Abhanga 2045
For today: what entered fire — became fire itself; what remained for that vow — the prior name-and-guṇa?; iron touching parisa — became ornament in world; streams meeting Gangā — became Gangā; by sandalwood's scent — trees became sandalwood; Tuka attached at-saints'-feet — no place for twoness.
The verse
अग्निमाजी गेलें । अग्नि होऊन तें च ठेलें ॥१॥ काय उरलें तया पण । मागील तें नाम गुण ॥ध्रु.॥ लोह लागेपरिसा अंगीं । तो ही भूषण जाला जगीं ॥२॥ सरिता वोहळा ओघा । गंगे मिळोनि जाल्या गंगा ॥३॥ चंदनाच्या वासें । तरु चंदन जालेस्पर्शे ॥४॥ तुका जडला संतां पायीं । दुजेपणा ठाव नाहीं ॥५॥ ॥४॥
Literal translation
English: What entered fire — became fire itself, just stayed so. What remained for that vow — the prior name-and-guṇa? Iron — touching parisa — became an ornament in the world. Streams, channels, currents — meeting Gangā, became Gangā. By sandalwood's scent — trees became sandalwood by touch. Tuka attached at-saints'-feet — no place for twoness. ॥4॥
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| अग्निमाजी गेलें | "what entered fire" |
| अग्नि होऊन तें च ठेलें | "became fire itself — just stayed so" |
| काय उरलें तया पण | "what remained for that vow" |
| मागील तें नाम गुण | "the prior name-and-guṇa" |
| लोह लागेपरिसा अंगीं | "iron — touching parisa" |
| तो ही भूषण जाला जगीं | "became an ornament in the world" |
| सरिता वोहळा ओघा | "streams, channels, currents" |
| गंगे मिळोनि जाल्या गंगा | "meeting Gangā, became Gangā" |
| चंदनाच्या वासें | "by sandalwood's scent" |
| तरु चंदन जालेस्पर्शे | "trees became sandalwood by touch" |
| तुका जडला संतां पायीं | "Tuka attached at saints' feet" |
| दुजेपणा ठाव नाहीं | "no place for twoness" |
| ॥४॥ | "colophon-4 — closes 4-abhang merger-cluster (2042-2045)" |
What it means
Four-merger-images + no-place-for-twoness abhang. CLOSES 4-ABHANG MERGER-CLUSTER (2042-2045). ICONIC TUKĀRĀM ABHANG.
THE FIRE-IMAGE OPENS: agni-mājhi gēlē — agni hō'ūna tē cha ṭhēlē — what entered fire — became fire itself, just stayed so. Whatever-enters-fire becomes-fire (= total-merger; no-trace-of-original). The follow-up: kāya uralē tayā paṇa — māgīla tē nāma guṇa — what remained for that vow — the prior name-and-guṇa?. No-name-or-guṇa of-the-prior-thing remains.
FOUR CLASSIC MERGER-IMAGES (Tukārām's signature collection): 1. Fire: agni-mājhi gēlē — agni hō'ūna (whatever enters fire becomes fire). 2. Iron + parisa: lōha lāgēparisā angīm — tō hī bhūṣaṇa jālā jagīm (iron touching the parisa (philosopher's-stone) becomes a gold-ornament). Parisa = touchstone that turns iron to gold. 3. Streams + Gangā: saritā vōhaḷā ōghā — Gangē miḷōni jālyā Gangā (streams, channels, currents merging with Gangā, become Gangā). 4. Sandalwood: chandanāchyā vāsē — taru chandana jālē sparśē (by sandalwood's scent, neighbor-trees become sandalwood by touch).
THE CLOSING — saints'-feet-merger: Tukā jaḍalā santām pāyīm — dujēpaṇā ṭhāva nāhīm — Tuka attached at saints' feet — no place for twoness. By attaching-to-saints'-feet, twoness (dujē-paṇā = duality) has-no-place. Iconic line: santa-sanga effects total-merger, like fire/parisa/Gangā/sandalwood.
Colophon ॥४॥ confirms 4-abhang merger-cluster (2042-2045).
[T]
For someone today
For today: what entered fire — became fire itself; what remained for that vow — the prior name-and-guṇa?; iron touching parisa — became ornament in world; streams meeting Gangā — became Gangā; by sandalwood's scent — trees became sandalwood; Tuka attached at-saints'-feet — no place for twoness.
Where this applies
- Fire-becomes-fire-no-prior-remains.* Agni-mājhi-gēlē-agni-hō'ūna.
- Iron-touching-parisa-becomes-ornament.* Lōha-parisā-bhūṣaṇa.
- Streams-meeting-Gangā-become-Gangā.* Saritā-Gangā-jālyā-Gangā.
- Sandalwood-scent-trees-become-sandalwood.* Chandana-vāsē-taru-jālē.
- Saints'-feet-attachment-no-twoness.* Santām-pāyīm-dujēpaṇā-ṭhāva-na.