Abhanga 1978
Once the mind truly settles, wealth and forced pleasures lose their pull, everyone feels equally close, and Pandurang stands beside you through both joy and sorrow.
The verse
सुख हें नावडे आम्हां कोणा बळें । नेणसी अंधळें जालीशी तूं ॥१॥ भूक तान कैसी राहिली निश्चळ । खुंटलें चपळ मन ठायीं ॥ध्रु.॥ द्रव्य जीवाहूनि आवडे या जना । आम्हांसी पाषाणाहूनि हीन ॥२॥ सोइरे सज्जन जन आणि वन । अवघें समान काय गुणें ॥३॥ तुका म्हणे आम्हां जवळी च आहे । सुख दुःख साहे पांडुरंग ॥४॥
Literal translation
We don't like sukha by anyone's force — you don't know — you've gone blind. Hunger-thirst — how it stayed still — the fickle mind got-anchored in place. Wealth — dearer than jīva to people — to us, lower than stones. Relatives, sajjanas, people, forest — all equal by what guṇa? Tuka says: for us he is right near — Pāṇḍuranga endures sukha-duḥkha.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| सुख हें नावडे आम्हां कोणा बळें | "we don't like sukha by anyone's force" |
| नेणसी अंधळें जालीशी तूं | "you don't know — you've gone blind" |
| भूक तान कैसी राहिली निश्चळ | "hunger-thirst — how it stayed still" |
| खुंटलें चपळ मन ठायीं | "the fickle mind got-anchored in place" |
| द्रव्य जीवाहूनि आवडे या जना | "wealth — dearer than jīva to people" |
| आम्हांसी पाषाणाहूनि हीन | "to us — lower than stones" |
| सोइरे सज्जन जन आणि वन | "relatives, sajjanas, people, forest" |
| अवघें समान काय गुणें | "all equal — by what guṇa" |
| तुका म्हणे आम्हां जवळी च आहे | "Tuka says — for us he is right near" |
| सुख दुःख साहे पांडुरंग | "Pāṇḍuranga endures sukha-duḥkha" |
What it means
All-equal-Pāṇḍuranga-near-endures abhang.
The opening — sukha-rejection: sukha hē nāvaḍē āmhām kōṇā baḷē — nēṇasī andhaḷē jālīśī tūm — we don't like sukha by anyone's force — you've gone blind. Tukārām instructs the wife: we don't-want-forced-sukha; you've-gone-blind (to spiritual-truth).
The mind-anchoring: bhūka tāna kaisī rāhilī niśchaḷa — khuṇṭalē chapaḷa mana ṭhāyī — hunger-thirst stayed still — fickle mind anchored in place. In bhakti — hunger-thirst-and-fickle-mind all-anchor-in-place.
The wealth-comparison: dravya jīvāhūni āvaḍē yā janā — āmhāmsī pāṣāṇāhūni hīna — wealth — dearer than jīva to people — to us, lower than stones. People love-wealth more-than-life; to us — wealth is-lower-than-stones.
The all-equal: sō'irē sajjana jana āṇi vana — avaghē samāna kāya guṇē — relatives, sajjanas, people, forest — all equal by what guṇa. For-the-bhakta: kin, holy-people, ordinary-people, forest — all-equal.
The closing — Pāṇḍuranga's-presence: Tukā mhaṇē āmhām javaḷī cha āhē — sukha-duḥkha sāhē Pāṇḍuranga — Tuka says: for us he is right near — Pāṇḍuranga endures sukha-duḥkha. Pāṇḍuranga is right-near; he endures-our-sukha-duḥkha (= bears-it-with-us).
[T]
For someone today
For today: we don't like sukha by anyone's force — you've gone blind; hunger-thirst stayed still — fickle mind anchored in place; wealth dearer than jīva to people — to us lower than stones; relatives, sajjanas, people, forest — all equal; Tuka says — for us he is right near — Pāṇḍuranga endures sukha-duḥkha.
Where this applies
- When you're chasing happiness through wealth or possessions and feel it's never quite enough
- When you notice your mind is restless and want a practice to settle it
- When you're grieving or struggling and want reassurance that support is present in both good times and bad
- When you want to stop ranking people or places as more or less important than others