Abhanga 2272
For today: abundance day and night — the master is always new; we'll serve karuṇa in many ways — remains by sweetness; flow that doesn't run-out — make a panktī together; Tuka says — the sweet pānhā of Kānhā-bā'ī, the mother.
The verse
सुकाळ हा दिवसरजनी । नीत धणी नवी च ॥१॥ करुण सेवूं नानापरी । राहे उरी गोडीनें ॥ध्रु.॥ सरे ऐसा नाहीं झरा । पंक्ती करा समवेत ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे बरवा पान्हा । कान्हाबाईं माउलीचा ॥३॥
Literal translation
Abundance — day and night — the master is always new. We'll serve karuṇa in many ways — remains as residue by sweetness. Such a flow that doesn't run-out — make a panktī together. Tuka says: the sweet milk-stream — of Kānhā-bā'ī, the mother.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| सुकाळ हा दिवसरजनी | "abundance — day and night" |
| नीत धणी नवी च | "the master is always new" |
| करुण सेवूं नानापरी | "we'll serve karuṇa in many ways" |
| राहे उरी गोडीनें | "remains as residue by sweetness" |
| सरे ऐसा नाहीं झरा | "such a flow that doesn't run-out" |
| पंक्ती करा समवेत | "make a panktī together" |
| तुका म्हणे बरवा पान्हा | "Tuka says — the sweet milk-stream (pānhā)" |
| कान्हाबाईं माउलीचा | "of Kānhā-bā'ī, the mother" |
What it means
Abundance-day-and-night + Kānhā-bā'ī-mother's-milk-stream abhang.
The opening — abundance always: sukāḷa hā divasa-rajanī — nīta dhaṇī navī cha — abundance — day and night — the master is always new. Sukāḷa = abundance, plenty. Nīta = always. Navī = new. Abundance day-and-night; the-master is always-new.
The karuṇa-serving: karuṇa sēvūm nānā-parī — rāhē urī gōḍīnē — we'll serve karuṇa in many ways — remains as residue by sweetness. Karuṇa = compassion. We'll serve-karuṇa in-many-ways; it remains as-residue (uri) by-sweetness.
The endless-flow: sarē aisā nāhīm jharā — panktī karā samavēta — such a flow that doesn't run-out — make a panktī together. Jharā = flow, fountain, stream. Panktī = eating-row, the ritual-row of diners. Such a flow that-doesn't-run-out; make a-panktī-(eating-row) together.
THE CELEBRATED KĀNHĀ-BĀ'Ī image: Tukā mhaṇē baravā pānhā — Kānhā-bā'īm māulīchā — Tuka says: the sweet milk-stream — of Kānhā-bā'ī, the mother. Pānhā = milk-stream-flowing-from-a-mother's-breast (esp. when she's nursing). Kānhā-bā'ī = Kānhā (Krṣṇa) as Mother — a rare feminine-Krṣṇa-mother form. The sweet pānhā (milk-stream) of Kānhā-bā'ī-māulī (Kṛṣṇa-as-mother). The remarkable mother-Krṣṇa image: Kṛṣṇa is-here-imagined as-a-mother whose-milk-streams-out-for-the-suckling-bhakta. Echoes the Vārkarī Vīṭhāī-māulī tradition but-using-Kānhā as-the-feminine-form.
[T]
For someone today
For today: abundance day and night — the master is always new; we'll serve karuṇa in many ways — remains by sweetness; flow that doesn't run-out — make a panktī together; Tuka says — the sweet pānhā of Kānhā-bā'ī, the mother.
Where this applies
- When you notice that giving or serving with compassion never actually depletes you, it leaves something sweet behind instead.
- When you want to gather people together to share something good instead of keeping it to yourself.
- When you worry there isn't enough love or grace to go around for everyone.
- When you picture the divine's care as tender and nurturing, like a mother's love, rather than distant or stern.