Abhanga 2296
Tukārām playfully argues that his fate and identity are so bound up with God's that whatever is true of God, immortal or not, formed or formless, real or illusion, must be true of him too.
The verse
अमर तूं खरा । नव्हे कैसा मी दातारा ॥१॥ चाल जाऊं संतांपुढें । वाद सांगेन निवाडें ॥ध्रु.॥ तुज नांव जर नाहीं । तर माझें दाव काईं ॥२॥ तुज रूप नाहीं । तर माझें दाव काईं ॥३॥ खळसी तूं लीळा । तेथें मी काय वेगळा ॥४॥ साच तूं लटिका । तैसा मी ही म्हणे तुका ॥५॥
Literal translation
You are truly immortal — how am I not, dātāra? Come, let's go before the saints — I'll present the dispute, the judgment. If you have no name — then what proves mine? You have no rūpa — then what proves mine? You play in līḷā — am I separate there? You true, you false — Tukā says — I'm also the same.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| अमर तूं खरा | "you are truly immortal" |
| नव्हे कैसा मी दातारा | "how am I not, dātāra" |
| चाल जाऊं संतांपुढें | "come, let's go before the saints" |
| वाद सांगेन निवाडें | "I'll present the dispute, the judgment" |
| तुज नांव जर नाहीं | "if you have no name" |
| तर माझें दाव काईं | "then what proves mine" |
| तुज रूप नाहीं | "you have no rūpa" |
| तर माझें दाव काईं | "then what proves mine" |
| खळसी तूं लीळा | "you play in līḷā" |
| तेथें मी काय वेगळा | "am I separate there" |
| साच तूं लटिका | "you true, you false" |
| तैसा मी ही म्हणे तुका | "Tukā says — I'm also the same" |
What it means
Bhakta-Lord-identity-claim + come-to-saints-for-judgment abhang. A 5+1-verse argument-piece.
The opening — immortal-claim: amara tūm kharā — navhē kaisā mī dātārā — you are truly immortal — how am I not, dātāra. You are-truly-immortal; how-am-I-not (immortal), dātāra? (= if you-are-immortal, I-(the-bhakta)-share-in-that-immortality.)
The come-to-saints: chāla jā'ūm santāmpuḍhē — vāda sāngēna nivāḍē — come, let's go before the saints — I'll present the dispute, the judgment. Come, let-us-go before-the-saints; I'll-present the-dispute and-(seek)-the-judgment. The saints-as-arbiters of-the-bhakta-Lord-dispute.
The identity-arguments: - Tuja nāmva jara nāhīm — tara mājhē dāva kāīm — if you have no name — then what proves mine. If-you-have-no-name, what-proves-mine? (= your name-and-mine are-linked.) - Tuja rūpa nāhīm — tara mājhē dāva kāīm — you have no rūpa — then what proves mine. If-you-have-no-rūpa, what-proves-mine? - Khaḷasī tūm līḷā — tēthē mī kāya vēgaḷā — you play in līḷā — am I separate there? You play-in-līḷā; am-I-separate-there? - Sācha tūm laṭikā — taisā mī hī mhaṇē Tukā — you true, you false — Tukā says — I'm also the same. You-true, you-false — I-am-the-same-too.
A bold identity-claim: the bhakta-Tukārām, in-the-style-of-the-bhāṇḍaṇāchē-abhang (cf. 2238-2241), claims-identity-with-the-Lord. If-the-Lord-has-X (name, rūpa, līḷā, truth-or-falseness), the-bhakta-shares-in-X. And-if-X-is-denied-of-the-Lord, what-proves-the-bhakta? The fates-are-intertwined.
[T]
For someone today
For today: you immortal — how am I not, dātāra; come to saints — present the dispute; no name? — what proves mine; no rūpa? — what proves mine; you play in līḷā — I'm not separate; you true or false — Tukā says — I'm the same.
Where this applies
- When you feel small or separate from the divine and want a way to feel intertwined with it instead
- When you want to bring humor and boldness into your faith, treating it like a loving argument rather than only a solemn formality
- When you doubt your own worth and could use the idea that you share in the very being of what you love
- When you want a community, like elders or fellow believers, to help settle a matter of the heart rather than deciding alone