Abhanga 2101
The shared joy of communal singing and storytelling about the divine is powerful enough to soften even the hardest heart, and it is the simplest path to the highest goal.
The verse
टाळघोळ सुख नामाचा गजर । घोषें जेजेकार ब्रम्हानंदु ॥१॥ गरुडटके दिंडी पताकांचे भार । आनंद अपार ब्रम्हादिकां ॥ध्रु.॥ आनंदें वैष्णव जाती लोटांगणीं । एक एकाहुनि भद्रजाति ॥२॥ तेणें सुखें सुटे पाषाणां पाझर । नष्ट खळ नर शुद्ध होती ॥३॥ तुका म्हणे सोपें वैकुंठवासी जातां । रामकृष्ण कथा हे ची वाट ॥४॥ ॥३॥
Literal translation
Tāḷa-ghōḷa-sukha — Name-roar — with shout jē-jē-kāra — Brahmānanda. Garuḍa-poles, diṇḍī, banners' multitude — unbounded ānanda to Brahmā and others. By ānanda, Vaiṣṇavas roll-on-the-ground — one more bhadra-jāti than the other. By that sukha — stones release water — evil-wicked men become pure. Tuka says: easy — going to Vaikuṇṭha-residence — Rāma-Kṛṣṇa-kathā — this is the path. ॥3॥
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| टाळघोळ सुख नामाचा गजर | "tāḷa-ghōḷa-sukha — Name-roar" |
| घोषें जेजेकार ब्रम्हानंदु | "with shout jē-jē-kāra — Brahmānanda" |
| गरुडटके दिंडी पताकांचे भार | "Garuḍa-poles, diṇḍī, banners' multitude" |
| आनंद अपार ब्रम्हादिकां | "unbounded ānanda — to Brahmā and others" |
| आनंदें वैष्णव जाती लोटांगणीं | "by ānanda, Vaiṣṇavas roll-on-the-ground" |
| एक एकाहुनि भद्रजाति | "one more bhadra-jāti than the other" |
| तेणें सुखें सुटे पाषाणां पाझर | "by that sukha — stones release water" |
| नष्ट खळ नर शुद्ध होती | "evil-wicked men become pure" |
| तुका म्हणे सोपें वैकुंठवासी जातां | "Tuka says — easy — going to Vaikuṇṭha-residence" |
| रामकृष्ण कथा हे ची वाट | "Rāma-Kṛṣṇa-kathā — this is the path" |
| ॥३॥ | "colophon-3 — closes 3-abhang sub-cluster" |
What it means
Kīrtana-Brahmānanda-stones-melt-evil-men-pure + Vaikuṇṭha-via-Rāma-Kṛṣṇa-kathā abhang. CLOSES 3-ABHANG SUB-CLUSTER.
The opening — kīrtana-Brahmānanda: ṭāḷa-ghōḷa sukha Nāmāchā gajara — ghōṣē jē-jē-kāra Brahmānandu — tāḷa-ghōḷa-sukha — Name-roar — with shout jē-jē-kāra — Brahmānanda. The cymbals'-thunder, the Name-roar, the jē-jē-kāra shout — Brahmānanda manifests.
The Vārkarī-procession: Garuḍa-ṭakē diṇḍī patākāñchē bhāra — ānanda apāra Brahmādikām — Garuḍa-poles, diṇḍī, banners' multitude — unbounded ānanda to Brahmā and others. Procession-with-Garuḍa-poles-and-banners; ānanda exceeds-even-Brahmā's.
The Vaiṣṇavas-rolling: ānandē Vaiṣṇava jātī lōṭāngaṇī — ēka ēkāhuni bhadra-jāti — by ānanda, Vaiṣṇavas roll-on-the-ground — one more bhadra-jāti than the other. Vaiṣṇavas-roll in ecstasy; each-one a-greater-bhadra-jāti than-the-next.
THE MELTING-STONES IMAGE: tēṇē sukhē suṭē pāṣāṇām pājhara — naṣṭa khaḷa nara śuddha hōtī — by that sukha — stones release water — evil-wicked men become pure. By that-sukha (of-kīrtana), stones-melt-into-water; evil-wicked-men become-pure. One of Tukārām's most-celebrated kīrtana-transformative-power lines.
The closing — easy-Vaikuṇṭha: Tukā mhaṇē sōpē Vaikuṇṭha-vāsī jātām — Rāma-Kṛṣṇa kathā hē chi vāṭa — Tuka says: easy — going to Vaikuṇṭha-residence — Rāma-Kṛṣṇa-kathā — this is the path. The easy-path to-Vaikuṇṭha is-Rāma-Kṛṣṇa-kathā.
Colophon ॥३॥ confirms a 3-abhang sub-cluster (overlapping with 7-cluster).
[T]
For someone today
For today: tāḷa-ghōḷa-sukha — Name-roar — with shout jē-jē-kāra — Brahmānanda; Garuḍa-poles, diṇḍī, banners' multitude — unbounded ānanda; Vaiṣṇavas roll-on-ground — bhadra-jāti; stones release water — evil-wicked men become pure; Tuka says — easy going to Vaikuṇṭha — Rāma-Kṛṣṇa-kathā — this is the path.
Where this applies
- When you are part of a group singing or chanting together and feel a joy bigger than anything you could reach alone
- When you doubt that a hardened or genuinely difficult person can ever really change
- When you assume spiritual growth needs an elaborate or complicated method
- When you underestimate what shared celebration, music, and storytelling can do to soften a room