Abhanga 2068
Devotion lets a person stand unafraid over death and time, and it quietly cools the boiling turmoil of a restless, hungry life.
The verse
जगा काळ खाय । आम्ही माथां दिले पाय ॥१॥ नाचों तेथें उभा राहे । जातां व्यंग करी साहे ॥ध्रु.॥ हरिच्या गुणें धाला । होता खात चि भुकेला ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे हळु । जाला कढत शीतळु ॥३॥ ॥३॥
Literal translation
Kāḷa eats the world — we put feet on (his) head. Dance — there he stands — when going, he bears the affront. By Hari's guṇa, filled — he who was eating-and-still-hungry. Tuka says: gently — what was boiling, became cool. ॥3॥
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| जगा काळ खाय | "Kāḷa eats the world" |
| आम्ही माथां दिले पाय | "we put feet on (his) head" |
| नाचों तेथें उभा राहे | "dance — there he stands" |
| जातां व्यंग करी साहे | "when going, he bears the affront" |
| हरिच्या गुणें धाला | "by Hari's guṇa, filled" |
| होता खात चि भुकेला | "he who was eating-and-still-hungry" |
| तुका म्हणे हळु | "Tuka says — gently" |
| जाला कढत शीतळु | "what was boiling, became cool" |
| ॥३॥ | "colophon-3 — closes 3-abhang sub-cluster (2066-2068)" |
What it means
Foot-on-Kāḷa's-head + boiling-became-cool abhang. CLOSES 3-ABHANG SUB-CLUSTER (2066-2068).
The opening — foot-on-Kāḷa: jagā kāḷa khāya — āmhī māthām dilē pāya — Kāḷa eats the world — we put feet on (his) head. Kāḷa (death-time) eats-the-world; but-we-(bhaktas) put-our-feet on-Kāḷa's-head. Bhakti reverses-the-cosmic-power-hierarchy.
The bearing: nāchōm tēthē ubhā rāhē — jātām vyanga karī sāhē — dance — there he stands — when going, he bears the affront. Wherever-we-dance, Kāḷa-just-stands-by; bears-the-affront when-we-pass.
The hunger-filled: Harichyā guṇē dhālā — hōtā khāta chi bhukēlā — by Hari's guṇa, filled — he who was eating-and-still-hungry. The one-who-was-always-eating-but-still-hungry has-been-filled by-Hari's-guṇas.
The brilliant closing-paradox: Tukā mhaṇē haḷu — jālā kaḍhata śītaḷu — Tuka says: gently — what was boiling, became cool. The boiling-(samsāra) gently became-cool (= the heat-of-suffering quietly-subsided under-Hari's-influence).
Colophon ॥३॥ confirms 3-abhang sub-cluster (2066-2068) on bhāva-determined-fruit/foot-on-Kāḷa.
[T]
For someone today
For today: time and death devour the whole world, but we stand with our feet planted on death's own head. Wherever we dance in devotion, death just stands aside; when we pass, it must bear the affront quietly. The one who was always eating yet never full has finally been satisfied by the qualities of Hari. Tuka says: gently, what was once boiling over has become cool.
मराठी: आजसाठी: काळ हा साऱ्या जगाला गिळंकृत करतो, पण आम्ही आमचे पाय त्याच्याच मस्तकावर ठेवतो. आम्ही जिथे भक्तीत नाचतो तिथे काळ फक्त उभा राहतो; आम्ही पुढे गेलो की त्याला हा अपमान सहन करावा लागतो. जो सतत खाऊनही भुकेलाच राहत होता, तो हरीच्या गुणांनी आता तृप्त झाला आहे. तुका म्हणतो: हळुवारपणे, जे उकळत होते ते शांत, शीतल झाले.
Where this applies
- When you fear death or the relentless passing of time and want to feel less powerless before it.
- When you feel spiritually restless, always chasing or consuming more but never feeling satisfied.
- When a painful situation that once felt unbearable slowly starts to ease on its own.
- When you keep showing up to devotional practice even though nothing around you seems to change yet.