लुडबुडी ॥३॥ देव न व्हावा देव न व्हावा । तुका म्हणे गोवा करी कामीं ॥४॥
Literal translation
Deva is bāsara, deva is bāsara — (he) is continuously here-and-there. Deva is khōḷambā, deva is khōḷambā — (he) traps me, the jhaḷambā. Deva is lāgaṭa, deva is lāgaṭa — once stuck, adheres to the jīva. Deva is bāvaḷā, deva is bāvaḷā — with bhāva, toddles near. Don't-become-deva, don't-become-deva — Tuka says — makes tangle in (your) business.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| देव बासर देव बासर | "deva is bāsara (residing) — (repeated)" |
| असे निरंतर जेथें तेथें | "(he) is — continuously — here-and-there" |
| देव खोळंबा देव खोळंबा | "deva is khōḷambā (delayer/obstructer) — (repeated)" |
| मज झळंबा म्हूण कोंडी | "to me, the jhaḷambā — (he) traps" |
| देव लागट देव लागट | "deva is lāgaṭa (sticky) — (repeated)" |
| लाविलिया चट जीवीं जडे | "once stuck — adheres — to the jīva" |
| देव बावळा देव बावळा | "deva is bāvaḷā (innocent / fool) — (repeated)" |
| भावें जवळा लुडबुडी | "with bhāva — near — toddles" |
| देव न व्हावा देव न व्हावा | "don't-become-deva — (repeated)" |
| तुका म्हणे गोवा करी कामीं | "Tuka says — makes tangle (gōvā) — in business" |
What it means
Deva-deva-litany — mixed-comic register abhang. Continues the 1858-1865 cluster.
The folk-litany pattern continues, but here-with-mixed-praise-and-comic-deflation:
bāsara: deva is residing-everywhere, here-and-there continuously. (= omnipresent.)
khōḷambā: deva is the obstructer-and-traps-me. Khōḷambā = the one-who-stalls / delays. (= the deva-stalls-the-bhakta's-progress. Comic deflation.)
lāgaṭa: deva is sticky — once-stuck, adheres-to-the-jīva. (= deva-clings-once-attached. Affectionate-comic.)
bāvaḷā: deva is the innocent / fool — with bhāva, toddles-near. Luḍabuḍī = toddles-childishly. (= the deva-as-fool-toddler. Comic.)
The closing-warning: deva na hō'āvā deva na hō'āvā — gōvā karī kāmī — don't-become-deva, don't-become-deva — makes tangle in (your) business. Gōvā = tangle, knot. Don't-become-friends-with-deva — he-tangles-up-your-business. (= bhakti-disrupts-samsāra.)
This abhang's register-mixing is characteristic of the cluster — praise (bāsara, lāgaṭa-bhāvēna javaḷā) and tease (khōḷambā, bāvaḷā, gōvā-kāmī).
[T]
For someone today
For today: deva is residing-everywhere, here-and-there continuously; deva is the obstructer — traps me; deva is sticky — once stuck adheres to the jīva; deva is the innocent fool — with bhāva, toddles near; don't-become-deva — Tuka says — makes tangle in (your) business.
Where this applies
- When you feel God's presence blocking your smooth, ambitious plans
- When devotion or faith has taken root in you and won't let go, whether you want it to or not
- When something innocent and childlike about your faith keeps pulling you back despite yourself
- When you notice that getting close to God has upended your neat worldly routines