Abhanga 1923
For today: the Vārakarīs come — I watch the path till then; after offering daṇḍavata — I'll ask the message-news; the letter is in hand — to whom-and-where it was sent; Tuka says — they come — I'll go ahead-to-meet.
The verse
येती वारकरी । वाट पाहातों तोंवरी ॥१॥ घालूनियां दंडवत । पुसेन निरोपाची मात ॥ध्रु.॥ पत्र हातीं दिलें । जया जेथें पाठविलें ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे येती । जाइन सामोरा पुढती ॥३॥
Literal translation
English: The Vārakarīs come — I watch the path till then. After offering daṇḍavata — I'll ask the message-news. The letter is in hand — to whom-and-where it was sent. Tuka says: they come — I'll go ahead-to-meet.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| येती वारकरी | "the Vārakarīs come" |
| वाट पाहातों तोंवरी | "I watch the path till then" |
| घालूनियां दंडवत | "after offering daṇḍavata" |
| पुसेन निरोपाची मात | "I'll ask the message-news" |
| पत्र हातीं दिलें | "the letter is in hand" |
| जया जेथें पाठविलें | "to whom-and-where it was sent" |
| तुका म्हणे येती | "Tuka says — they come" |
| जाइन सामोरा पुढती | "I'll go ahead-to-meet" |
What it means
Vārakarī-messengers + letter-given-and-received abhang. Letter-sent-with-saints cluster — explicit confirmation of the cluster's framing.
The opening: yētī Vārakarī — vāṭa pāhātōm tōmvarī — the Vārakarīs come — I watch the path till then. The bhakta watches the path-of-Vārakarī-return.
The greeting: ghālūniyām daṇḍavata — pusēna niropācī māta — after offering daṇḍavata — I'll ask the message-news. Daṇḍavata = the full-prostration; niropācī māta = the message-news. First-prostrate, then-ask-for-the-news.
The letter-confirmation: patra hātī dilē — jayā jēthē pāṭhavilē — the letter is in hand — to whom-and-where it was sent. This explicitly-confirms the cluster's framing — the letter is in-the-Vārkarī's-hand, to-be-delivered to-Pandhari-nātha-at-Pandhari.
The closing: Tukā mhaṇē yētī — jā'ina sāmōrā puḍhatī — Tuka says: they come — I'll go ahead-to-meet. When-they-return-from-Pandhari, I'll-go-meet-them eagerly.
This abhang explicitly confirms the cluster's letter-via-Vārkarī framing — the colophon's claim that-this-is-letters-sent-with-the-saints is here textually-vindicated.
[T]
For someone today
For today: the Vārakarīs come — I watch the path till then; after offering daṇḍavata — I'll ask the message-news; the letter is in hand — to whom-and-where it was sent; Tuka says — they come — I'll go ahead-to-meet.
Where this applies
- Watch-Vārakarī-path.* Vārakarī-vāṭa-pāhātōm.
- Daṇḍavata-then-ask-news.* Daṇḍavata-niropa-māta.
- Letter-in-hand-given-to-deliver.* Patra-hātī-dilē-pāṭhavilē.
- Go-ahead-to-meet.* Yētī-sāmōrā-puḍhatī.