Abhanga 2236
For today: you are more affectionate than mother, cooler than moon, subtler than water, wave of prema; what upamā for Puruṣōttama — I'll wave my name and throw it away; you made amṛta sweet, yet you're beyond — generator of five tattvas; silently I place head on feet — Tuka says — Paṇḍharī-nātha — forgive.
The verse
तूं माउलीहून मयाळ चंद्राहूनि शीतळ । पाणियाहूनि पातळ कल्लोळ प्रेमाचा ॥१॥ देऊं काशाची उपमा दुजी तुज पुरुषोत्तमा । ओंवाळूनि नामा तुझ्या वरूनि टाकिलों ॥ध्रु.॥ तुवां केलें रे अमृता गोड त्या ही तूं परता । पांचां तत्वांचा जनिता सकळ सत्तानायक ॥२॥ कांहीं न बोलोनि आतां उगा च चरणीं ठेवितों माथा । तुका म्हणे पंढरिनाथा क्षमा करीं अपराध ॥३॥
Literal translation
English: You are more affectionate than mother — cooler than the moon — more subtle than water — wave of prema. What upamā shall I give you, Puruṣōttama — I'll wave my name over you and throw it away. You made amṛta sweet — yet you are beyond even that — generator of the five tattvas — lord of all power. Saying nothing now, silently I place my head on the feet. Tuka says: Paṇḍharī-nātha — forgive my offense.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| तूं माउलीहून मयाळ चंद्राहूनि शीतळ | "you are more affectionate than mother — cooler than the moon" |
| पाणियाहूनि पातळ कल्लोळ प्रेमाचा | "more subtle than water — wave of prema" |
| देऊं काशाची उपमा दुजी तुज पुरुषोत्तमा | "what upamā [comparison] shall I give you, Puruṣōttama" |
| ओंवाळूनि नामा तुझ्या वरूनि टाकिलों | "I'll wave my name over you and throw it away" |
| तुवां केलें रे अमृता गोड त्या ही तूं परता | "you made amṛta sweet — yet you are beyond even that" |
| पांचां तत्वांचा जनिता सकळ सत्तानायक | "generator of the five tattvas — lord of all power" |
| कांहीं न बोलोनि आतां उगा च चरणीं ठेवितों माथा | "saying nothing now, silently I place my head on the feet" |
| तुका म्हणे पंढरिनाथा क्षमा करीं अपराध | "Tuka says — Paṇḍharī-nātha — forgive my offense" |
What it means
More-affectionate-than-mother-cooler-than-moon-subtler-than-water + I'll-place-my-head-on-the-feet abhang. Sixth abhang of the restoration-cluster — the comparative-praise climax.
★ THE COMPARATIVE-PRAISE TRIPLET ★: tūm māulīhūna mayāḷa chandrāhūni śītaḷa — pāṇiyāhūni pātaḷa kallōḷa prēmāchā — you are more affectionate than mother — cooler than the moon — more subtle than water — wave of prema. Mayāḷa = affectionate, loving. Śītaḷa = cool. Pātaḷa = subtle, thin. Kallōḷa = wave, surge. More-affectionate-than-mother; cooler-than-moon; more-subtle-than-water; (you are) the wave-of-prema. ★ ONE OF TUKĀRĀM'S MOST-CITED DEVOTIONAL DESCRIPTIONS — three escalating comparisons each surpassing-the-natural-superlative.
The upamā-wave-and-throw: dē'ūm kāśāchī upamā dujī tuja Puruṣōttamā — ōmvāḷūni nāmā tujhyā varūni ṭākilōm — what upamā shall I give you, Puruṣōttama — I'll wave my name over you and throw it away. Ōmvāḷaṇē = to wave-(arati-lamp)-over and-throw-away (in propitiation). What comparison-can-I-give-you? I'll-wave-my-name (Tukā) over-you and-throw-it-away (= offer-even-my-name as-an-arati-to-be-discarded).
The amṛta-and-beyond: tuvām kēlē rē amṛtā gōḍa tyā hī tūm paratā — pāñchām tatvāñchā janitā sakaḷa sattā-nāyaka — you made amṛta sweet — yet you are beyond even that — generator of the five tattvas — lord of all power. You made-amṛta sweet (= you-are-the-source-of-amṛta's-sweetness); yet you-are-beyond-even-that; generator of-the-five-tattvas (= the five-bhūtas, the elements), lord of-all-sattā.
The closing — silent-head-on-feet: kāmhīm na bōlōni ātām ugā cha charaṇīm ṭhēvitōm māthā — Tukā mhaṇē Paṇḍharī-nāthā kṣamā karīm aparādha — saying nothing now, silently I place my head on the feet — Tuka says: Paṇḍharī-nātha — forgive my offense. Saying-nothing now (after-all-the-niḍrā-words), silently-I place-my-head on-the-feet; forgive-my-offense, Paṇḍharī-nātha. The silence-after-restoration — the bhakta has-no-more-words, only-prostration.
[T]
For someone today
For today: you are more affectionate than mother, cooler than moon, subtler than water, wave of prema; what upamā for Puruṣōttama — I'll wave my name and throw it away; you made amṛta sweet, yet you're beyond — generator of five tattvas; silently I place head on feet — Tuka says — Paṇḍharī-nātha — forgive.
Where this applies
- More-affectionate-than-mother-cooler-than-moon-subtler-than-water.* Māulīhūna-mayāḷa-chandrāhūni-śītaḷa-pāṇiyāhūni-pātaḷa-kallōḷa-prēmāchā.
- No-upamā-suffices-wave-name-throw-away.* Upamā-dujī-Puruṣōttamā-ōmvāḷūni-nāmā.
- Made-amṛta-sweet-but-beyond-that.* Amṛtā-gōḍa-paratā-pāñchām-tatvāñchā-janitā-sattā-nāyaka.
- Silently-head-on-feet-Paṇḍharī-nātha-forgive.* Charaṇīm-ṭhēvitōm-māthā-Paṇḍharī-nāthā-kṣamā.