संत साहित्य · Tukārām · Abhanga 2359 of 4582

Abhanga 2359

One true moment in the presence of the divine outweighs a lifetime spent doing duty without any real feeling in it.

When you catch yourself just going through the motions of daily obligations without any joy

When you experience a brief but genuine moment of devotion and realize how much it means

When you feel weighed down by repeated cycles of duty and long to call out for release

The verse

येथील जें एक घडी । तये जोडी पार नाहीं ॥१॥ ती त्यांचा सासुरवास । कैंचा रस हा तेथें ॥ध्रु.॥ अवघे दिवस गेले कामा । हीं जन्मा खंडण ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे रतल्या जनीं । सोडा झणी कान्होबा ॥३॥ ॥८॥

Literal translation

Even one ghaḍī here — there is no comparable pair. The in-laws' sāsuravāsa there — what rasa is there. All days went in work — this is the breaking of birth. Tuka says — attached among people — release us quickly, O Kānhōbā. ॥8॥ (closing-colophon).

What it means

THE CLOSING OF THE 8-ABHANG GOPIKĀ-LĪLĀ CLUSTER (2352-2359). The ॥८॥ colophon marks the boundary.

The 8-abhang gopikā-līlā cluster (2352-2359): - 2352: O Kānhayā Jagajēṭhī — give bhēṭī once (abandoned in forest) - 2353: I came running behind — Kānhō, stand still - 2354: Blessed are these women — household + stealth-meeting - 2355: Hari encircled — mayūra-phera dance - 2356: Stolen meeting in the rāṇa-forest - 2357: Throat-to-throat embrace — jīva melted into jīvana - 2358: All equally blame-stained; do service even at cost of life - 2359: One ghaḍī here is priceless; release us, Kānhōbā ॥८॥

THE OPENING: yēthīla jē ēka ghaḍī — tayē jōḍī pāra nāhīm — even one ghaḍī here (with the Lord) — there is no comparable pair. Ghaḍī = moment, unit of time (~24 minutes). Even-one-ghaḍī here (in-bhakti) — there-is-no-comparable-pair (= incomparable).

The sāsurvāsa-contrast: tī tyāñchā sāsuravāsa — kainchā rasa hā tēthē — the in-laws' sāsuravāsa there — what rasa is there. Sāsurvāsa = life-at-the-in-laws'-house. The in-laws' sāsurvāsa-there — what-rasa is-there?

The days-wasted: avaghē divasa gēlē kāmā — hī janmā khaṇḍaṇa — all days went in work — this is the breaking of birth. All-days-went in-work; this-is-the-breaking-of-birth (= karma-bondage-perpetuated).

THE CLOSING APPEAL: Tukā mhaṇē rataliyā janīm — sōḍā jhaṇī Kānhōbā — Tuka says — attached among people — release us quickly, O Kānhōbā. Rataliyā janīm = attached among people. Tuka says: 'Attached among people [in society's-bonds] — release us quickly, O Kānhōbā'. The closing-appeal of-the-gopikā-cluster.

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For someone today

For today: even one ghaḍī here is incomparable; in-laws' sāsurvāsa has no rasa; all-days went in work — break-of-birth perpetuated; release us quickly, O Kānhōbā .

Where this applies

When your days feel like an endless routine of obligations with no real joy in them
When you compare a brief moment of genuine devotion to years spent just going through duties
When you feel trapped in family or social expectations and long to be freed from them
When you wonder whether a short, real spiritual experience matters more than a lifetime of dutiful routine

Bhakti