संत साहित्य · Tukārām · Abhanga 2052 of 4582

Abhanga 2052

Total dependence on God can be playful and familiar, like a mischievous child pestering a beloved parent, not just solemn and distant.

When you catch yourself being too formal or stiff in your own prayers or devotion.

When you rely entirely on someone's care and feel unsure whether that reliance is okay to admit.

When you long for a bond with the divine as easy and unashamed as an old friendship.

The verse

दारीं परोवरी । कुडीं कवाडीं मी घरीं ॥१॥ तुमच्या लागलों पोषणा । अवघे ठायीं नारायणा ॥ध्रु.॥ नेदीं खाऊं जेवूं । हातींतोंडींचें ही घेऊं ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे अंगीं । जडलों ठायींचा सलगी ॥३॥

Literal translation

At the door, doorways — all around, doorless, I am at home. I have stuck to your maintenance — in every place, Nārāyaṇa. I won't let you eat and dine — I'll snatch from hand and mouth. Tuka says: to (your) body — I'm stuck, friend from-the-place.

Word-by-word gloss

Marathi	Meaning
दारीं परोवरी	"at the door, doorways"
कुडीं कवाडीं मी घरीं	"all around, doorless, I am at home"
तुमच्या लागलों पोषणा	"I have stuck to your maintenance"
अवघे ठायीं नारायणा	"in every place — Nārāyaṇa"
नेदीं खाऊं जेवूं	"I won't let you eat-and-dine"
हातींतोंडींचें ही घेऊं	"I'll snatch from hand-and-mouth"
तुका म्हणे अंगीं	"Tuka says — to (your) body"
जडलों ठायींचा सलगी	"I'm stuck — friend from-the-place"

What it means

Stuck-to-your-maintenance + snatch-from-hand-and-mouth abhang. PLAYFUL-BHAKTA register.

The opening: dārīm parōvarī — kuḍīm kavāḍīm mī gharī — at the door, doorways — all around, doorless, I am at home. The bhakta-is-everywhere — at-doors, doorways, doorless-spots, even inside-the-home.

The maintenance: tumacyā lāgalōm pōṣaṇā — avaghē ṭhāyīm Nārāyaṇā — I have stuck to your maintenance — in every place, Nārāyaṇa. The bhakta is-the-Lord's-dependent — in-every-place.

THE PLAYFUL SNATCH: nēdīm khāūm jēvūm — hātīm-tōṇḍīñchē hī ghē'ūm — I won't let you eat and dine — I'll snatch from hand and mouth. The bhakta-as-mischievous-child playing-with-the-Lord-as-parent: won't-let-you-eat-peacefully; I'll snatch-from-your-hand-and-mouth-itself. Vivid playful-bhakti.

The closing: Tukā mhaṇē angīm — jaḍalōm ṭhāyīñchā salagī — Tuka says: to (your) body — I'm stuck, friend from-the-place. Salagī = familiar-friend-stuck-by-old-acquaintance. I'm-stuck-to-your-body — your-old-familiar-friend.

[T]

For someone today

For today: at the door, doorways — all around, doorless, I am at home; I have stuck to your maintenance — in every place, Nārāyaṇa; I won't let you eat and dine — I'll snatch from hand and mouth; Tuka says — to your body — I'm stuck, friend from-the-place.

Where this applies

When you feel embarrassed praying casually or joking with God instead of using formal, distant language
When you depend completely on someone or something and wonder if that dependence is shameful rather than natural
When you want a relationship with the divine that feels like family, not like standing at attention before a stranger
When you notice a child pestering a parent playfully and see something sacred in that shameless closeness

Bhakti