Abhanga 2242
Tukaram describes the Vaishnava procession's force as strong enough to make even Yama's messengers and death itself flee, showing how collective devotion can dissolve fear.
The verse
भार देखोनि वैष्णवांचे । दूत पळाले यमाचे ॥१॥ आले आले वैष्णववीर । काळ कांपती असुर ॥ध्रु.॥ गरुडटकयाच्या भारें । भूमी गर्जे जेजेकारें ॥ २॥ तुका म्हणे काळ । पळे देखोनियां बळ ॥३॥
Literal translation
Seeing the Vaiṣṇavas' force — Yama's messengers fled. The Vaiṣṇava-heroes have come, have come — Kāḷa trembles, the asuras. Under the Garuḍa-ṭakā's force — the earth roars with jay-jay. Tuka says: Kāḷa flees, seeing the strength.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| भार देखोनि वैष्णवांचे | "seeing the Vaiṣṇavas' force" |
| दूत पळाले यमाचे | "Yama's messengers fled" |
| आले आले वैष्णववीर | "the Vaiṣṇava-heroes have come, have come" |
| काळ कांपती असुर | "Kāḷa trembles, the asuras" |
| गरुडटकयाच्या भारें | "under the Garuḍa-ṭakā's force" |
| भूमी गर्जे जेजेकारें | "the earth roars with jay-jay" |
| तुका म्हणे काळ | "Tuka says — Kāḷa" |
| पळे देखोनियां बळ | "flees seeing the strength" |
What it means
THE CLASSIC VAIṢṆAVA-PROCESSION-VICTORY ABHANG. The vaiṣṇavas come, Kāḷa flees, Yama's messengers retreat, the Garuḍa-banner makes the earth roar.
The opening — Yama's-messengers flee: bhāra dēkhōni vaiṣṇavāñchē — dūta paḷālē Yamāchē — seeing the Vaiṣṇavas' force — Yama's messengers fled. Bhāra = force, weight, host. Yama = the Lord of death. Dūta = messenger. Seeing the Vaiṣṇavas'-host, Yama's-messengers fled. Powerful image: the bhakti-procession itself banishes-death's-attendants.
The Vaiṣṇava-heroes' arrival: ālē ālē vaiṣṇava-vīra — kāḷa kāmpatī asura — the Vaiṣṇava-heroes have come, have come — Kāḷa trembles, the asuras. The Vaiṣṇava-vīras have-come, have-come (= here-they-come, with-emphatic-repetition); Kāḷa (Time/Death) trembles, (as do) the asuras. A war-cry style — announcing-the-procession's-arrival.
The Garuḍa-banner roar: garuḍa-ṭakayāchyā bhārē — bhūmī garjē jē-jē-kārē — under the Garuḍa-ṭakā's force — the earth roars with jay-jay. Garuḍa-ṭakā = the Garuḍa-banner/standard (Viṣṇu's symbol, carried in vārī-processions). Jē-jē-kāra = the jay-jay shout (= jaya-jaya, victory-victory). Under the Garuḍa-banner's force, the earth roars with jay-jay-shouts. The vārī-image: thousands of-vaiṣṇavas marching-under-the-Garuḍa-standard, the earth-itself echoing-the-jay-shouts.
The closing — Kāḷa-flees: Tukā mhaṇē kāḷa — paḷē dēkhōniyām baḷa — Tuka says: Kāḷa flees, seeing the strength. Kāḷa flees, seeing-the-(vaiṣṇava)-strength.
Post-bhāṇḍaṇa shift: after the quarrel-cluster (2238-2241), the Gatha shifts to a-triumph-mode. The intimate-bhakta-Lord-quarrel is now-followed-by the-public-procession-victory. The bhāṇḍaṇa was-private; the procession is-public — both-are-modes of-Vaiṣṇava-bhakti.
[T]
For someone today
For today: seeing the Vaiṣṇavas' force — Yama's messengers fled; Vaiṣṇava-heroes have come — Kāḷa trembles, asuras; under Garuḍa-ṭakā's force — earth roars with jay-jay; Tuka says — Kāḷa flees, seeing the strength.
Where this applies
- When you join a group procession, march, or communal chant and feel a surge of collective courage.
- When you feel afraid of something and find strength by standing among others who believe the same thing.
- When you take part in a loud public celebration, like a vari or a rally, and feel your fear ease as the crowd moves together.
- When you notice that facing hardship alongside a community feels far less frightening than facing it alone.