Abhanga 1947
Waiting eagerly for news from a sacred place, and resolving to listen quietly and hold it in your heart, is itself a form of devotion.
The verse
आतां माझे सखे येती वारकरी । जीवा आस थोरी लागली ते ॥१॥ सांगतील माझ्या निरोपाची मात । सकळ वृत्तांत माहेरींचा ॥ध्रु.॥ काय लाभ जाला काय होतें केणें । काय काय कोणे सांटविलें ॥२॥ मागणें तें काय धाडिलें भातुकें । पुसेन तें सुखें आहेतसीं ॥३॥ तुका म्हणे काय सांगती ते कानीं । ऐकोनियां मनीं धरुनि राहें ॥४॥
Literal translation
Now my dear-companions Vārakarīs are coming — great hope is fixed in jīva. They'll tell my message-news — all the māhēra-news. What gain happened — what was the gathering? — what what who-stored? What was the asking — what bhātukē sent? — I'll ask happily. Tuka says: what they tell in ear — listening, holding in mind, I will stay.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| आतां माझे सखे येती वारकरी | "now my dear-companions — Vārakarīs are coming" |
| जीवा आस थोरी लागली ते | "great hope is fixed in jīva" |
| सांगतील माझ्या निरोपाची मात | "they'll tell my message-news" |
| सकळ वृत्तांत माहेरींचा | "all the māhēra-news" |
| काय लाभ जाला काय होतें केणें | "what gain happened — what was the gathering" |
| काय काय कोणे सांटविलें | "what what who-stored" |
| मागणें तें काय धाडिलें भातुकें | "what was the asking — what bhātukē sent" |
| पुसेन तें सुखें आहेतसीं | "I'll ask happily — being-here" |
| तुका म्हणे काय सांगती ते कानीं | "Tuka says — what they tell in ear" |
| ऐकोनियां मनीं धरुनि राहें | "listening, holding in mind I will stay" |
What it means
Welcoming-the-Vārakarīs-asking-everything abhang. Closes the Vārkarī-arrival sub-cluster.
The opening: ātām mājhē sakhē yētī Vārakarī — jīvā āsa thōrī lāgalī tē — now my dear-companions Vārakarīs are coming — great hope is fixed in jīva. Sakhē = companions, dear-friends. The Vārkarīs are dear-companions; great-hope-fixes-in-jīva at-their-coming.
The questions list: kāya lābha jālā kāya hōtē kēṇē — kāya kāya kōṇē sāṇṭavilē — māgaṇē tē kāya dhāḍilē bhātukē — what gain, what gathering, what stored? — what asked, what bhātukē sent?. The bhakta enumerates-his-questions: what-spiritual-gain at-Pandhari, what-festival-gathering, what-was-stored-up, what-was-asked-of-the-Lord, what-sweets (bhātukē) did-the-Lord-send-back?.
The closing: Tukā mhaṇē kāya sāngatī tē kānī — aikōniyām manī dharuni rāhē — Tuka says: what they tell in ear — listening, holding in mind, I will stay. Listen-and-hold-in-mind.
This abhang likely closes the Vārkarī-arrival sub-cluster (1934-1947? — 14 abhangs) — the bhakta-anticipating-the-Vārkarī-return-with-news.
[T]
For someone today
For today: now my dear-companions Vārakarīs are coming — great hope is fixed in jīva; they'll tell my message-news — all the māhēra-news; what gain, what gathering, what stored?; what was asked, what bhātukē sent? — I'll ask happily; Tuka says — what they tell in ear — listening, holding in mind, I will stay.
Where this applies
- When you are waiting for a loved one to come home from a pilgrimage or a trip to a place that matters deeply to you
- When you find yourself eager for news of a community or gathering you could not attend yourself
- When someone returns from a meaningful place and you want to hear every small detail, not just the summary
- When you plan to receive good news quietly and hold it close rather than react loudly