Abhanga 2598
Do what you will with your own hands, O Giver — we are children of the Mighty One, fearless in any conflict. What power does Kāla wield near Deva? Tukā says: O Paṇḍharīrāya, I slap my arms in challenge.
The verse
कराल तें करा । हातें आपुल्या दातारा ॥१॥
बळियाचीं आम्ही बाळें । असों निर्भर या सळे ॥ध्रु.॥
आतां कोठें काळ । करील देवापाशीं बळ ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे पंढरीराया । थापटितों ठोक बाह्या ॥३॥
Literal translation
Do what you will, with your own hands, O Giver. We are the children of the mighty one, fearless in this conflict. Now where can Kāla wield power near Deva? Tukā says: O Paṇḍharīrāya, I slap my arms — ṭhōka bāhyā.
What it means
This verse uses a striking warrior-gesture image. Thāpaṭitōm ṭhōka bāhyā is the unmistakable Marathi-Indian challenge-gesture of a wrestler or warrior — slapping the upper-arms before a contest, daring an opponent to step forward. Tukārām makes this gesture from inside the refuge of Paṇḍharīrāya. The argument is layered: karāl tēm karā — do what you will, addressed to the Giver — half a surrender, half a dare. Then the title: baḷiyāñchīm āmhī bāḷēm — we are the children of the mighty one; nirbhara in this saḷe (conflict, friction). And the doctrinal turn: ātām kōṭhē kāḷa karīl Devāpāśī baḷa — now where can Kāla (Time/Death) wield his strength near Deva? The whole verse compresses the Vārkarī refuge-doctrine into a wrestler's posture. The bhakta is not silent and afraid; the bhakta is grinning, arms-slapped, daring Death from inside the lap of Viṭhṭhala.
For someone today
When you genuinely stand in the protection of a stronger ally — a community, a tradition, a love, a non-anxious presence in your life — the right posture is not timid gratitude alone. It is permissible to slap your arms. The threats that used to scare you have lost their leverage because of where you now stand. Pray this verse with the gesture-quality intact: do what you will, Giver; I am a child of the Mighty One; Time itself loses power near my Deva. The verse is permission to be bold from refuge.
Where this applies
- A recovery community member who has stopped fearing the old triggers
- A person under the protection of a non-anxious therapist or sponsor
- A devotee who has tasted the steadiness of long practice
- Any refuge-secured stance in the face of what used to be terrifying