Abhanga 2339
The verse
मरण माझें मरोन गेलें । मज केलें अमर ॥१॥ ठाव पुसिलें बुड पुसिलें । वोस वोसलें देहभावा ॥ध्रु.॥ आला होता गेला पूर । धरिला धीर जीवनीं ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे बुनादीचें । जालें साचें उजवणें ॥३॥
Literal translation
English: ★ My death itself has died — made me immortal ★. The place is wiped, the base is wiped — deha-bhāva became desolate. The flood that came has gone — the patience has been held in jīvana. Tuka says: the foundation's true settling has happened.
What it means
★ ONE OF THE MOST CELEBRATED TUKĀRĀM LINES ★: maraṇa mājhē marōn gēlē — maja kēlē amara — the my-death-itself-died moksha-declaration.
★ THE OPENING LINE ★: maraṇa mājhē marōn gēlē — maja kēlē amara — ★ my death itself has died — made me immortal ★. ★ My-death (the fear-of-death, the dying-process itself) has-died; (this) made-me amara (immortal). ★ A profound paradox-of-bhakti-realization: the death-of-death-itself is-immortality. This is one-of-the-most-cited Tukārām-lines in Marathi-bhakti, expressing-the-moksha-experience.
The place-wiped: ṭhāva pusilē buḍa pusilē — vōsa vōsalē dēha-bhāvā — the place is wiped, the base is wiped — deha-bhāva became desolate. Pusaṇē = to wipe, erase. Vōsa = desolate. The place-(of-the-self)-is-wiped, the base-is-wiped; deha-bhāva (body-identification) became desolate.
The flood: ālā hōtā gēlā pūra — dharilā dhīra jīvanīm — the flood that came has gone — the patience has been held in jīvana. The flood-that-came (= the samsāra-flood) has-gone; patience has-been-held in-jīvana (= the bhakta held-firm in-life).
The closing — true-settling: Tukā mhaṇē bunādīchē — jālē sāchē ujavaṇē — Tuka says: the foundation — its true settling has happened. Bunādī = foundation. Ujavaṇē = settling, lighting-up. The foundation's true-settling has-happened.
Historical-significance: this abhang articulates Tukārām's-realized-state in-the-most-concise-and-paradoxical-form: maraṇa mājhē marōn gēlē — maja kēlē amara. The line is among-the-most-quoted-in-Vārkarī-literature as-evidence of-Tukārām's-jīvan-mukti.
[T]
For someone today
For today: ★ my death itself has died — made me immortal ★; the place wiped, the base wiped — deha-bhāva desolate; the flood came and went — patience held in jīvana; Tuka says — the foundation's true settling.
Where this applies
- My-death-itself-died-made-me-immortal. Maraṇa-mājhē-marōn-gēlē-maja-kēlē-amara.
- Place-wiped-base-wiped-deha-bhāva-desolate.* Ṭhāva-pusilē-buḍa-pusilē-vōsa-vōsalē-dēha-bhāvā.
- Flood-came-and-went-patience-held.* Ālā-gēlā-pūra-dharilā-dhīra-jīvanīm.
- Foundation's-true-settling.* Bunādīchē-sāchē-ujavaṇē.