Abhanga 1929
When sorrow keeps multiplying and you have no reserve of merit to fall back on, Tukaram says the restlessness that remains is itself your strength.
The verse
किती करूं शोक । पुढें वाढे दुःखें दुःख ॥१॥ आतां जाणसी तें करीं । माझें कोण मनीं धरी ॥ध्रु.॥ पुण्य होतें गांठी । तरि कां लागती हे आटी ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे बळ । माझी राहिली तळमळ ॥३॥
Literal translation
How much shall I lament — ahead, duḥkha grows by duḥkha. Now — do what you know — who holds me in mind? If puṇya were in the knot — why would these hardships come? Tuka says: strength — my restlessness remains.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| किती करूं शोक | "how much shall I lament" |
| पुढें वाढे दुःखें दुःख | "ahead — duḥkha grows by duḥkha" |
| आतां जाणसी तें करीं | "now — do what you know" |
| माझें कोण मनीं धरी | "who holds me in mind" |
| पुण्य होतें गांठी | "if puṇya were in the knot" |
| तरि कां लागती हे आटी | "why would these hardships come" |
| तुका म्हणे बळ | "Tuka says — strength" |
| माझी राहिली तळमळ | "my restlessness remains" |
What it means
Duḥkha-grows-by-duḥkha + no-puṇya-in-knot abhang. Letter-sent-with-saints cluster.
The opening: kitī karūm śōka — puḍhē vāḍhē duḥkhē duḥkha — how much shall I lament — ahead, duḥkha grows by duḥkha. Lamentation has-no-end; duḥkha-multiplies.
The petition: ātām jāṇasī tē karīm — mājhē kōṇa manī dharī — now — do what you know — who holds me in mind?. Do-what-you-think-best — who-else-holds-me-in-mind?.
The puṇya-line: puṇya hōtē gāṇṭhī — tari kām lāgatī hē āṭī — if puṇya were in the knot — why would these hardships come?. The puṇya-as-stored-merit-bank: if-I-had-stored-merit, hardships-wouldn't-strike.
The closing: Tukā mhaṇē baḷa — mājhī rāhilī taḷamaḷa — Tuka says: strength — my restlessness remains. Only-restlessness-remains as-strength (= no other resource left).
[T]
For someone today
For today: how much shall I lament — ahead, duḥkha grows by duḥkha; now — do what you know — who holds me in mind?; if puṇya were in the knot — why would these hardships come?; Tuka says — strength — my restlessness remains.
Where this applies
- When grief keeps stacking on top of grief and you cannot see where it ends.
- When you stop insisting on your own plan and ask someone wiser to do what they think is best.
- When you feel like you have no stockpile of good deeds protecting you from hardship.
- When all you have left is restless longing, and you decide to treat that longing as your only strength.