Abhanga 2009
Real contentment, once it opens up, is so abundant that no one can fully measure it, and only quiet repetition of the name helps you hold what overflows.
The verse
झरा लागला सुखाचा । ऐसा मापारी कइंचा ॥१॥ जो हें माप तोंडें धरी । सळे जाली ते आवरी ॥ध्रु.॥ जाले बहु काळ । कोणा नाहीं ऐसें बळ ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे तळ । नाहीं पाहेसा सकळ ॥३॥
Literal translation
A spring-of-sukha has opened — what kind of measurer? Who holds this measure with mouth — controls the overflow. Much time has passed — no one has such strength. Tuka says: the bottom — not seeable, the whole.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| झरा लागला सुखाचा | "a spring-of-sukha has opened" |
| ऐसा मापारी कइंचा | "what kind of measurer" |
| जो हें माप तोंडें धरी | "who holds this measure with mouth" |
| सळे जाली ते आवरी | "controls the overflow" |
| जाले बहु काळ | "much time has passed" |
| कोणा नाहीं ऐसें बळ | "no one has such strength" |
| तुका म्हणे तळ | "Tuka says — the bottom" |
| नाहीं पाहेसा सकळ | "not seeable, the whole" |
What it means
Sukha-spring-no-measurer-bottomless abhang.
The opening — spring-image: jharā lāgalā sukhāchā — aisā māpārī kaiñchā — a spring-of-sukha has opened — what kind of measurer?. Jharā = a fresh-spring (gushing-water-source). Māpārī = measurer (of grain in a bazaar). The sukha-spring is-so-prolific no-measurer can-handle-it — the merchant-image of-grain-measurement applied to-divine-overflow.
The mouth-measure: jō hē māpa tōṇḍē dharī — saḷē jālī tē āvarī — who holds this measure with mouth — controls the overflow. Saḷē = overflow. Whoever (the Lord) holds-the-measure-with-mouth-(= takes the Name) controls-the-overflow (= the Name itself is-the-cup-and-the-overflow-control).
The lack-of-measurer: jālē bahu kāḷa — kōṇā nāhīm aisē baḷa — much time has passed — no one has such strength. For a long-time, no-one has-had-such-strength (= to measure-out-the-Lord's-overflowing-sukha).
The bottomlessness: Tukā mhaṇē taḷa — nāhīm pāhēsā sakaḷa — Tuka says: the bottom — not seeable, the whole. The bottom-of-the-spring is-not-visible; the-whole exceeds-sight.
[T]
For someone today
For today: spring-of-sukha has opened — what kind of measurer?; who holds this measure with mouth — controls the overflow; much time has passed — no one has such strength; Tuka says — the bottom — not seeable, the whole.
Where this applies
- When you try to rationally measure or explain a feeling of grace that is simply too large for words
- When you realize that chanting or quiet repetition is the only thing that helps you hold an overwhelming feeling
- When you assume more time or effort will let you fully grasp something that is actually boundless
- When you sense that some experience of joy in your life has no visible limit or bottom