Abhanga 1916
Tukaram marvels that Vitthal has stood tirelessly on the brick for twenty-eight ages, never resting, patiently present for everyone who comes.
The verse
न बैससी खालीं । सम उभा च पाउलीं ॥१॥ ऐसे जाले बहुत दिस । जालीं युगें अठ्ठाविस ॥ध्रु.॥ नाहीं भाग सीण । अराणूक एक क्षण ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे किती । मापें केलीं देती घेती ॥३॥
Literal translation
You don't sit down — standing evenly on the feet. Such — many days have passed — twenty-eight yugas have come. No portion (of fatigue) — no leisure for one moment. Tuka says: how much — measures of give-and-take are made.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| न बैससी खालीं | "you don't sit down" |
| सम उभा च पाउलीं | "standing evenly on the feet" |
| ऐसे जाले बहुत दिस | "such — many days have passed" |
| जालीं युगें अठ्ठाविस | "twenty-eight yugas have come" |
| नाहीं भाग सीण | "no portion (of fatigue)" |
| अराणूक एक क्षण | "no leisure for one moment" |
| तुका म्हणे किती | "Tuka says — how much" |
| मापें केलीं देती घेती | "measures of give-and-take are made" |
What it means
Pandhari-icon: standing-twenty-eight-yugas-on-the-brick abhang. Letter-sent-with-saints cluster.
The opening: na baisasī khālī — sama ubhā chi pā'ulīm — you don't sit down — standing evenly on the feet. The iconic-Pandhari-pose: Viṭhṭhal stands-on-the-brick with-feet-evenly-placed (sama-pā'ulīm), hands-on-waist (kaṭi). Doesn't-sit-down.
The twenty-eight-yugas: aisē jālē bahuta disa — jālīm yugē aṭhṭhāvīsa — such — many days have passed — twenty-eight yugas have come. Aṭhṭhāvīsa yugē = twenty-eight yugas. The Vārkarī-mythological-claim: Viṭhṭhal-has-stood-on-the-brick at-Pandhari for-twenty-eight-yugas-now, waiting-for-the-bhakta Puṇḍalīka (whose order was to wait) and-by-extension, for-all-bhaktas. (Foundational-Vārkarī-time-claim — the Lord stands-stationary while-cosmic-time passes.)
The no-fatigue line: nāhīm bhāga sīṇa — arāṇūka ēka kṣaṇa — no portion (of fatigue) — no leisure for one moment. The Lord-experiences neither-fatigue nor-rest through these twenty-eight-yugas.
The closing: Tukā mhaṇē kitī — māpē kēlīm dētī ghētī — Tuka says: how much — measures of give-and-take are made. How-much give-and-take has-the-Lord-mediated in-twenty-eight-yugas?.
This abhang invokes the iconic-Vārkarī-image of Viṭhṭhal-standing-twenty-eight-yugas-on-the-brick. Foundational time-image in the cluster.
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For someone today
For today: you don't sit down — standing evenly on the feet; such — many days have passed — twenty-eight yugas have come; no portion (of fatigue) — no leisure for one moment; Tuka says — how much — measures of give-and-take are made.
Where this applies
- When you need reassurance that someone or something steady will still be there no matter how long you take to arrive.
- When you're exhausted and could use the image of a patient presence that never tires of waiting for you.
- When you want to appreciate someone who has quietly shown up, without rest, for a very long time.
- When you're counting how much you've given and received in a long relationship and marveling at its scale.