Abhanga 1928
For today: hearing the kīrti — thus feels viśrānti; mother — sukha falls in eyes — what gain compares?; coming to speech — no boredom — tongue dances; Tuka says — runs — vāsanā to take the rasa.
The verse
ऐकोनियां कीर्ती । ऐसी वाटती विश्रांती ॥१॥ माते सुख डोळां पडे । तेथें कोण लाभ जोडे ॥ध्रु.॥ बोलतां ये वाचे । वीट नये जिव्हा नाचे ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे धांवे । वासना ते रस घ्यावे ॥३॥
Literal translation
English: Hearing the kīrti — thus feels viśrānti. Mother — the sukha falls in the eyes — what gain compares with that? Coming to speech — no boredom — tongue dances. Tuka says: runs — vāsanā to take the rasa.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| ऐकोनियां कीर्ती | "hearing the kīrti" |
| ऐसी वाटती विश्रांती | "thus feels viśrānti (rest)" |
| माते सुख डोळां पडे | "mother — the sukha falls in the eyes" |
| तेथें कोण लाभ जोडे | "what gain compares with that" |
| बोलतां ये वाचे | "coming to speech" |
| वीट नये जिव्हा नाचे | "no boredom — tongue dances" |
| तुका म्हणे धांवे | "Tuka says — runs" |
| वासना ते रस घ्यावे | "the vāsanā — to take the rasa" |
What it means
Hearing-kīrti-feels-viśrānti + tongue-dances abhang. Letter-sent-with-saints cluster.
The opening: aikōniyām kīrtī — aisī vāṭatī viśrāntī — hearing the kīrti — thus feels viśrānti. Even-just-hearing the Lord's-kīrti gives-rest (viśrānti) to-the-bhakta.
The mother-line: mātē sukha ḍōḷām paḍē — tēthē kōṇa lābha jōḍē — mother — the sukha falls in eyes — what gain compares?. (Mother-Lord), the sukha-falls in-the-eyes (when-they-see-you); no-other-gain-compares.
The dancing-tongue: bōlatām yē vācē — vīṭa nayē jivhā nācē — coming to speech — no boredom — tongue dances. The tongue-dances (= dances-with-joy) when-it-recites-the-Name; no-tedium.
The closing-running: Tukā mhaṇē dhāmvē — vāsanā tē rasa ghyāvē — Tuka says: runs — vāsanā to take the rasa. Vāsanā = desire; rasa = the bhakti-rasa. The vāsanā-runs-after-rasa.
This abhang describes the joy of bhakti-experience within-the-letter — what-the-bhakta-feels when-the-Lord-is-experienced.
[T]
For someone today
For today: hearing the kīrti — thus feels viśrānti; mother — sukha falls in eyes — what gain compares?; coming to speech — no boredom — tongue dances; Tuka says — runs — vāsanā to take the rasa.
Where this applies
- Hearing-kīrti-gives-viśrānti.* Aikōniyām-kīrti-viśrānti.
- Mother-sukha-in-eyes-no-gain-compares.* Mātē-sukha-ḍōḷām.
- Speech-no-boredom-tongue-dances.* Bōlatām-vīṭa-na-jivhā-nācē.
- Vāsanā-runs-after-rasa.* Vāsanā-rasa-dhāmvē.