Abhanga 1966
Once love flows like an unbroken river carried by the Name, this world and the next become level, equal shores with no real distance between them.
The verse
आनंदाच्या कोटी । सांटवल्या आम्हां पोटीं ॥१॥ प्रेम चालिला प्रवाहो । नामओघ लवलाहो ॥ध्रु.॥ अखंड खंडेना जीवन । राम कृष्ण नारायण ॥२॥ थडी आहिक्य परत्र । तुका म्हणे सम तीर ॥३॥
Literal translation
Crores of ānanda — stored in our belly. Prema flowing as stream — Name-flow swiftly. The unbroken does not break — life — Rāma Kṛṣṇa Nārāyaṇa. Shore — this-world and beyond — Tuka says: both-shores level-equal.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| आनंदाच्या कोटी | "crores of ānanda" |
| सांटवल्या आम्हां पोटीं | "stored in our belly" |
| प्रेम चालिला प्रवाहो | "prema flowing as stream" |
| नामओघ लवलाहो | "Name-flow swiftly" |
| अखंड खंडेना जीवन | "the unbroken does not break — life" |
| राम कृष्ण नारायण | "Rāma Kṛṣṇa Nārāyaṇa" |
| थडी आहिक्य परत्र | "shore — this-world and beyond" |
| तुका म्हणे सम तीर | "Tuka says — both-shores level-equal" |
What it means
Name-flow-as-river + both-shores-level-equal abhang.
The opening: ānandācyā kōṭī — sāṇṭavalyā āmhām pōṭī — crores of ānanda — stored in our belly. Crores (= 10 millions) of ānanda hoarded-in-the-belly.
The Name-flow: prēma chālilā pravāhō — Nāma-ōgha lavalāhō — prema flowing as stream — Name-flow swiftly. Prema-as-flowing-stream; the Name-as-swift-current. Ōgha = flow, current.
The unbroken-life: akhaṇḍa khaṇḍēnā jīvana — Rāma Kṛṣṇa Nārāyaṇa — the unbroken does not break — life — Rāma Kṛṣṇa Nārāyaṇa. Akhaṇḍa khaṇḍēnā — the un-broken cannot-be-broken. The Name-life is unbroken. Jīvana here puns on life and water/source-of-life.
The two-shores closing: thaḍī aihikya paratra — Tukā mhaṇē sama tīra — shore — this-world and beyond — Tuka says: both-shores level-equal. Aihikya = this-worldly; paratra = the-other-world; thaḍī and tīra both = shore-bank. For-the-Name-river both-shores (this-world and beyond) are level-equal — no-difference between-here-and-there for-the-bhakta.
[T]
For someone today
For today: crores of ānanda — stored in our belly; prema flowing as stream — Name-flow swiftly; the unbroken does not break — life — Rāma Kṛṣṇa Nārāyaṇa; shore — this-world and beyond — Tuka says — both-shores level-equal.
Where this applies
- When you're anxious about what happens after death and want peace about it
- When you feel like joy and love have dried up and need a practice to keep them flowing
- When you separate spiritual life from everyday life as if they're two different shores
- When you want a steady daily practice, like repeating a name or phrase, to keep you grounded