Abhanga 2237
After naming your faults honestly and admitting your mind is the real obstacle, the deepest request left is simply for a lasting, settled presence within your own heart.
The verse
मी अवगुणी अन्यायी किती म्हणोन सांगों काईं । आतां मज पायीं ठाव देई विठ्ठले ॥१॥ पुरे पुरे हा संसार कर्म बिळवंत दुस्तर । राहों नेदी स्थिर एके ठायीं निश्चळ ॥ध्रु.॥ अनेक बुद्धिचे तरंग क्षणक्षणां पालटती रंग । धरूं जातां संग तंव तो होतो बाधक ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे आतां अवघी तोडीं माझी चिंता । येऊनि पंढरिनाथा वास करीं हृदयीं ॥३॥ ॥७॥
Literal translation
I am full of vices and faults — how many shall I tell — now give me a place at your feet, Viṭhṭhalē. Enough, enough of this samsāra — karma is strong, hard-to-cross — doesn't let one stay stable in one place, niścaḷa. Many waves of buddhi — moment-by-moment they change colors — when one tries to hold sanga — it becomes hindrance. Tuka says: now break all my chinta — come, Paṇḍharī-nātha — dwell in my heart. ॥7॥
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| मी अवगुणी अन्यायी किती म्हणोन सांगों काईं | "I am full of vices and faults — how many shall I tell" |
| आतां मज पायीं ठाव देई विठ्ठले | "now give me a place at your feet, Viṭhṭhalē" |
| पुरे पुरे हा संसार कर्म बिळवंत दुस्तर | "enough, enough of this samsāra — karma is strong, hard-to-cross" |
| राहों नेदी स्थिर एके ठायीं निश्चळ | "doesn't let one stay stable in one place, niścaḷa" |
| अनेक बुद्धिचे तरंग क्षणक्षणां पालटती रंग | "many waves of buddhi — moment-by-moment they change colors" |
| धरूं जातां संग तंव तो होतो बाधक | "when one tries to hold sanga — it becomes hindrance" |
| तुका म्हणे आतां अवघी तोडीं माझी चिंता | "Tuka says — now break all my chinta" |
| येऊनि पंढरिनाथा वास करीं हृदयीं | "come, Paṇḍharī-nātha, dwell in my heart" |
| ॥७॥ | colophon — closes the 7-abhang restoration-cluster (2231-2237) |
What it means
SEVENTH AND FINAL ABHANG OF THE 7-ABHANG RESTORATION-CLUSTER (2231-2237). Give-me-a-place-at-your-feet + come-dwell-in-my-heart abhang. Ends with ॥७॥.
The opening — vices-to-tell, place-at-feet: mī avaguṇī anyāyī kitī mhaṇōna sāngōm kāīm — ātām maja pāyīm ṭhāva dē'ī Viṭhṭhalē — I am full of vices and faults — how many shall I tell — now give me a place at your feet, Viṭhṭhalē. I-am-full-of-avaguṇa-and-anyāya; how-many-to-tell? Now give-me-a-place at-your-feet, Viṭhṭhalē.
Enough-of-samsāra: purē purē hā samsāra karma biḷavanta dustara — rāhōm nēdī sthira ēkē ṭhāyīm niścaḷa — enough, enough of this samsāra — karma is strong, hard-to-cross — doesn't let one stay stable in one place, niścaḷa. Biḷavanta = strong, robust. Dustara = hard-to-cross. Enough-of-this-samsāra; karma is-biḷavanta-and-dustara; doesn't-let-one-stay-stable-in-one-place niścaḷa (still).
The waves-of-buddhi: anēka buddhiche taranga kṣaṇa-kṣaṇām pālaṭatī ranga — dharūm jātām sanga tanva tō hōtō bādhaka — many waves of buddhi — moment-by-moment they change colors — when one tries to hold sanga — it becomes hindrance. Taranga = wave. Bādhaka = hindrance, obstacle. Many waves-of-buddhi changing-colors moment-by-moment; when-one-tries-to-hold sanga, it-becomes-hindrance. (= the mind's-fickleness defeats-the-sanga-strategy.)
