Abhanga 1880
Even when you feel pressured or pursued, you can hold on stubbornly to your devotion and simply refuse to let go.
The verse
जाणोनि अंतर । टाळिसील करकर ॥१॥ तुज लागली हे खोडी । पांडुरंगा बहु कुडी ॥ध्रु.॥ उठविसी दारीं । धरणें एखादिया परी ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे पाये । कैसे सोडीन ते पाहें ॥३॥
Literal translation
Knowing the inside — you'll fend off the rattle. This bad-habit has caught you, Pāṇḍuranga, very crooked. You stand at the door like one staging a dharaṇā. Tuka says: the feet — see how I will release.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| जाणोनि अंतर | "knowing the inside" |
| टाळिसील करकर | "you'll fend off — the rattle (karakara)" |
| तुज लागली हे खोडी | "this khōḍī (bad-habit) — has caught you" |
| पांडुरंगा बहु कुडी | "Pāṇḍuranga — very crooked" |
| उठविसी दारीं | "you stand at the door" |
| धरणें एखादिया परी | "like one staging a dharaṇā (sit-in-protest)" |
| तुका म्हणे पाये | "Tuka says — the feet" |
| कैसे सोडीन ते पाहें | "see how — I will release" |
What it means
Lord-stages-dharaṇā-at-bhakta's-door + I-won't-release-feet abhang. Part of Śivājī-cluster (1877-1890).
The opening: jāṇōni antara — ṭāḷisīla karakara — knowing the inside — you'll fend off the rattle. Karakara = the rattling-noise (= the bhakta's-protests). You-know-my-inside, but-you'll-fend-off-my-rattling-protests.
The bad-habit charge: tuja lāgalī hē khōḍī — Pāṇḍurangā bahu kuḍī — this khōḍī has caught you, Pāṇḍuranga, very crooked. Khōḍī = bad habit, defect; kuḍī = crooked, twisted. You-have-developed a very-crooked bad-habit.
The dharaṇā-image: uṭhavisī dārī — dharaṇē ēkhādiya parī — you stand at the door — like one staging a dharaṇā. Dharaṇā = the formal sit-in-protest at-someone's-door, refusing-to-leave-until-the-demand-is-met (= traditional Indian non-violent-protest practice). The Lord-stages-a-dharaṇā at-the-bhakta's-door — won't-leave-until-something-is-given. (Comic-inversion of the typical-bhakta-as-suppliant.)
The closing: Tukā mhaṇē pāyē — kaisē sōḍīna tē pāhē — Tuka says: the feet — see how I will release. The bhakta's-counter: I-have-grasped-your-feet; see-how-I-release-them (= I-won't!). Mutual-stalemate: Lord-stages-dharaṇā-at-bhakta's-door; bhakta-grasps-Lord's-feet.
In the Śivājī-context: the Lord-himself is staging-a-dharaṇā at-the-bhakta's-door (= forcing-the-royal-temptation); but-the-bhakta won't-let-go-of-the-Lord's-feet (= won't-shift-from-bhakti-to-royal-honor).
[T]
For someone today
For today: knowing the inside, you'll fend off the rattle; this bad-habit has caught you, Pāṇḍuranga, very crooked; you stand at the door like one staging a dharaṇā; Tuka says — the feet — see how I will release.
Where this applies
- When someone you're close to seems to dodge or deflect your real concerns, even though they clearly understand what's going on.
- When you feel like you're being pressured or pursued into something you don't actually want, even by someone you love.
- When you want to express, half-playfully, that you refuse to give up your hold on faith or a relationship no matter the pressure.
- When a standoff between what you want and what's being pushed on you calls for a stubborn, loving refusal to back down.