Abhanga 2459
The verse
कासया करावे तपाचे डोंगर । आणीक अपार दुःखरासी॥१॥ कासया फिरावे अनेक ते देश । दावितील आस पुढें लाभ ॥ध्रु.॥ कासया पुजावीं अनेक दैवतें । पोटभरे तेथें लाभ नाहीं ॥२॥ कासया करावे मुक्तीचे सायास । मिळे पंढरीस फुका साटीं ॥३॥ तुका म्हणे करीं कीर्तन पसारा । लाभ येईंल घरा पाहिजे तो ॥४॥
Literal translation
English: ★ Why make mountains of tapa — only piles of duḥkha ★. Why wander many countries — they show hope ahead, no gain. ★ Why worship many deities — fills stomach there, no gain ★. ★★ Why make mukti-effort — Pandharī gives [it] for free ★★. Tuka says: make kīrtana spread — desired gain comes home.
What it means
★★ THE WHY-MUKTI-EFFORT-PANDHARĪ-GIVES-FOR-FREE ABHANG ★★. The supreme expression of Vārkarī accessibility-theology.
The four kāsayā (why) questions — each dismissing a rival-spiritual-path:
- Why mountains-of-tapa? Only piles-of-duḥkha (anti-ascetic-austerity)
- Why wander-many-countries? Hope-shown-ahead, no-gain (anti-pilgrimage-tour)
- Why worship-many-deities? Stomach-fills-there, no-gain (anti-pantheon-shopping)
- ★★ Why mukti-effort? Pandharī-gives-it-for-FREE (phukā sāṭīm) ★★
★★ THE CELEBRATED LINE ★★: kāsayā karāvē muktīchē sāyāsa — miḷē Paṇḍharīsa phukā sāṭīm — ★★ why make mukti-effort — Pandharī gives [it] for free ★★. Phukā = free-of-cost. ★★ Mukti — given-for-free at-Pandharī. ★★ The most-radical claim of Vārkarī accessibility — what philosophers-and-yogis-strive-for is available-at-Pandharī-for-the-asking.
The closing: karīm kīrtana pasārā — lābha yē'īmla gharā pāhijē tō — ★ make kīrtana spread — desired gain comes home ★. Just-spread-kīrtana; the-gain comes-home.
[T]
For someone today
For today: ★ no mountains-of-tapa, no country-wandering, no multi-deity-worship ★; ★★ mukti is given free at Pandharī ★★; ★ make kīrtana spread — gain comes home ★.
Where this applies
- Mukti-given-for-free-at-Pandharī. Muktīchē-sāyāsa-miḷē-Paṇḍharīsa-phukā-sāṭīm.
- Make-kīrtana-spread-gain-comes-home.* Kīrtana-pasārā-lābha-yē'īmla-gharā.