Abhanga 1877
For today: while crying-out — the throat is dried inside — life is spent, no patience in the mind; even now, does this not enter your inner-self, Pāṇḍuranga, the māhēra of the dīna?; wealth appears like stones — the bhogas in the body have become poison; what error I made, forgive me — Hari, embrace, give prēma; the avasthā of the rūpa remains within — outside, inside, all-time; Tuka says — all my upāyas — are now your feet, Pāṇḍurangā.
The verse
आळवितां कंठ शोकला भीतर । आयुष्य वेचे धीर नाहीं मना ॥१॥ अझून कां नये हें तुझ्या अंतरा । दिनाच्या माहेरा पांडुरंगा ॥ध्रु.॥ धन दिसे डोळा दगडाचे परी । भोग ते शरीरीं विष जालें ॥२॥ चुकलों काय तें मज क्षमा करीं । आळिंगूनि हरी प्रेम द्यावें ॥३॥ अवस्था राहिली रूपाची अंतरीं । बाहेर भीतरी सर्व काळ ॥४॥ तुका म्हणे माजे सकळ उपाय । पांडुरंगा पाय तुझे आतां ॥५॥
Literal translation
English: While crying-out — the throat is dried inside — life is spent, no patience in the mind. Even now, does this not enter your inner-self, Pāṇḍuranga, the māhēra of the dīna? Wealth appears to the eye like stones — the bhogas in the body have become poison. What error I made, forgive me — Hari, embrace and give prēma. The avasthā of the rūpa remains within — outside, inside, all-time. Tuka says: all my upāyas — are now your feet, Pāṇḍurangā.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| आळवितां कंठ शोकला भीतर | "while crying-out — the throat is dried — inside" |
| आयुष्य वेचे धीर नाहीं मना | "life is spent — no patience in the mind" |
| अझून कां नये हें तुझ्या अंतरा | "even now — does this not enter — your inner-self" |
| दिनाच्या माहेरा पांडुरंगा | "the māhēra (mother's-house) — of the dīna — Pāṇḍuranga" |
| धन दिसे डोळा दगडाचे परी | "wealth appears to the eye — like stones" |
| भोग ते शरीरीं विष जालें | "the bhogas in the body — have become poison" |
| चुकलों काय तें मज क्षमा करीं | "what error I made — forgive me" |
| आळिंगूनि हरी प्रेम द्यावें | "Hari — embrace — and give prēma" |
| अवस्था राहिली रूपाची अंतरीं | "the avasthā of the rūpa — remains within" |
| बाहेर भीतरी सर्व काळ | "outside, inside — all-time" |
| तुका म्हणे माजे सकळ उपाय | "Tuka says — all my upāyas" |
| पांडुरंगा पाय तुझे आतां | "Pāṇḍuranga — your feet, now" |
What it means
Opens-the-Śivājī-Tukārām-cluster + wealth-stones-bhoga-poison + all-upāyas-are-your-feet abhang.
Historical note: This abhang opens the 14-abhang Śivājī-Tukārām cluster (1877-1890). Per the editorial-note appended to the source, Śivājī Mahārāj (the founding-king of the Marāṭhā empire) sent his emissary with the abdāgirī (royal-canopy), a horse, and a clerk to invite Tukārām to-his-court. Tukārām declined the worldly-honors. The 14 abhangs articulate Tukārām's-renunciation-stance against royal-temptation.
The opening-cry: āḷavitām kaṇṭha śōkalā bhītara — āyuṣya vēcē dhīra nāhīm manā — while crying-out, throat dried inside — life spent, no patience in mind. The bhakta-is-already-exhausted by-bhakti-cry; life-is-running-out.
The māhēra-line: ajhūna kām nayē hē tujhyā antarā — dīnāñcyā māhērā Pāṇḍurangā — even now, does this not enter your inner-self, Pāṇḍuranga, māhēra-of-the-dīna?. Māhēra = the mother's-house (= Pandhari as the bhakta's-natal-home). You-are-the-māhēra-of-the-dīna; even-now, does-the-bhakta's-cry not-enter-you?.
The renunciation-statement: dhana disē ḍōḷā dagaḍācē parī — bhōga tē śarīrī viṣa jālē — wealth appears to the eye like stones — the bhogas in the body have become poison. In-the-context-of-Śivājī's-royal-honors, this is a foundational declaration: I-see-wealth-as-stones, bhogas-as-poison.
The plea: cukalōm kāya tē maja kṣamā karī — āḷingūni Hari prēma dyāvē — what error I made, forgive me — Hari, embrace, give prēma. Forgive-and-embrace.
The avasthā-line: avasthā rāhilī rūpācī antarī — bāhēra bhītarī sarva kāḷa — the avasthā of the rūpa remains within — outside, inside, all-time. Avasthā = state, condition; rūpa = form. The state-of-(longing-for-)the-form remains within, outside-and-inside, all-times.
The closing-claim: Tukā mhaṇē mājhē sakaḷa upāya — Pāṇḍurangā pāya tujhē ātām — Tuka says: all my upāyas — are now your feet, Pāṇḍurangā. All-the-bhakta's-upāyas (= means, methods) reduce-to-the-Lord's-feet — no other-method, no other-resort. In-the-face-of royal-honors-from-Śivājī, this is the clear declaration: I-have-no-method-but-Pāṇḍuranga's-feet.
This abhang is historically-significant — the opening-cry of Tukārām's-decline of Śivājī's-royal-invitation. Foundational moment in Marāṭhā-bhakti-history.
[T]
For someone today
For today: while crying-out — the throat is dried inside — life is spent, no patience in the mind; even now, does this not enter your inner-self, Pāṇḍuranga, the māhēra of the dīna?; wealth appears like stones — the bhogas in the body have become poison; what error I made, forgive me — Hari, embrace, give prēma; the avasthā of the rūpa remains within — outside, inside, all-time; Tuka says — all my upāyas — are now your feet, Pāṇḍurangā.
Where this applies
- Throat-dried-while-crying-life-spent.* Kaṇṭha-śōkalā-āyuṣya-vēcē.
- Even-now-not-entering-Pāṇḍuranga-māhēra.* Ajhūna-antarā-dīnāñcyā-māhēra.
- Wealth-like-stones-bhogas-poison.* Dhana-dagaḍa-bhōga-viṣa.
- Embrace-and-give-prēma.* Āḷingūni-prēma-dyāvē.
- Rūpa-avasthā-within-outside-all-time.* Rūpa-avasthā-antarī-sarva-kāḷa.
- All-upāyas-are-your-feet.* Sakaḷa-upāya-pāya-Pāṇḍurangā.