Abhanga 1926
However long and painful the longing, it is meant to dissolve the moment you are reunited with the one you love.
The verse
होइल कृपादान । तरी मी येईंन धांवोन ॥१॥ होती संतांचिया भेटी । आनंदें नाचों वाळवंटीं ॥ध्रु.॥ रिघेन मातेपुढें । स्तनपान करीन कोडें ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे ताप । हरती देखोनियां बाप ॥३॥
Literal translation
If kṛpā-dāna comes — I'll come running. Saints' meeting will happen — with ānanda we'll dance on the river-sand. I'll go before the mother — I'll do stana-pāna with longing. Tuka says: the heat (of yearning) vanishes on seeing the father.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| होइल कृपादान | "if kṛpā-dāna comes" |
| तरी मी येईंन धांवोन | "I'll come running" |
| होती संतांचिया भेटी | "saints' meeting will happen" |
| आनंदें नाचों वाळवंटीं | "with ānanda dance on the river-sand (vāḷavaṇṭa)" |
| रिघेन मातेपुढें | "I'll go before the mother" |
| स्तनपान करीन कोडें | "I'll do stana-pāna (breast-suckling) — with longing" |
| तुका म्हणे ताप | "Tuka says — the heat (of yearning)" |
| हरती देखोनियां बाप | "vanishes on seeing the father" |
What it means
Anticipation-of-meeting + dance-on-vāḷavaṇṭa + breast-suckle-with-longing abhang. Letter-sent-with-saints cluster.
The opening: hō'īla kṛpā-dāna — tarī mī yē'īn dhāmvōn — if kṛpā-dāna comes — I'll come running. Conditional-anticipation: if-the-grace-arrives, I'll-run-to-Pandhari.
The river-sand-dance: hōtī santāñciyā bhēṭī — ānandē nācōm vāḷavaṇṭī — the saints' meeting will happen — with ānanda dance on the river-sand. Vāḷavaṇṭa = the river-sand (= the sandbar of the Bhīmā-river at Pandhari, where Vārkarī-pilgrims congregate-and-dance). The classical Vārkarī-image: all-the-saints meeting, dancing-with-ānanda on-the-river-sand at-Pandhari.
The breast-suckle image: righēna mātēpuḍhē — stana-pāna karīna kōḍē — I'll go before the mother — I'll do stana-pāna with longing. Stana-pāna = breast-feeding. The bhakta-as-suckling-child going-to-the-mother-Lord.
The closing: Tukā mhaṇē tāpa — haratī dēkhōniyām bāpa — Tuka says: the heat (of yearning) vanishes on seeing the father. The yearning-heat vanishes the-moment-the-father-is-seen.
This abhang's anticipation-of-meeting is among the cluster's tenderest — running, dance-on-river-sand, breast-suckling, heat-vanishing.
[T]
For someone today
For today: if kṛpā-dāna comes — I'll come running; saints' meeting will happen — with ānanda we'll dance on the river-sand; I'll go before the mother — I'll do stana-pāna with longing; Tuka says — the heat (of yearning) vanishes on seeing the father.
Where this applies
- When you've been missing someone badly and imagine the relief you'll feel the moment you finally see them
- When you look forward to reuniting with your community or the people who share your joy
- When you crave comfort the way a child craves a parent's presence
- When you're carrying a long ache of separation and need to believe it will end