Abhanga 1985
For today: if you don't do — what wouldn't be — saints say all; take my burden, be advocate — ferry across bhava-sindhu; proper-improper, pāpa-puṇya-kāla — I cannot distinguish; speech doesn't reach further-shore; no one knows this guja — save my honor, Pāṇḍuranga; Tuka says — I've seen much with this jīva — the secret is — your Name.
The verse
तुज न करितां काय नव्हे एक । हे तों सकळिक संतवाणी ॥१॥ घेई माझा भार करीं कइवार । उतरीं हा पार भवसिंधु ॥ध्रु.॥ उचित अनुचित पापपुण्यकाला । हा तों नये मला निवडितां ॥२॥ कुंटित राहिली बोलतां बोलतां । पार न पवतां वाणी पुढें ॥३॥ पुसतां ही कोणां न कळे हें गुज । राखें आतां लाज पांडुरंगा ॥४॥ तुका म्हणे बहु पाहिलें या जीवें । वर्म जालें जी ठावें नाम तुझें ॥५॥
Literal translation
English: If you don't do — what wouldn't be — this is all the saints' speech. Take my burden — be advocate — ferry across the bhava-sindhu. Proper-improper, pāpa-puṇya-kāla — I cannot distinguish. Kept stuck speaking-and-speaking — speech doesn't reach the further-shore. Even asking — no one knows this guja — save my honor, Pāṇḍuranga. Tuka says: I've seen much with this jīva — the secret is — your Name.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| तुज न करितां काय नव्हे एक | "if you don't do — what wouldn't be one" |
| हे तों सकळिक संतवाणी | "this is all the saints' speech" |
| घेई माझा भार करीं कइवार | "take my burden — be advocate" |
| उतरीं हा पार भवसिंधु | "ferry across the bhava-sindhu" |
| उचित अनुचित पापपुण्यकाला | "proper-improper, pāpa-puṇya-kāla" |
| हा तों नये मला निवडितां | "I cannot distinguish" |
| कुंटित राहिली बोलतां बोलतां | "kept stuck speaking-and-speaking" |
| पार न पवतां वाणी पुढें | "speech doesn't reach the further-shore" |
| पुसतां ही कोणां न कळे हें गुज | "even asking — no one knows this guja" |
| राखें आतां लाज पांडुरंगा | "save my honor now, Pāṇḍuranga" |
| तुका म्हणे बहु पाहिलें या जीवें | "Tuka says — I've seen much with this jīva" |
| वर्म जालें जी ठावें नाम तुझें | "the secret is known — your Name" |
What it means
Take-my-burden + the-secret-is-your-Name abhang.
The opening — saints'-testimony: tuja na karitām kāya navhē ēka — hē tōm sakaḷika santa-vāṇī — if you don't do — what wouldn't be — this is all the saints' speech. All-saints-say: what-doesn't-happen if-you-do-it?. (= the Lord's-omnipotence is the saints'-confirmed-doctrine.)
The burden-prayer: ghē'ī mājhā bhāra karī kaivāra — utarī hā pāra bhava-sindhu — take my burden — be advocate — ferry across the bhava-sindhu. Kaivāra = advocate, partisan, side-taker. Bhava-sindhu = ocean of samsāra. Take-my-burden, be-my-advocate, ferry-me-across-the-samsāra-ocean. Classic śaraṇāgati formula.
The cannot-distinguish: uchita anuchita pāpa-puṇya-kāḷā — hā tōm nayē malā nivaḍitām — proper-improper, pāpa-puṇya-kāla — I cannot distinguish. Confession of-discrimination-failure.
The speech-failure: kuṇṭita rāhilī bōlatām bōlatām — pāra na pavatām vāṇī puḍhē — kept stuck speaking — speech doesn't reach the further-shore. Even speech-fails to-cross.
The save-honor: pusatām hī kōṇām na kaḷē hē guja — rākhē ātām lāja Pāṇḍurangā — no one knows this guja (secret) — save my honor, Pāṇḍuranga.
The closing — the secret revealed: Tukā mhaṇē bahu pāhilē yā jīvē — varma jālē jī ṭhāvē Nāma tujhē — Tuka says: I've seen much with this jīva — the secret is — your Name. After-much-experience, the bhakta knows: the-secret (varma) is-your-Name.
[T]
For someone today
For today: if you don't do — what wouldn't be — saints say all; take my burden, be advocate — ferry across bhava-sindhu; proper-improper, pāpa-puṇya-kāla — I cannot distinguish; speech doesn't reach further-shore; no one knows this guja — save my honor, Pāṇḍuranga; Tuka says — I've seen much with this jīva — the secret is — your Name.
Where this applies
- Saints'-speech-if-you-don't-do-nothing-wouldn't-be.* Santa-vāṇī-na-karitām-navhē.
- Take-my-burden-be-advocate-ferry-across.* Ghē'ī-bhāra-kaivāra-bhava-sindhu.
- Cannot-distinguish-pāpa-puṇya-kāla.* Uchita-anuchita-pāpa-puṇya-kāḷā-na-nivaḍitām.
- Speech-doesn't-reach-further-shore.* Kuṇṭita-bōlatām-vāṇī-pāra-na.
- Save-my-honor-Pāṇḍuranga.* Rākhē-lāja-Pāṇḍurangā.
- The-secret-is-your-Name.* Varma-Nāma-tujhē.