Abhanga 2235
Real generosity can bear far more than ordinary patience would allow, holding care in more than one place at once without letting any of it fail.
The verse
नव्हती आली सीसा सुरी अथवा घाय पाठीवरी । तो म्यां केला हरी एवढा तुम्हां आकांत ॥१॥ वांटिलासी दोहीं ठायीं मजपाशीं आणि डोहीं । लागों दिला नाहीं येथें तेथें आघात ॥ध्रु.॥ जीव घेती मायबापें थोड्या अन्याच्या कोपें । हें तों नव्हे सोपें साहों तों चि जाणीतलें ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे कृपावंता तुज ऐसा नाहीं दाता । काय वाणूं आतां वाणी माझी कुंटली ॥३॥
Literal translation
No knife came on the head, nor blow on the back — yet I, Hari, caused you this much alarm. You divided yourself between two places — near me and in the deep — you didn't let injury fall here or there. Mothers-fathers take jīva for small wrongs in anger — this is not easy to bear — only you knew [how]. Tuka says: kṛpāvanta — there's no dātā like you — what shall I praise now — my speech is exhausted.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| नव्हती आली सीसा सुरी अथवा घाय पाठीवरी | "no knife came on the head, nor blow on the back" |
| तो म्यां केला हरी एवढा तुम्हां आकांत | "yet I, Hari, caused you this much alarm" |
| वांटिलासी दोहीं ठायीं मजपाशीं आणि डोहीं | "you divided yourself between two places — near me and in the deep" |
| लागों दिला नाहीं येथें तेथें आघात | "you didn't let injury fall here or there" |
| जीव घेती मायबापें थोड्या अन्याच्या कोपें | "mothers-fathers take jīva for small wrongs in anger" |
| हें तों नव्हे सोपें साहों तों चि जाणीतलें | "this is not easy to bear — only you knew [how]" |
| तुका म्हणे कृपावंता तुज ऐसा नाहीं दाता | "Tuka says — kṛpāvanta, there's no dātā like you" |
| काय वाणूं आतां वाणी माझी कुंटली | "what shall I praise now — my speech is exhausted" |
What it means
I-caused-no-real-wound-but-such-alarm + you-divided-yourself-between-me-and-the-deep abhang. Fifth abhang of the restoration-cluster — the Lord-divided-into-two image.
The opening — no-real-wound: navhatī ālī sīsā surī athavā ghāya pāṭhīvarī — tō myām kēlā Harī ēvaḍhā tumhām ākānta — no knife came on the head, nor blow on the back — yet I, Hari, caused you this much alarm. Sīsā surī = knife on the head. Ākānta = alarm, distress. No-actual-knife came-on-the-head, no-blow on-the-back; yet I-caused-you, Hari, this-much-alarm. (= the bhakta's-fast caused-distress to-Viṭhṭhal disproportionate to-the-actual-physical-threat.)
THE LORD-DIVIDED-INTO-TWO IMAGE: vāṇṭilāsī dōhīm ṭhāyīm majapāśīm āṇi ḍōhīm — lāgōm dilā nāhīm yēthē tēthē āghāta — you divided yourself between two places — near me and in the deep — you didn't let injury fall here or there. Vāṇṭilāsī = you divided/split yourself. Ḍōha = deep-pool, the depths-of-the-river. You divided-yourself between-two-places: near-me (on-the-bank) and in-the-deep (in-the-Indrāyaṇī-water with-the-manuscripts); you didn't-let injury-fall here-or-there. A REMARKABLE THEOLOGICAL-IMAGE — Viṭhṭhal simultaneously-present in-two-places: comforting-Tukārām on-the-bank AND preserving-the-manuscripts-in-the-deep. The Lord-as-omnipresent-protector-of-both.
The mothers-fathers contrast: jīva ghētī māya-bāpē thōḍyā anyāñchyā kōpē — hē tōm navhē sōpē sāhōm tōm chi jāṇītalē — mothers-fathers take jīva for small wrongs in anger — this is not easy to bear — only you knew [how]. Mothers-fathers (= ordinary-parents) take-jīva (kill, withdraw-affection) for-small-wrongs in-anger; this-(my-act) was-not-easy-to-bear, only-you knew-how (= only-you-could-bear-it-and-still-respond-with-kṛpā).
The closing — speech-exhausted: Tukā mhaṇē kṛpāvantā tuja aisā nāhīm dātā — kāya vāṇūm ātām vāṇī mājhī kuṇṭalī — Tuka says: kṛpāvanta — there's no dātā like you — what shall I praise now — my speech is exhausted. Kṛpāvanta (compassion-bearer), there's no-dātā like-you; what-shall-I-praise — my speech-is-exhausted (kuṇṭalī).
[T]
For someone today
For today: no knife on head, no blow on back — yet I caused you alarm; you divided yourself between me and the deep — no injury here or there; mothers-fathers take jīva for small wrongs — only you bore; Tuka says — kṛpāvanta, no dātā like you — speech exhausted.
Where this applies
- When you realize the distress you caused someone was out of proportion to any real harm
- When you're cared for in two places or two ways at once, and both are honored
- When you notice someone's patience with you far exceeds what most people would offer
- When you're left speechless by someone's generosity toward you despite your mistakes