Abhanga 2211
Even a life fully devoted to God can be struck by sudden trouble at its very peak, and that hardship can leave devotion itself feeling fragile and uncertain.
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
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.
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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
- When trouble strikes right after you have devoted yourself most fully to something good, and it feels bewildering and unfair
- When success or spiritual progress seems to invite opposition and hardship rather than shield you from it
- When your sincere effort, like long nights of prayer or work, seems to yield only exhaustion and anguish instead of peace
- When you feel honest enough to admit to God or to yourself that your faith currently feels shaky and unreliable