Abhanga 1899
When the reassurance you counted on goes silent, the not-knowing itself becomes the heaviest burden, and even one word could have brought the peace that hasn't come.
The verse
कां माझा विसर पडिला मायबाप । सांडियेली कृपा कोण्या गुणें ॥१॥ कैसा कंठूनियां राहों संवसार । काय एक धीर देऊं मना ॥ध्रु.॥ नाहीं निरोपाची पावली वारता । करावी ते चिंता ऐसी कांहीं ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे एक वेचूनि वचन । नाहीं समाधान केलें माझें ॥३॥
Literal translation
Why did forgetting of me fall, mother-father — abandoned kṛpā by what reason? How shall I survive in samsāra — what one patience to give the mind? No message-news has reached — what worry should I do, like this? Tuka says: even one word spent — (you have) not made my samādhāna.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| कां माझा विसर पडिला मायबाप | "why did forgetting of me fall — mother-father" |
| सांडियेली कृपा कोण्या गुणें | "abandoned kṛpā — by what reason" |
| कैसा कंठूनियां राहों संवसार | "how shall I survive — in samsāra" |
| काय एक धीर देऊं मना | "what one patience to give the mind" |
| नाहीं निरोपाची पावली वारता | "no message-news has reached" |
| करावी ते चिंता ऐसी कांहीं | "what worry should I do, like this" |
| तुका म्हणे एक वेचूनि वचन | "Tuka says — even one word — spent" |
| नाहीं समाधान केलें माझें | "not made my samādhāna" |
What it means
Why-have-you-forgotten-me-mā-bāpa abhang. Part of letter-sent-with-saints cluster (1898-1933).
The opening: kām mājhā visara paḍilā mā-bāpa — sāṇḍiyēlī kṛpā kōṇyā guṇē — why has forgetting of me fallen, mother-father — abandoned kṛpā by what reason?. Direct address as parent, asking what fault caused the abandonment.
The survival-line: kaisā kaṇṭhūniyām rāhōm samvasāra — kāya ēka dhīra dē'ūm manā — how shall I survive samsāra — what one patience to give the mind?. Without-the-Lord's-news, how-can-I-endure?.
The no-news line: nāhīm niropācī pāvalī vārtā — karāvī tē cintā aisī kāhīm — no message-news has reached — what worry to do?. No-news-arrived; only-anxiety-remains.
The closing-charge: Tukā mhaṇē ēka vēcūni vacana — nāhīm samādhāna kēlē mājhē — Tuka says: even one word spent — has not made my samādhāna. Not-even-one-word from-the-Lord; samādhāna remains-unmade.
This is the second letter-fragment in the cluster — the bhakta-asks why-the-Lord-has-forgotten-him.
[T]
For someone today
For today: why has forgetting of me fallen, mother-father — abandoned kṛpā by what reason?; how shall I survive samsāra — what one patience to give the mind?; no message-news has reached — what worry to do, like this?; Tuka says — not even one word spent — no samādhāna made.
Where this applies
- When someone you depend on has gone quiet and you're left wondering what you did wrong
- When you're struggling through daily life because you haven't heard the reassurance you needed
- When silence from someone you love feels harder to bear than bad news would
- When you realize a single kind word from someone could have eased your mind, and it hasn't come