Abhanga 2307
The truest gift anyone can give you is a reminder to remember what is sacred, and genuine help of that kind leaves no debt behind.
The verse
दाता तो एक जाणा । नारायणा स्मरवी ॥१॥ आणीक नासिवंतें काय । न सरे हाय ज्यांच्यानें ॥ध्रु.॥ यावें तयां काकुलती । जे दाविती सुपंथ ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे उरी नुरे । त्याचे खरे उपकार ॥३॥ ॥ अलंकापुरीं ब्राम्हण धरणें बसून बेताळीस दिवस उपवासी होता त्यास द्दष्टांत कीं देहूस तुकोबापाशी जाणें. ब्राम्हण स्वामीपें आला त्याबद्दल अभंग ॥ ३१ ॥
Literal translation
Know the one as the dātā — who makes [one] remember Nārāyaṇa. Other perishable things — what — the sigh isn't completed by them. Go in helpless-cry to those who show the good path. Tuka says: no urī remains — their upakāra is true.
Prose-marginalia: At Aḷankāpurī (Āḷandī), a Brahmin had been sitting in dharaṇē fasting for 42 days; he received a vision: "Go to Dehū to Tukōbā." The Brahmin came to the Swami; this abhang is for that occasion. ॥31॥
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| दाता तो एक जाणा | "know the one as the dātā" |
| नारायणा स्मरवी | "who makes [one] remember Nārāyaṇa" |
| आणीक नासिवंतें काय | "other perishable things — what" |
| न सरे हाय ज्यांच्यानें | "the sigh isn't completed by them" |
| यावें तयां काकुलती | "go in helpless-cry to those" |
| जे दाविती सुपंथ | "who show the good path" |
| तुका म्हणे उरी नुरे | "Tuka says — no urī remains" |
| त्याचे खरे उपकार | "their upakāra is true" |
| (prose-marginalia) | "At Aḷankāpurī (Āḷandī), a Brahmin had been sitting in dharaṇē fasting for 42 days; he received a vision: 'Go to Dehū to Tukōbā.' The Brahmin came to the Swami; this abhang is for that. ॥31॥" |
What it means
THE AḶAṄKĀPURĪ-BRAHMIN-DHARAṆĀ-MIRACLE PROSE-MARGINALIA ABHANG. The-true-dātā-makes-you-remember-Nārāyaṇa + true-upakāra-leaves-no-urī abhang.
The opening — the true dātā: dātā tō ēka jāṇā — Nārāyaṇā smaravī — know the one as the dātā — who makes [one] remember Nārāyaṇa. Dātā = the giver. Know the-one-as-the-true-dātā: the-one who-makes-you-remember-Nārāyaṇa. The single criterion for-the-true-gift-giver: not-material-wealth, but-the-Name-reminder.
The other-perishable-things: āṇīka nāsivantē kāya — na sarē hāya jyāñchyānē — other perishable things — what — the sigh isn't completed by them. Other-perishable-things — what (use)? The-sigh isn't-completed (= fulfilled) by-them.
The go-in-kākulatī: yāvē tayām kākulatī — jē dāvitī supantha — go in helpless-cry to those who show the good path. Go-in-kākulatī (helpless-cry) to-those who-show-the-supantha (good-path).
The closing — no-remainder, true-upakāra: Tukā mhaṇē urī nurē — tyāchē kharē upakāra — Tuka says: no urī remains — their upakāra is true. Urī = remainder, residue. No-urī-(of-debt)-remains; their upakāra is-true (= absolute).
THE PROSE-MARGINALIA — HISTORICALLY CRITICAL: अलंकापुरीं ब्राम्हण धरणें बसून बेताळीस दिवस उपवासी होता त्यास द्दष्टांत कीं देहूस तुकोबापाशी जाणें. ब्राम्हण स्वामीपें आला त्याबद्दल अभंग ॥ ३१ ॥ — "At Aḷankāpurī (= Āḷandī, the samādhi-place of Jñāneśvar), a Brahmin had been sitting in dharaṇā fasting for forty-two days; he received a vision: 'Go to Dehū to Tukōbā.' The Brahmin came to the Swami; this abhang is for that. ॥31॥"
The Aḷankāpurī-Brahmin-miracle: - Aḷankāpurī = the medieval-Marathi-name for Āḷandī, the village-of-Jñāneśvar's-samādhi. - A Brahmin sat-in-dharaṇā (sit-in-protest-and-fast) at-Āḷandī for-42 days. - He received-a-vision (dṛṣṭānta): "Go to Dehū to Tukōbā." - He came-to-Tukārām, who composed-this-abhang for-his-arrival.
The historical-significance: this prose-marginalia documents one-of-the-historical-cross-saint encounters in Vārkarī-tradition — Jñāneśvar's-Āḷandī-tradition sending-pilgrims to-Tukārām's-Dehū-tradition by-vision-direction. The number-of-days (42) is notable; the connection-between Āḷandī-and-Dehū through-this-vision-pilgrim is biographically-significant.
The ॥३१॥ marker indicates this abhang as-the-31st of-some-numbering-sequence (possibly a-cluster-of-miracle-attestation-abhangs).
[T]
For someone today
For today: know the one as dātā — who makes you remember Nārāyaṇa; other perishable things — sigh isn't completed; go in kākulatī to those who show the good path; Tuka says — no urī remains — their upakāra is true.
Biographical-note: This abhang was composed when a Brahmin from Aḷankāpurī (Āḷandī), having fasted-in-dharaṇā for 42 days, was directed-by-vision to come-to-Tukārām at Dehū.
Where this applies
- When someone offers you money or things but what you really needed was to be reminded of what matters most
- When you've accumulated wealth or possessions yet still feel an unfilled longing inside
- When you need to humbly ask for guidance from someone who has actually shown you a better way to live
- When someone helps you so genuinely that you feel no obligation weighing on you afterward