Abhanga 2187
For today: Tukā gives prāyaścittas — goes to all people; grasp them, saved in mind, otherwise wasted at the mill; nigraha-anugraha points — strikes blows after seeing; Tukā became Narasimha — no fear, by his kṛpā.
The verse
प्रायिश्चत्तें देतो तुका । जातो लोकां सकळां ॥१॥ धरितील ते तरती मनीं । जाती घाणी वांयां त्या ॥ध्रु.॥ निग्रहअनुग्रहाचे ठाय । देतो घाय पाहोनि ॥२॥ तुका जाला नरसिंहीं । भय नाहीं कृपेनें ॥३॥ ॥४॥
Literal translation
Tukā gives prāyaścittas — goes to all people. Those who grasp them are saved in mind — the going-to-the-mill is wasted for those. At points of nigraha-and-anugraha — he strikes blows after seeing. Tukā became Narasimha — no fear, by [his] kṛpā. ॥4॥
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| प्रायिश्चत्तें देतो तुका | "Tukā gives prāyaścittas" |
| जातो लोकां सकळां | "goes to all people" |
| धरितील ते तरती मनीं | "those who grasp them are saved in mind" |
| जाती घाणी वांयां त्या | "the going-to-the-mill is wasted for those [who don't]" |
| निग्रहअनुग्रहाचे ठाय | "at points of nigraha and anugraha" |
| देतो घाय पाहोनि | "he strikes blows after seeing" |
| तुका जाला नरसिंहीं | "Tukā became Narasimha" |
| भय नाहीं कृपेनें | "no fear — by [his] kṛpā" |
| ॥४॥ | colophon — closes 4-abhang sub-cluster (2184-2187) |
What it means
Tukā-gives-prāyaścittas + Tukā-became-Narasimha abhang. Fierce-corrective-form. Ends with ॥४॥ — closes 4-abhang sub-cluster (2184-2187).
The opening — prāyaścittas-to-all: prāyaścittē dētō Tukā — jātō lōkām sakaḷām — Tukā gives prāyaścittas — goes to all people. Prāyaścitta = expiation, atonement, corrective-practice. Tukā distributes prāyaścittas, going to-all-people. (= the bhakta-as-physician of-the-soul, prescribing-corrections.)
The grasping-vs-wasted: dharitīla tē taratī manīm — jātī ghāṇī vāñyām tyā — those who grasp them are saved in mind — the going-to-the-mill is wasted for those [who don't]. Ghāṇī = oil-mill, mill-of-suffering. Those-who-grasp-(the-prāyaścittas) are-saved in-mind; those-(who-don't) — the going-to-the-mill (samsāra-grinding) is-wasted-on-them (= they-keep-being-ground-without-profit).
The nigraha-anugraha image: nigraha-anugrahāchē ṭhāya — dētō ghāya pāhōni — at points of nigraha and anugraha — he strikes blows after seeing. Nigraha = restraint, punishment. Anugraha = favor, grace. At-the-points-where nigraha-and-anugraha apply, he-strikes-blows after-seeing. (= Tukā discriminates and applies-the-corrective-blow.)
The rare Tukā-as-Narasimha: Tukā jālā Narasimhī — bhaya nāhīm kṛpēnē — Tukā became Narasimha — no fear by [his] kṛpā. Narasimha (Nṛsimha) = the lion-man-avatāra of Viṣṇu, who-tore-Hiraṇyakaśipu to-save Prahlāda — the fierce-corrective-form of the Lord. Tukā has-become-Narasimha (= taken-on-the-fierce-corrective-form); no-fear comes-from-his-kṛpā (= but for the kṛpā-bhakta, no-fear; only-for-the-asura-bhakta-of-sin). A bold self-image — the gentle-namajapī Tukārām here-claims the fierce-form for-the-purpose-of-correction.
The ॥४॥ colophon closes a 4-abhang sub-cluster (2184-2187): 2184 (man-wearing-bangles, burn-bard-titles), 2185 (donkeys-of-tṛṣṇā, naraka-jīva-vyāpāra), 2186 (reached-end-yet-blind, broken-potsherd-no-parisa-meeting), 2187 (Tukā-gives-prāyaścittas, became-Narasimha). A coherent fierce-corrective cluster: diagnosing-folly (2184-2186) → applying-correction (2187).
[T]
For someone today
For today: Tukā gives prāyaścittas — goes to all people; grasp them, saved in mind, otherwise wasted at the mill; nigraha-anugraha points — strikes blows after seeing; Tukā became Narasimha — no fear, by his kṛpā.
Where this applies
- When someone gives you hard, corrective feedback and you have to decide whether to actually take it in or brush it off
- When you watch a person ignore good advice and keep repeating the same painful cycle without any progress
- When a teacher or elder shifts from gentle encouragement to firm correction because gentleness alone isn't working
- When you have to be tough with someone you care about, and worry that firmness will look like anger instead of love