Abhanga 2662
When father-son duty and ritual distinctions fall away, what remains is the recognition that every person is already the Lord without distinction, and that recognition itself uplifts everyone.
The verse
पिंडदान पिंडें ठेविलें करून । तिळी तिळवण मूळत्रयीं॥१॥
सारिले संकल्प एका चि वचनें । ब्रम्हीं ब्रम्हार्पण सेवटींच्या ॥ध्रु.॥
सव्य अपसव्य बुडालें हें कर्म । एका एक वर्म एकोविष्णु ॥२॥
पित्यापुत्रत्वाचें जालें अवसान । जनीं जनादऩन अभेदेंसी ॥३॥
आहे तैसी पूजा पावली सकळ । सहज तो काळ साधियेला ॥४॥
तुका म्हणे केला अवघियांचा उद्धार । आतां नमस्कार सेवटींचा ॥५॥
Literal translation
The piṇḍa-dāna (rice-ball offering) — the piṇḍa has been ṭhevilē-karūn (put-in-place, made-and-placed); tilī-tilavaṇa (sesame-with-water cleansing) in the mūḷa-trayī (three-roots = three generations of ancestors). All samkalpas (intentions, resolves) have been concluded in one utterance — Brahmīm brahmārpaṇa (in Brahman, the Brahman-offering) is the final-thing. Savya-apasavya (clockwise and counter-clockwise rituals) have been submerged in this — ēkā ēka varma — ēko-Viṣṇu (one and only secret, one Viṣṇu). The pitā-putratva (father-son-ness) has come to an end — in jana (all-people) is Janārdana with non-distinction. All pūjā has arrived as-it-is; that sahaja (natural) time has been sādhiyalā (mastered). Tukā says: I have done the uddhāra (uplifting, salvation) of everyone — now the last namaskāra.
What it means
The closing abhang of the 4-verse self-cremation sequence (2659-2662). This verse completes the inner-funeral with its formal closing-rites — piṇḍa-dāna, tilāñjali to three generations, brahmārpaṇa, and the closing namaskāra.
Piṇḍa-dāna piṇḍē ṭhevilēm karūn — tiḷī-tilavaṇa mūḷa-trayī — the piṇḍa-dāna has been made — sesame-with-water cleansing to the three-roots (three generations of ancestors). In Hindu post-funeral observance, piṇḍa-dāna (rice-balls offered to ancestors) and tilāñjali (water-with-sesame) are essential. The bhakta has done these — but the mūḷa-trayī (three-roots) here is significant: the ritual is closing-out the lineage-debt all the way back.
The dhrūpada compresses the final-stroke: sārilē samkalpa ēkā chi vachanē — Brahmīm brahmārpaṇa sēvaṭīñchya — all samkalpas were concluded in one utterance — brahmārpaṇa in Brahman is the last. The brahmārpaṇa (offering-to-Brahman) is the final-mantra spoken at any sacred-act — brahmārpaṇam astu — let this be offered-to-Brahman. Here, brahmārpaṇa in Brahman itself — the offering and the recipient are the same.
The second verse: savya apasavya buḍālē hē karma — ēkā ēka varma — ēko-Viṣṇu — both savya (clockwise) and apasavya (counter-clockwise) rituals have been submerged in this — one and only secret, one Viṣṇu. In ritual, savya (clockwise) is used for auspicious rites and apasavya (counter-clockwise) for funerary-rites. Both have been buḍālē (drowned, submerged) in this one rite. The varma (secret-technique) is ēko-Viṣṇu — Viṣṇu alone is one.
The third verse: pitā-putratvāchē jālē avasāna — janī janārdana abhēdēmsī — father-son-ness has come to its end; in jana (all-people) is Janārdana with non-distinction. In the standard funeral, the chief-mourner (typically a son) performs piṇḍa-dāna for the father (or for predecessors). Here, pitā-putratva (the father-son-relationship that grounds the funeral-rite) has avasāna — has come to its end. The replacement-recognition: jana = Janārdana without bhēda. (This is one of the most celebrated Vārkarī ethical-mystical lines.)
The fourth verse: āhē taisī pūjā pāvalī sakaḷa — sahaja tō kāḷa sādhiyalā — all pūjā has arrived as-it-is; that natural-time has been mastered. Āhē taisī — as it is, without adjustment. Sahaja (natural) time has been mastered.
The close: kelā avaghiyāñcā uddhāra — ātām namaskāra sēvaṭīñcā — I have done the uplifting of everyone — now the last namaskāra. The bhakta has done his anta-karma so completely that his uplifting includes avaghiyāñcā — all. And now the sēvaṭīñcā (last-final) namaskāra. The closing salutation.
For someone today
The closing verse of the self-cremation sequence makes two great recognitions:
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Father-son-ness ends; jana is Janārdana — pitā-putratvāchē jālē avasāna — janī janārdana abhēdēmsī. The relational-structure that grounds the funeral (father-son lineage-debt) has come to its end, and the replacement is that there is no distinction between jana (the people) and Janārdana (the Lord of the people). All-people are the Lord-of-people, without distinction. This is one of the most far-reaching Vārkarī ethical-claims, with implications for caste, lineage, and creature-ethics.
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I have uplifted everyone — now the last namaskāra — kelā avaghiyāñcā uddhāra — ātām namaskāra sēvaṭīñcā. The bhakta's self-cremation has not been a private-event; it has been the uddhāra (uplifting) of avaghiyāñcā (everyone). The implication: the genuine bhakta's transformation is communal-effective, not individual-only.
The closing namaskāra-sēvaṭīñcā (last-namaskāra) is the close of the four-abhang sequence — a single bow at the conclusion.
मराठी: आत्मदहन-सोहळ्याच्या या शेवटच्या अभंगात दोन मोठे साक्षात्कार होतात.
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पिता-पुत्र नाते संपते; जनच जनार्दन आहे — पित्यापुत्रत्वाचें जालें अवसान — जनीं जनार्दन अभेदेंसी. अंत्यविधीचा आधार असलेले नाते — पिता-पुत्रांमधील वंशऋण — येथे संपते, आणि त्याच्या जागी हे उमगते की जन (सामान्य माणसे) आणि जनार्दन (सर्वांचा स्वामी) यांच्यात काहीही भेद नाही. सर्व माणसे भेदाशिवाय स्वतः तो परमेश्वरच आहेत. जात, वंश आणि सर्व सजीवांबद्दलच्या नीतीवर व्यापक परिणाम करणारा हा वारकरी परंपरेतील सर्वात दूरगामी नैतिक दावा आहे.
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मी सर्वांचा उद्धार केला — आता शेवटचा नमस्कार — केला अवघियांचा उद्धार — आता नमस्कार सेवटींचा. भक्ताचे हे आत्मदहन केवळ त्याच्या वैयक्तिक जीवनातील घटना नाही; तो सर्वांचा — अवघ्यांचा — उद्धार आहे. याचा अर्थ असा की खऱ्या भक्ताचे रूपांतरण हे व्यक्तिगत नसून सामाजिक पातळीवर परिणाम करणारे असते.
हा शेवटचा नमस्कार म्हणजे या चार अभंगांच्या मालिकेचा समारोप — शेवटी घातलेला एकच नमस्कार.
Where this applies
- The closing-summary of the self-cremation vision sequence (2659-2662)
- The radical claim that jana = Janārdana with non-distinction
- Recognizing that the genuine bhakta's transformation is avaghiyāñcā uddhāra (everyone-uplifting)
- The final namaskāra-sēvaṭīñcā gesture after the symbolic anta-karma