Abhanga 1961
Real gratitude admits that some kindness is too great to ever be repaid, and that is not a failure, it is the truth of generosity.
The verse
आमुप जोडल्या सुखाचिया रासी । पार त्या भाग्यासी नाहीं आतां ॥१॥ काय सांगों सुख जालें आलिंगन । निवाली दर्शनें कांति माझी ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे यांच्या उपकारासाटीं । नाहीं माझे गांठी कांहीं एक ॥३॥
Literal translation
Heaps of happiness joined — no end to that fortune now. What to say — happiness was — the embracing — cooled by darśana, my radiance. Tuka says: for their upakāra — I have nothing — not one thing — in my purse.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| आमुप जोडल्या सुखाचिया रासी | "heaps of happiness joined" |
| पार त्या भाग्यासी नाहीं आतां | "no end to that fortune now" |
| काय सांगों सुख जालें आलिंगन | "what to say — happiness was — the embracing" |
| निवाली दर्शनें कांति माझी | "cooled by darśana — my radiance" |
| तुका म्हणे यांच्या उपकारासाटीं | "Tuka says — for their upakāra" |
| नाहीं माझे गांठी कांहीं एक | "I have nothing — not one thing — in my purse" |
What it means
Heaps-of-happiness + nothing-to-repay-their-upakāra abhang.
The opening: āmupa jōḍalyā sukhāciyā rāsī — pāra tyā bhāgyāsī nāhīm ātām — heaps of happiness joined — no end to that fortune now. Āmupa = abundant, much; rāsī = heaps. Heaps-of-happiness; no-bound to-this-fortune.
The embrace-and-cooling: kāya sāngōm sukha jālē ālingana — nivālī darśanē kānti mājhī — what to say — happiness was the embracing — cooled by darśana, my radiance. The embrace-of-the-saints + their-darśana cooled-the-bhakta's-radiance (= the burn of separation finally cooled).
The upakāra-debt (closing): Tukā mhaṇē yāñcyā upakārāsāṭīm — nāhīm mājhē gāṭhī kāhīm ēka — Tuka says: for their upakāra — I have nothing in my purse. Upakāra = the favor-bestowed, the kindness-done. Gāṭhī = purse-knot (a small purse-pouch tied at the waist). The bhakta-confesses he-has-nothing-in-his-purse to-repay-their-upakāra — the saints' favor is incalculable.
[T]
For someone today
For today: heaps of happiness joined — no end to that fortune now; what to say — happiness was the embracing — cooled by darśana, my radiance; Tuka says — for their upakāra — I have nothing in my purse.
Where this applies
- When someone has been so kind to you that you realize you could never fully repay them
- When happiness or relief piles up so much that you struggle to put it into words
- When simply seeing or being near someone you love calms an ache you had been carrying
- When you feel humbled rather than proud after receiving generosity you did not earn