Abhanga 2257

For today: now save me — make this word true; your name is Dīnā-nātha — bridāvaḷī world-renowned; who counts my doṣas — your stamp is in three-worlds; if I go in vain — Tuka says — it's shame to you.

The verse

Literal translation

What it means

Invoke-Dīnā-nātha-biruda + if-I-go-in-vain-it's-your-shame abhang.

The opening — save-me, make-word-true: ātām maja tārīm — vachana hē sācha karīm — now save me — make this word true. Now save-me; make-this-vow (vachana) true.

The Dīnā-nātha biruda: tujhē nāma Dīnā-nātha — bridāvaḷī jaga-vikhyāta — your name is Dīnā-nātha — your bridāvaḷī is world-renowned. Dīnā-nātha = lord of the helpless — Viṭhṭhal's-most-distinctive-biruda. Bridāvaḷī = string-of-titles, encomium. Jaga-vikhyāta = world-renowned. Your name is Dīnā-nātha; the bridāvaḷī is world-renowned. The bhakta-invokes-the-public-vow: since-the-Lord-claims-this-title-publicly, he-must-act-accordingly.

The doṣas-vs-tribhuvana-stamp: kōṇa lēkhī mājhyā dōṣā — tujhā tribhuvanīm ṭhasā — who will count my doṣas — your stamp is in the three-worlds. Lēkhī = will reckon/count. Ṭhasā = stamp, seal. Who will-count my doṣas? Your-stamp is-in-the-three-worlds (= your-reputation-is-vast-beyond-tally).

The closing — if-I-go-in-vain shame-to-you: vāñyām jātām maja — Tukā mhaṇē tumhām lāja — if I go in vain — Tuka says — it's shame to you. If-I-go-in-vain, Tuka says, the-shame is-yours. The bhakta-presses with-shame-logic — the Lord-cannot-afford to let-a-dīna-bhakta-perish, lest-his-Dīnā-nātha-biruda be-shamed. The same shame-is-the-Master's-affair argument as 2221.

[T]

For someone today

For today: now save me — make this word true; your name is Dīnā-nātha — bridāvaḷī world-renowned; who counts my doṣas — your stamp is in three-worlds; if I go in vain — Tuka says — it's shame to you.

Where this applies

• When you feel too flawed or unworthy to be helped and need a reason to still ask
• When you are praying but doubt whether the prayer will actually be answered
• When you remind someone of their own promise or reputation to hold them to it
• When you feel abandoned mid-struggle after having trusted someone completely

Related verses

• Abhanga 2448 — The easiest path to God is repeating divine names with love at home, right where you are,
• Abhanga 2467 — What looks like your whole world, like a fig to the insect living inside it, is only a tin
• Abhanga 2494 — Living in devotion turns an ordinary day into a festival and removes the fear of birth and
• Abhanga 4481 — Tukaram promises that sincerely calling on the Lord's name, knowingly or unknowingly, with