Abhanga 2048
Holding God's Name gives you direct access to what scripture only describes from afar, a presence both immense and impossibly intimate.
The verse
वेद जया गाती । आम्हां तयाची संगति ॥१॥ नाम धरियेलें कंठीं । अवघा सांटविला पोटीं ॥ध्रु.॥ ॐकाराचें बीज । हातीं आमुचे तें निज ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे बहु मोटें । अणुरणियां धाकुटें ॥३॥
Literal translation
The Vedas sing of him — we have his company. Name held in throat — all is stored in (our) belly. The omkāra-bīja — in our hand is its essence. Tuka says: very large — smaller than the tiniest.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| वेद जया गाती | "the Vedas sing of him" |
| आम्हां तयाची संगति | "we have his company" |
| नाम धरियेलें कंठीं | "Name held in throat" |
| अवघा सांटविला पोटीं | "all is stored in (our) belly" |
| ॐकाराचें बीज | "the omkāra-bīja" |
| हातीं आमुचे तें निज | "in our hand is its essence" |
| तुका म्हणे बहु मोटें | "Tuka says — very large" |
| अणुरणियां धाकुटें | "smaller than the tiniest" |
What it means
Vedas-sing-of-him-our-company + very-large-smaller-than-atom abhang.
The opening — the Vedas-and-us: Vēda jayā gātī — āmhām tayāchī sangati — the Vedas sing of him — we have his company. The one-whom-the-Vedas-only-sing-of, we-have-as-companion (= direct-bhakti-experience surpasses Vedic-praise).
The Name-in-throat: Nāma dhariyēlē kaṇṭhīm — avaghā sāṇṭavilā pōṭīm — Name held in throat — all is stored in (our) belly. With Name-on-tongue, the all (avaghā) is-stored-in-our-belly.
The omkāra-bīja: ōmkārāchē bīja — hātīm āmuchē tē nija — the omkāra-bīja — in our hand is its essence. The seed-syllable Om in-our-hand is-its-essence.
The closing-paradox: Tukā mhaṇē bahu mōṭē — aṇu-raṇiyām dhākuṭē — Tuka says: very large — smaller than the tiniest. Aṇu-raṇiyām = infinitesimal. He is both very-large and-smaller-than-the-tiniest (= anur-aṇīyān-mahato-mahīyān, the Upanishadic paradox).
[T]
For someone today
For today: the Vedas sing of him — we have his company; Name held in throat — all is stored in our belly; the omkāra-bīja — in our hand is its essence; Tuka says — very large — smaller than the tiniest.
Where this applies
- When scripture and religious study feel distant and abstract, and you want something you can hold onto directly
- When quietly repeating a name or prayer makes you feel unexpectedly full or settled
- When you picture God as only vast and cosmic, forgetting God can also feel intimate and small
- When you wonder whether ordinary practice like chanting can match up to years of textual learning