Abhanga 1920
Intense bodily longing and anxious waiting for someone you love is not a flaw to hide but a sign of how deeply you care.
The verse
पुढें तरी चित्ती । काय येईंल तें आतां ॥१॥ मज सांगोनिया धाडीं । वाट पाहातों वराडी ॥ध्रु.॥ कंठीं धरिला प्राण । पायांपाशीं आलें मन ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे चिंता । बहु वाटतसे आतां ॥३॥
Literal translation
Ahead, in chitta — what will come now? Tell me, send (it) — I'm watching the path eagerly. Prāṇa held in throat — mind has come to the feet. Tuka says: worry — much now.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| पुढें तरी चित्ती | "ahead — in chitta" |
| काय येईंल तें आतां | "what will come now" |
| मज सांगोनिया धाडीं | "tell me — send (it)" |
| वाट पाहातों वराडी | "I'm watching the path eagerly (varāḍī)" |
| कंठीं धरिला प्राण | "prāṇa held in throat" |
| पायांपाशीं आलें मन | "mind has come to the feet" |
| तुका म्हणे चिंता | "Tuka says — worry" |
| बहु वाटतसे आतां | "much now" |
What it means
Prāṇa-in-throat + mind-at-feet abhang. Letter-sent-with-saints cluster.
The opening: puḍhē tarī chittī — kāya yē'īla tē ātām — ahead, in chitta — what will come now?. What-will-the-future-bring? — anxiety.
The path-watch: maja sāngōniyām dhāḍī — vāṭa pāhātōm varāḍī — tell me, send (it) — I'm watching the path eagerly. Varāḍī = eagerly, intently. Send-me-news; I'm-watching-the-path eagerly.
The bodily-yearning-symptom: kaṇṭhī dharilā prāṇa — pāyāmpāśīm ālē mana — prāṇa held in throat — mind come to the feet. The classical-bhakti-yearning-image: prāṇa about-to-leave through-the-throat (= dying-of-yearning); the mind has-already-arrived at-the-feet (= attention is fixed-on-the-Lord's-feet). The body-and-mind are split — body-dying, mind-already-with-the-Lord.
The closing: Tukā mhaṇē cintā — bahu vāṭatasē ātām — Tuka says: worry — much now.
[T]
For someone today
For today: ahead, in chitta — what will come now?; tell me, send (it) — I'm watching the path eagerly; prāṇa held in throat — mind has come to the feet; Tuka says — worry — much now.
Where this applies
- When you're waiting for news from someone you love and can't settle your mind until it arrives
- When your body feels the strain of anxious anticipation before you even know the outcome
- When your attention keeps drifting to a person or place while your body stays stuck where it is
- When you want to admit I am worried instead of pretending you're fine while waiting