Abhanga 1904
The highest state, unreachable even by Indra's power, is won by ordinary people through simple singing and chanting, because God himself is the life of the weak and powerless.
The verse
देवांच्या ही देवा गोपिकांच्या पती । उदार हे ख्याती त्रिभुवनीं ॥१॥ पातकांच्या रासी नासितोसी नामें । जळतील कर्में महा दोष ॥ध्रु.॥ सर्व सुखें तुझ्या वोळगती पायीं । रिद्धि सिद्धि ठायीं मुक्तिचारी ॥२॥ इंद्रासी दुर्लभ पाविजे तें पद । गीत गातां छंद वातां टाळी ॥३॥ तुका म्हणे जड जीव शक्तिहीन । त्यांचें तूं जीवन पांडुरंगा ॥४॥
Literal translation
Deva-of-devas, husband-of-Gōpīs — udāra in fame, in the three worlds. You destroy the heaps of pātakas by Name — karmas, great-doṣas, will burn. All sukhas pour at your feet — ṛddhi, siddhi, the four mukti's at-your-place. The pada that's dur-labha to Indra — is gained by song-singing chanda, by clapping tāḷī. Tuka says: the jaḍa-jīva, śakti-hīna — you are their jīvana, Pāṇḍurangā.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| देवांच्या ही देवा गोपिकांच्या पती | "deva-of-devas — husband-of-Gōpīs" |
| उदार हे ख्याती त्रिभुवनीं | "udāra in fame — in three worlds" |
| पातकांच्या रासी नासितोसी नामें | "you destroy heaps of pātakas — by Name" |
| जळतील कर्में महा दोष | "karmas — and great-doṣas — will burn" |
| सर्व सुखें तुझ्या वोळगती पायीं | "all sukhas pour at your feet" |
| रिद्धि सिद्धि ठायीं मुक्तिचारी | "ṛddhi, siddhi — at-your-place — the four mukti's" |
| इंद्रासी दुर्लभ पाविजे तें पद | "the pada — that's dur-labha to Indra — is gained" |
| गीत गातां छंद वातां टाळी | "by song-singing — chanda — clapping tāḷī" |
| तुका म्हणे जड जीव शक्तिहीन | "Tuka says — the jaḍa-jīva, śakti-hīna" |
| त्यांचें तूं जीवन पांडुरंगा | "you are their jīvana, Pāṇḍurangā" |
What it means
Praise-list-within-the-letter + Indra-durlabha-pada-gained-by-tāḷī abhang. Letter-sent-with-saints cluster.
This is the praise-section within the letter — the bhakta praises-the-Lord's-attributes before-stating-his-petition.
The titles: devāñcyā hī devā Gōpikāñcyā patī — udāra hē khyātī tribhuvanī — deva-of-devas, husband-of-Gōpīs — udāra in three-worlds. Three classical-titles: devāñcyā devā (the deva-of-devas, i.e., supreme Viṣṇu), Gōpikāñcyā patī (husband-of-Gōpīs, i.e., Kṛṣṇa), udāra-tribhuvana-khyāti (generous, famous-in-three-worlds).
The pātaka-line: pātakāñcyā rāsī nāsitōsī nāmē — jaḷatīla karmē mahā-dōṣa — you destroy heaps of pātakas by Name — karmas, great-doṣas burn. The Name burns mountains-of-sin.
The sukha-pour line: sarva sukhē tujhyā vōḷagatī pāyī — ṛddhi siddhi ṭhāyī mukti-cārī — all sukhas pour at your feet — ṛddhi, siddhi, four-muktis at-your-place. Mukti-cārī = the four-types-of-mukti (sālōkya, sāmīpya, sārūpya, sāyujya). All-rewards are at-your-feet, including-the-four-types-of-liberation.
The Vārkarī-democracy line: Indrāsī durlabha pāvijē tē pada — gīta gātām chanda vātām ṭāḷī — the pada dur-labha to Indra — is gained by song-singing chanda, by clapping tāḷī. What-Indra-can't-attain (the highest-position) — is-gained by ordinary-kīrtana (singing + tāḷī-clapping). (= the kīrtana-bhakta surpasses-Indra; foundational Vārkarī claim that bhakti-democratizes-the-cosmos.)
The closing: Tukā mhaṇē jaḍa jīva śakti-hīna — tyāñcē tūm jīvana Pāṇḍurangā — Tuka says: the jaḍa-jīva, śakti-hīna — you are their jīvana, Pāṇḍurangā. You-are-the-life-source of-the-dull-and-powerless-jīvas.
[T]
For someone today
For today: deva-of-devas, husband-of-Gōpīs — udāra in fame, in the three worlds; you destroy heaps of pātakas by Name — karmas burn; all sukhas pour at your feet — ṛddhi, siddhi, the four mukti's at-your-place; the pada that's dur-labha to Indra — is gained by song-singing chanda, by clapping tāḷī; Tuka says — the jaḍa-jīva, śakti-hīna — you are their jīvana, Pāṇḍurangā.
Where this applies
- When you feel too ordinary or powerless to reach something spiritually great
- When you carry guilt over past mistakes and wonder if it can ever be washed away
- When you envy people with status, power, or influence and feel you have none
- When you find yourself simply singing or clapping in a group and wonder if that small act matters