Abhanga 2231
For today: great wrong I did — tested your end — disturbed chitta for people's words; you made me undergo fatigue — adhama, caste-less — closing eyes, I stayed for thirteen days; placing all hardships, thirst-hunger — yōga-kṣēma you'll have to do; you kept the manuscripts in the water — escaped people's slander — Tuka says — your biruda you made true.
The verse
थोर अन्याय केला तुझा अंत म्यां पाहिला । जनाचिया बोलासाटीं चित्ती क्षोभविलें ॥१॥ भागविलासी केला सीण अधम मी यातिहीन । झांकूनि लोचन दिवस तेरा राहिलों ॥ध्रु.॥ अवघें घालूनियां कोडें तानभुकेचें सांकडें । योगक्षेम पुढें तुज करणें लागेल ॥२॥ उदकीं राखिले कागद चुकविला जनवाद । तुका म्हणे ब्रीद साच केलें आपुलें ॥३॥
Literal translation
English: Great wrong I did — I tested your end — for the people's words, I disturbed the chitta. You made me undergo fatigue — I am low, caste-less — closing the eyes, I stayed for thirteen days. Placing all the hardships, the trouble of thirst and hunger — yōga-kṣēma you'll have to do henceforth. You kept the manuscripts in the water — escaped the people's slander — Tuka says: your vow (biruda), you made true.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| थोर अन्याय केला तुझा अंत म्यां पाहिला | "great wrong I did — I tested your end" |
| जनाचिया बोलासाटीं चित्ती क्षोभविलें | "for the people's words, I disturbed the chitta" |
| भागविलासी केला सीण अधम मी यातिहीन | "you made me undergo fatigue — I am low, caste-less" |
| झांकूनि लोचन दिवस तेरा राहिलों | "closing the eyes — I stayed for thirteen days" |
| अवघें घालूनियां कोडें तानभुकेचें सांकडें | "placing all the hardships, the trouble of thirst and hunger" |
| योगक्षेम पुढें तुज करणें लागेल | "yōga-kṣēma you'll have to do henceforth" |
| उदकीं राखिले कागद चुकविला जनवाद | "you kept the manuscripts in the water — escaped the people's slander" |
| तुका म्हणे ब्रीद साच केलें आपुलें | "Tuka says — your vow (biruda), you made true" |
What it means
★ THE HISTORICAL RESTORATION ABHANG. ★ — I stayed thirteen days + you kept the manuscripts in the water — your vow made true. ★ Opens the 7-abhang restoration-cluster (2231-2237) following the niḍrā-cluster's resolution at 2230. ★
The opening — great-wrong-confession: thōra anyāya kēlā tujhā anta myām pāhilā — janāchiyā bōlāsāṭīm chittī kṣōbhavilē — great wrong I did — I tested your end — for the people's words, I disturbed the chitta. A great wrong I did: I-tested-your-end (= I-pushed-you-to-the-limit); for-the-people's-words I-disturbed-the-chitta. The bhakta confesses-his-niḍrā-act as a-wrong against-Viṭhṭhal — he forced-the-Lord's-hand.
★ THE THIRTEEN-DAY LINE ★: bhāgavilāsī kēlā sīṇa adhama mī yāti-hīna — jhānkūni lōchana divasa tērā rāhilōm — you made me undergo fatigue — I am low, caste-less — **closing the eyes, I stayed for thirteen days. You-made-me undergo-fatigue (sīṇa); I-am adhama, caste-less; closing-the-eyes (in vigil), I stayed for THIRTEEN DAYS (divasa tērā). ★ THIS IS THE CANONICAL THIRTEEN-DAY-FAST LINE — the foundational textual basis for the Vārkarī-tradition's count of 13 days. ★ (Note: the prose-marginalia at 2210 said "five days" — this abhang here gives the full canonical "thirteen days" count.)
The yōga-kṣēma transfer: avaghē ghālūniyām kōḍē tāna-bhukēchē sānkaḍē — yōga-kṣēma puḍhē tuja karaṇē lāgēla — placing all the hardships, the trouble of thirst and hunger — yōga-kṣēma you'll have to do henceforth. Yōga-kṣēma = acquiring-and-preserving, welfare-and-protection (a Bhagavad-Gītā term: yōga-kṣēmam vahāmy aham, "I bear the yōga-kṣēma of-the-bhakta"). Placing-all-the-hardships and-the-trouble-of-thirst-and-hunger (on-you), yōga-kṣēma you'll-have-to-do henceforth (= the bhakta-shifts the burden-of-his-welfare entirely-to-Viṭhṭhal).
★ THE RESTORATION LINE ★: udakīm rākhilē kāgada chukavilā jana-vāda — Tukā mhaṇē brīda sācha kēlē āpulē — you kept the manuscripts in the water — escaped the people's slander — Tuka says: your vow (biruda) you made true. Udakīm = in the water. Kāgada = manuscripts, papers. Jana-vāda = people's-slander, public-controversy. Brīda/biruda = vow, title, banner-promise. ★ YOU KEPT THE MANUSCRIPTS IN THE WATER (= Viṭhṭhal preserved-them in-the-Indrāyaṇī rather-than-letting-them-be-destroyed); YOU ESCAPED THE PEOPLE'S SLANDER; YOUR VOW (biruda) YOU MADE TRUE. ★ THIS IS THE EXPLICIT TEXTUAL BASIS for-the-Vārkarī-tradition-that-Viṭhṭhal-restored-the-drowned-manuscripts. The "biruda" of-Viṭhṭhal (= dīna-anātha-nātha, "Lord of the helpless") was-honored.
Historical significance: This abhang is one-of-the-foundational-texts of-Tukārām-hagiography. It contains the two most-historically-cited lines: 1. divasa tērā rāhilōm — the explicit 13-day-fast count 2. udakīm rākhilē kāgada — brīda sācha kēlē āpulē — the explicit manuscripts-preserved-in-water statement
Together these establish the canonical narrative-form of the kavitvā-buḍavaṇē episode that-has-been-transmitted-across-centuries in Vārkarī oral and-written traditions.
[T]
For someone today
For today: great wrong I did — tested your end — disturbed chitta for people's words; you made me undergo fatigue — adhama, caste-less — closing eyes, I stayed for thirteen days; placing all hardships, thirst-hunger — yōga-kṣēma you'll have to do; you kept the manuscripts in the water — escaped people's slander — Tuka says — your biruda you made true.
Historical note: This is the canonical restoration-abhang. After Tukārām's 13-day fast at the Indrāyaṇī-river bank (following the manuscripts being thrown in), Viṭhṭhal preserved-the-manuscripts in-the-water and-returned-them, thus honoring his biruda as protector-of-the-helpless. The two phrases — divasa tērā rāhilōm and udakīm rākhilē kāgada — are textually foundational for the entire kavitvā-buḍavaṇē tradition.
Where this applies
- Great-wrong-tested-your-end-disturbed-chitta.* Thōra-anyāya-anta-myām-pāhilā-jana-bōla-chittī-kṣōbhavilē.
- Thirteen-day-fast-confirmed. Bhāgavilāsī-sīṇa-adhama-yāti-hīna-divasa-tērā-rāhilōm.
- Yōga-kṣēma-now-your-burden. Ghālūniyām-kōḍē-tāna-bhuka-sānkaḍē-yōga-kṣēma.
- Manuscripts-kept-in-water-vow-made-true. Udakīm-rākhilē-kāgada-jana-vāda-brīda-sācha.