Abhanga 2230
For today: the form has bound the chitta — feet firmly set, niścinta; you, Lord, are all-pleasant — seeing the face, duḥkha doesn't meet; indriyas have come to rest — wandering they were tormented; Tuka says — the meeting — the knot of the bhava-bondage is untied.
The verse
रूपें गोविलें चित्ती । पायीं राहिलें निश्चिंत ॥१॥ तुम्हीं देवा अवघे चि गोमटे । मुख देखतां दुःख न भेटे ॥ध्रु.॥ जाली इंद्रियां विश्रांति । भ्रमतां पीडत ते होतीं ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे भेटी । सुटली भवबंदाची गांठी ॥३॥ ॥२०॥
Literal translation
English: The form has bound the chitta — the feet are firmly set, niścinta. You, Lord, are all-pleasant — seeing the face, duḥkha doesn't meet. The indriyas have come to rest — wandering, they were tormented. Tuka says: the meeting — the knot of the bhava-bondage is untied. ॥20॥
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| रूपें गोविलें चित्ती | "the form has bound the chitta" |
| पायीं राहिलें निश्चिंत | "the feet are firmly set, niścinta" |
| तुम्हीं देवा अवघे चि गोमटे | "you, Lord, are all-pleasant" |
| मुख देखतां दुःख न भेटे | "seeing the face, duḥkha doesn't meet" |
| जाली इंद्रियां विश्रांति | "the indriyas have come to rest" |
| भ्रमतां पीडत ते होतीं | "wandering, they were tormented" |
| तुका म्हणे भेटी | "Tuka says — the meeting" |
| सुटली भवबंदाची गांठी | "the knot of the bhava-bondage is untied" |
| ॥२०॥ | colophon — closes the 20-abhang niḍrā-cluster (2211-2230) as announced in the prose-marginalia at 2210 |
What it means
★ THE NIḌRĀ-CLUSTER RESOLUTION ★. The form binds the chitta + the meeting untied the knot of bhava-bondage abhang. ★ TWENTIETH AND FINAL ABHANG of the niḍrā-cluster (2211-2230). Closes with ॥२०॥ as announced in the prose-marginalia at 2210. ★
The form binds the chitta: rūpē gōvilē chittī — pāyīm rāhilē niścinta — the form has bound the chitta — the feet are firmly set, niścinta. Gōvilē = bound, entangled (in a good sense — captivated). Niścinta = worry-free, settled. The (Viṭhṭhal's) form has-bound-the-chitta; the feet (the Lord's-feet) have-been-firmly-set-(in-my-being)-niścinta. The first-sign of the appearance — the form-of-Viṭhṭhal having-captured-the-chitta after-the-13-day-wait.
The Lord-as-all-pleasant: tumhīm Dēvā avaghē chi gōmaṭē — mukha dēkhatām duḥkha na bhēṭē — you, Lord, are all-pleasant — seeing the face, duḥkha doesn't meet. Gōmaṭē = pleasant, sweet. You, Lord, are-all-pleasant; on-seeing-(your)-face, duḥkha doesn't-meet-(me). The darshan-moment.
The indriyas come to rest: jālī indriyām viśrāntī — bhramatām pīḍata tē hōtī — the indriyas have come to rest — wandering, they were tormented. The indriyas have-come-to-rest; (before) when-wandering they-were-tormented. The end-of-the-niḍrā-agitation.
★ THE RESOLUTION LINE ★: Tukā mhaṇē bhēṭī — suṭalī bhava-bandāchī gāṇṭhī — Tuka says: the meeting — the knot of the bhava-bondage is untied. Bhēṭī = meeting, encounter. Bhava-banda = the bondage-of-samsāra. Gāṇṭhī = knot. The meeting (with Viṭhṭhal) — the knot-of-the-bhava-bondage has-been-untied. THIS IS THE CLIMAX OF THE NIḌRĀ-CLUSTER — the Lord-has-come, the meeting-has-happened, the bondage-knot is-undone.
The ॥२०॥ COLOPHON: explicitly closes the 20-abhang niḍrā-cluster (2211-2230) as announced in the prose-marginalia at 2210 ("tē abhanga ॥२०॥" — "these abhangs, 20 in number"). The Gatha's-editor here marks-the-completion of-the-historically-momentous unit.
Historical-summary of the niḍrā-cluster (in this Gatha's-numbering): - 2210: prose-marginalia announcing the kavitvā-buḍavaṇē (poetry-drowning) episode and the 20-abhang count - 2211-2217: anguish, forest-retreat-resolve, pen-down-vow - 2218-2227: petition, mercantile-logic, prapañca-hōḷī-lament - 2228-2229: exhaustion, all-powers-spent, words-lost-in-the-sky - 2230 (THIS ABHANG): the meeting, the resolution, the knot-untied
The very-next abhang (2231) — outside-the-niḍrā-cluster proper — contains the explicit "divasa tērā rāhilōm" (I stayed thirteen days) and "udakīm rākhilē kāgada" (the manuscripts kept in the water), confirming the canonical 13-day-fast and Viṭhṭhal's-restoration of the drowned manuscripts. 2231 opens the restoration/gratitude-cluster.
[T]
For someone today
For today: the form has bound the chitta — feet firmly set, niścinta; you, Lord, are all-pleasant — seeing the face, duḥkha doesn't meet; indriyas have come to rest — wandering they were tormented; Tuka says — the meeting — the knot of the bhava-bondage is untied.
Historical note: This is the resolution of the 20-abhang niḍrā-cluster (2211-2230) — Tukārām's thirteen-day vigil and fast following the kavitvā-buḍavaṇē (poetry-drowning) episode. Here, Viṭhṭhal at last appears, the manuscripts are about to be restored (per the next-following abhang 2231), and the bhava-bondage knot is untied.
Where this applies
- Form-binds-chitta-feet-set-niścinta.* Rūpē-gōvilē-chittī-pāyīm-niścinta.
- Lord-all-pleasant-face-banishes-duḥkha.* Dēvā-gōmaṭē-mukha-duḥkha-na-bhēṭē.
- Indriyas-rest-after-wandering-torment.* Indriyām-viśrāntī-bhramatām-pīḍata.
- Meeting-untied-the-bhava-bondage-knot.* Bhēṭī-suṭalī-bhava-bandāchī-gāṇṭhī.