Abhanga 1888
Sincere faith carries more force than any worldly power, and it draws every kind of strength to it without being called.
The verse
भावापुढें बळ । नाहीं कोणाचे सबळ ॥१॥ करी देवावरी सत्ता । कोण त्याहूनि परता ॥ध्रु.॥ बैसे तेथें येती । न पाचारितां सर्व शक्ति ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे राहे । तयाकडे कोण पाहे ॥३॥
Literal translation
Before bhāva, no one's force is equal. Rules over deva itself — who is beyond that? Where (bhāva) sits, all the śaktis come without being called. Tuka says: (when bhāva) settles — who looks at him?.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| भावापुढें बळ | "before bhāva — strength" |
| नाहीं कोणाचे सबळ | "no one's force is equal" |
| करी देवावरी सत्ता | "rules over deva itself" |
| कोण त्याहूनि परता | "who is beyond that" |
| बैसे तेथें येती | "where (bhāva) sits — (they) come" |
| न पाचारितां सर्व शक्ति | "without being called — all the śaktis" |
| तुका म्हणे राहे | "Tuka says — (when bhāva) settles" |
| तयाकडे कोण पाहे | "who looks at him" |
What it means
Bhāva-rules-over-deva-and-attracts-all-śaktis abhang. Part of Śivājī-cluster (1877-1890).
The opening: bhāvāpuḍhē baḷa — nāhīm kōṇāce sabaḷa — before bhāva, no one's force is equal. No-cosmic-power-can-stand-before bhāva.
The deva-rules line: karī devāvarī sattā — kōṇa tyāhūni paratā — (bhāva) rules over deva itself — who is beyond that?. Bhāva exercises sattā even-over-deva — there is no-greater-power.
The śakti-line: baisē tēthē yētī — na pācāritā sarva śakti — where (bhāva) sits, (they) come — all the śaktis, without being called. Wherever-bhāva-settles, all-the-śaktis come unbidden.
The closing: Tukā mhaṇē rāhē — tayākaḍē kōṇa pāhē — Tuka says: (when bhāva) settles — who looks at him?. The bhakta-with-bhāva — who-can-look at-him? (= no-one-dares-to-disturb-him).
In the Śivājī-context: the bhakta has-bhāva-which-rules-over-deva-itself; what-can-Śivājī's-royal-honors offer to-such-a-bhakta?. Foundational claim of bhāva's-supremacy in the cluster.
[T]
For someone today
For today: before bhāva, no one's force is equal; rules over deva itself — who is beyond that?; where (bhāva) sits, all the śaktis come without being called; Tuka says — when (bhāva) settles, who looks at him?.
Where this applies
- When you feel powerless against people who have money, status, or influence
- When you doubt that quiet faith can matter next to visible strength
- When you notice that a person settled in genuine conviction seems untouchable by outside pressure
- When you want to trust that sincerity draws real support even without asking for it