Abhanga 1991
For today: directions became auspicious — all the time; the inauspicious — auspicious of the auspicious; by the lamp in hand the night was distanced — we don't see how it is; there's nothing contrary-to sukha-duḥkha — the blows will give hita-fruits; Tuka says — now this is good for us — all became jīva-and-creatures.
The verse
शुभ जाल्या दिशा अवघा चि काळ । अशुभ मंगळ मंगळाचें ॥१॥ हातींचिया दीपें दुराविली निशी । न देखिजे कैसी आहे ते ही ॥ध्रु.॥ सुख दुःखाहूनि नाहीं विपरीत । देतील आघात हितफळें ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे आतां आम्हांसी हें भलें । अवघे चि जाले जीव जंत ॥३॥
Literal translation
Directions became auspicious — all the time. The inauspicious — auspicious of the auspicious. By the lamp in hand — the night was distanced — we don't see how it is. There's nothing contrary to sukha-duḥkha — the blows will give hita-fruits. Tuka says: now this is good for us — all became jīva-and-creatures.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| शुभ जाल्या दिशा अवघा चि काळ | "directions became auspicious — all the time" |
| अशुभ मंगळ मंगळाचें | "the inauspicious — auspicious of the auspicious" |
| हातींचिया दीपें दुराविली निशी | "by the lamp in hand — the night was distanced" |
| न देखिजे कैसी आहे ते ही | "we don't see how it is" |
| सुख दुःखाहूनि नाहीं विपरीत | "there's nothing contrary-to sukha-duḥkha" |
| देतील आघात हितफळें | "the blows will give hita-fruits" |
| तुका म्हणे आतां आम्हांसी हें भलें | "Tuka says — now this is good for us" |
| अवघे चि जाले जीव जंत | "all became — jīva-and-creatures" |
What it means
All-equal-blows-give-hita-fruits abhang.
The opening — auspicious-all: śubha jālyā diśā avaghā chi kāḷa — aśubha mangaḷa mangaḷāchē — directions became auspicious — all the time; the inauspicious — auspicious of the auspicious. All-directions and-times are-auspicious; even-the-inauspicious is the most-auspicious-of-the-auspicious (= every moment-is-divine; even-bad-news-is-good-news).
The lamp-and-night: hātīmciyā dīpē durāvilī niśī — na dēkhijē kaisī āhē tē hī — by the lamp in hand the night was distanced — we don't see how it is. The-lamp (= bhakti / Name) keeps-the-night-at-distance; we-don't-even-see-how-it-is.
The blows-as-hita-fruits: sukha-duḥkhāhūni nāhīm viparīta — dētīla āghāta hita-phaḷē — there's nothing contrary-to sukha-duḥkha — the blows will give hita-fruits. Even-blows (āghāta) bear hita-fruits. A bhakta-equanimity teaching: sukha and-duḥkha are-not-contrary; both-bring-good-fruit.
The closing: Tukā mhaṇē ātām āmhāmsī hē bhalē — avaghē chi jālē jīva janta — Tuka says: now this is good for us — all became jīva-and-creatures. All-jīva-and-creatures became-(equal-to-us); for-us, this-is-good.
[T]
For someone today
For today: directions became auspicious — all the time; the inauspicious — auspicious of the auspicious; by the lamp in hand the night was distanced — we don't see how it is; there's nothing contrary-to sukha-duḥkha — the blows will give hita-fruits; Tuka says — now this is good for us — all became jīva-and-creatures.
Where this applies
- When a setback or a painful event feels like the worst thing, and you wonder if any good can come of it
- When you're anxious about an uncertain future and want reassurance that difficulty isn't the opposite of well-being
- When you're practicing faith or devotion daily and it starts changing how threatening the world feels to you
- When you notice growing compassion for all creatures, not just people close to you