Abhanga 2211
For today: bhūta-affliction in our house — wonder, Hari; bhakti reached pinnacle — dōṣas came to dwell; jāgaraṇa-fruit was given as taḷamaḷa; Tuka says — Lord — sēvā has become known as fickle.
The verse
भूतबाधा आम्हां घरीं । हें तों आश्चर्य गा हरी ॥१॥ जाला भक्तीचा कळस । आले वस्तीस दोष ॥ध्रु.॥ जागरणाचें फळ । दिली जोडोनि तळमळ ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे देवा । आहाच कळों आली सेवा ॥३॥
Literal translation
English: Bhūta-affliction [is] in our house — this is the wonder, Hari. Bhakti reached the pinnacle — [now] dōṣas have come to dwell. The fruit of jāgaraṇa — was given as combined taḷamaḷa. Tuka says: Lord — sēvā has become known as fickle.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| भूतबाधा आम्हां घरीं | "bhūta-affliction [is] in our house" |
| हें तों आश्चर्य गा हरी | "this is the wonder, Hari" |
| जाला भक्तीचा कळस | "bhakti reached the pinnacle" |
| आले वस्तीस दोष | "[now] dōṣas have come to dwell" |
| जागरणाचें फळ | "the fruit of jāgaraṇa" |
| दिली जोडोनि तळमळ | "was given as combined taḷamaḷa (tossing)" |
| तुका म्हणे देवा | "Tuka says — Lord" |
| आहाच कळों आली सेवा | "sēvā has become known as fickle" |
What it means
Bhūta-affliction-at-bhakti's-pinnacle + jāgaraṇa-yields-only-taḷamaḷa abhang. First abhang of the 20-abhang niḍrā-cluster (2211-2230) following the kavitvā-buḍavaṇē (poetry-drowning) episode.
The opening — bhūta-bādhā in our house: bhūta-bādhā āmhām gharīm — hē tōm āścharya gā Harī — bhūta-affliction [is] in our house — this is the wonder, Hari. Bhūta-bādhā = ghost-affliction, possession-by-malign-spirits. In-our-very-house (= the bhakta's life, after-decades of-bhakti) bhūta-affliction-has-come; this-is-the-wonder, Hari. The astonished-cry: how-can-this-be-happening to-a-life-given-to-bhakti?
The pinnacle-and-dōṣas paradox: jālā bhaktīcā kaḷasa — ālē vastīsa dōṣa — bhakti reached the pinnacle — [now] dōṣas have come to dwell. Kaḷasa = pinnacle, finial-of-a-temple. Vastīsa = to-dwell, to-reside. At-the-moment bhakti-reached-its-pinnacle, dōṣas (= public-faults, defects, opposition) came-to-dwell. The paradox of the kavitvā-buḍavaṇē moment: just-as the bhakti-work-was-completed (kaḷasa), the persecution-arrived (vastīsa-dōṣa).
The jāgaraṇa-fruit-is-taḷamaḷa: jāgaraṇāchē phaḷa — dilī jōḍōni taḷamaḷa — the fruit of jāgaraṇa — was given as combined taḷamaḷa. Jāgaraṇa = night-vigil of devotion. Taḷamaḷa = tossing, agitation, anguish. The fruit-of-the-jāgaraṇa (= the night-vigil/devotion) has-been-given combined-with taḷamaḷa. (= the devotion-bears only-the-fruit-of-suffering.)
The closing — sēvā-is-fickle: Tukā mhaṇē Dēvā — āhācha kaḷōm ālī sēvā — Tuka says: Lord — sēvā has become known as fickle. Āhācha = fickle, momentary, illusory. Lord — the sēvā (the devotion-service) has-become-known as-fickle (= it-doesn't-protect; it-doesn't-yield-the-expected-grace).
The historical position: this is the FIRST ABHANG of the niḍrā-cluster (2211-2230, 20 abhangs total per the prose-marginalia at 2210). These abhangs are composed by Tukārām during the fast-and-vigil that-followed the poetry-drowning. The tradition holds that during this period, Viṭhṭhal himself ultimately restored the drowned manuscripts. The cluster shows Tukārām moving through anguish → renunciation-of-poetry → eventual resolution.
[T]
For someone today
For today: bhūta-affliction in our house — wonder, Hari; bhakti reached pinnacle — dōṣas came to dwell; jāgaraṇa-fruit was given as taḷamaḷa; Tuka says — Lord — sēvā has become known as fickle.
Where this applies
- Bhūta-affliction-in-bhakta's-house.* Bhūta-bādhā-gharīm-āścharya-Harī.
- Bhakti's-pinnacle-coincides-with-dōṣa-arrival.* Bhaktīcā-kaḷasa-vastīsa-dōṣa.
- Jāgaraṇa-fruit-is-only-taḷamaḷa.* Jāgaraṇāchē-phaḷa-taḷamaḷa.
- Sēvā-has-become-fickle.* Āhācha-kaḷōm-sēvā.