THE CLOSING — BREAK-CHINTA, DWELL-IN-HEART: Tukā mhaṇē ātām avaghī tōḍīm mājhī chintā — yē'uni Paṇḍharī-nāthā vāsa karīm hṛdayīm — Tuka says: now break all my chinta — come, Paṇḍharī-nātha — dwell in my heart. Now break-all-my-chinta (worry); come, Paṇḍharī-nātha, and-dwell in-my-heart. The final petition of the entire kavitvā-buḍavaṇē episode: not asking-for-manuscripts-back (those-have-been-restored at 2231 and 2233), but-for-permanent-indwelling. The bhakta has-moved past-the-crisis to-request the deeper-grant of-the-Lord's-permanent-residence-in-his-heart.
THE ॥७॥ COLOPHON closes the 7-abhang restoration-cluster (2231-2237): - 2231: the great-confession + 13-day-fast + manuscripts-kept-in-water - 2232: Vīṭhāī-came-in-child-form - 2233: vahyā-rākhilyā memorial-line - 2234: dharaṇē-baisalōm confession (the sit-in-protest) - 2235: Lord-divided-into-two image - 2236: comparative-praise climax (more-affectionate-than-mother...) - 2237: the closing-petition for-permanent-indwelling
The combined kavitvā-buḍavaṇē sequence (2210-2237) spans 27 abhangs+prose: 1 prose-marginalia + 20-abhang niḍrā-cluster + 7-abhang restoration-cluster. It is one-of-the-most-historically-significant continuous-passages in-the-entire-Tukārām-Gatha.
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For someone today
I am full of faults and wrongs, too many to list, so now just give me a place at your feet, Vitthala. Enough, enough of this worldly life, its karma is stubborn and hard to overcome, never letting me stay still and settled in one place. My mind throws up wave after wave of thought, changing color moment to moment, and even trying to hold onto good company becomes its own hindrance. Tuka says: now cut through all my worry, come, Lord of Pandhari, and make your home in my heart.
This is the final abhang of the combined sequence recounting the drowning and recovery of Tukaram's manuscripts. After the anguish of the thirteen-day fast, the resolution unfolds: the manuscripts kept safe in the water, Vithabai appearing in the form of a child, Tukaram's sit-down protest and confession, the image of the Lord divided into two, and the climactic praise of the Lord's affection. This final abhang closes the sequence not by asking for the manuscripts back, since they were already restored, but by asking for the deeper gift of the Lord's permanent presence in his heart.
मराठी: मी दोषी आणि अपराधी आहे, किती सांगू, आता फक्त तुझ्या पायाशी जागा दे, विठ्ठला. हा संसार पुरे झाला, त्याचं कर्म हट्टी आणि पार करणं कठीण आहे, ते मला कुठेही स्थिर राहू देत नाही. माझ्या बुद्धीच्या अनेक लाटा क्षणाक्षणाला रंग बदलतात, आणि चांगला सहवास धरायला गेलो तरी तोच अडथळा ठरतो. तुका म्हणतो, आता माझी सगळी चिंता तोड, ये आणि पंढरीनाथा, माझ्या हृदयात वस्ती कर.
ही तुकारामांच्या ग्रंथ-बुडवण्याच्या संपूर्ण मालिकेतली शेवटची ओवी आहे. तेरा दिवसांच्या उपोषणाच्या यातनेनंतर उलगडलेल्या निवारणात वह्या पाण्यात सुरक्षित राखल्या गेल्या, विठाई बालरूपात प्रकट झाली, तुकारामांनी धरणे धरून कबुली दिली, देव दोन रूपांत विभागला गेल्याची प्रतिमा आली, आणि देवाच्या प्रेमाचं भावपूर्ण स्तवन झालं. ही शेवटची ओवी वह्या परत मागण्यासाठी नाही, कारण त्या आधीच परत मिळाल्या होत्या, तर देवाने आपल्या हृदयात कायमचं वास्तव्य करावं, या सखोल विनंतीसाठी आहे.
Where this applies
- When you stop listing every fault and simply ask for acceptance and belonging
- When you feel exhausted by the constant churn of daily obligations and want it to settle
- When your own restless mind is the real obstacle, even when you try to stay grounded
- When you stop asking for anything complicated and simply want a lasting sense of peace within