Abhanga 2658
The verse hands you a direct prompt: why do you not do this? If the operative practice (refuge in the sustainer + bowing to all beings) has been named clearly, what is the postponement-of-it actually waiting for? Tukārām's vāṭa nāhī yāvarī (no path beyond) is a closing-of-options that is also a relief — there is no other practice still waiting to be found. The vertical refuge and the horizontal bowing-to-creatures are the sāra-mūḷa — the essence-root the Śruti was pointing to all along.
The verse
ऐसें कां हो न करा कांहीं । पुढें नाहीं नास ज्या ॥१॥
विश्वंभरा शरणागत । भूतजात वंदूनि ॥ध्रु.॥
श्रुतीचें कां नेघा फळ । सारमूळ जाणोनि ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे पुढें कांहीं । वाट नाहीं यावरी ॥३॥
Literal translation
Why do you not do this — when there is nothing destructible ahead? Refuge-taking in Viśvambhara — bowing to bhūta-jāta (all beings-born). Why do you not take the fruit of Śruti, knowing its sāra-mūḷa (essence-root)? Tukā says: there is no path beyond this.
What it means
A small exhortation-verse. Aisē kā hō na karā kāmhī — puḍhe nāhī nāsa jyā — why do you not do this anything — when there is nothing destructible ahead? The rhetorical-question implies: anything beyond this has the property of being nāsa (destructible). This — what is being indicated — does not.
The dhrūpada names the operative practice: Viśvambharā śaraṇāgata — bhūta-jāta vandūnī — refuge-taking in Viśvambhara (the all-sustaining); bowing to bhūta-jāta (all beings-born). The two acts are paired: vertical (refuge in the sustainer) + horizontal (bowing to all-creatures). This matches 2657's bhakti = bowing to jīva-jantu-bhūta definition exactly.
The third verse: śrutīcē kām nēghā phaḷa — sāra-mūḷa jāṇōnī — why do you not take the fruit of Śruti, knowing the essence-root? The Śruti (Vedic-revelation) is offering a phaḷa (fruit); the sāra-mūḷa (essence-root) is the bhakti-component that the verse has just named.
The close: puḍhe kāmhī — vāṭa nāhī yāvarī — there is nothing ahead — no path beyond this. The claim is total: this is the destination, no further movement is required.
For someone today
The verse hands you a direct prompt: why do you not do this? If the operative practice (refuge in the sustainer + bowing to all beings) has been named clearly, what is the postponement-of-it actually waiting for? Tukārām's vāṭa nāhī yāvarī (no path beyond) is a closing-of-options that is also a relief — there is no other practice still waiting to be found. The vertical refuge and the horizontal bowing-to-creatures are the sāra-mūḷa — the essence-root the Śruti was pointing to all along.
मराठी: हा अभंग एक थेट प्रश्न विचारतो — 'हे का करत नाहीस?' जर योग्य साधना — सर्वंकष पालनकर्त्याला शरण जाणे आणि सर्व जीवांना नमन करणे — इतकी स्पष्टपणे सांगितली गेली आहे, तर ती लांबणीवर टाकून तरी काय साधणार आहे? तुकारामांचे 'वाट नाहीं यावरी' (यापुढे दुसरी वाट नाही) हे पर्याय बंद करणे आहे, पण त्यातच एक दिलासाही आहे — शोधण्यासारखी दुसरी कोणतीही साधना शिल्लक नाही. उभी शरणागती आणि आडवी सर्वजीवांना नमन — हेच 'सारमूळ' आहे, जे श्रुती सुरुवातीपासूनच दाखवत होती.
Where this applies
- Rhetorical-prompt to oneself or another: why not do this?
- Recognizing the operative practice — refuge + bowing-to-creatures
- The closing of postponement: no path beyond this
- The Vārkarī claim that bhakti-of-creatures is the essence-root of Śruti