Abhanga 2680
The verse offers a remarkably accessible bhakti-practice. Let fire burn, let mine fall — Nārāyaṇa is the enjoyer is a daily equanimity-practice: whatever experience comes, attribute the bhōktā (enjoyer-experiencer) position to the Lord rather than carrying it as personal-anxiety. At meal-time when busy, just say Govinda has received it — the offering is made by the bōla (word), no ritual-cost required. Deva loves the words.
The verse
जळों अगी पडो खान । नारायण भोक्ता ॥१॥
ऐसी ज्याची वदे वाणी । नारायणीं ते पावे ॥ध्रु.॥
भोजनकाळीं करितां धंदा । म्हणा गोविंदा पावलें ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे न लगे मोल । देवा बोल आवडती ॥३॥
Literal translation
Jaḷō agi (let the fire burn), paḍō khāna (let the mine fall) — Nārāyaṇa bhōktā (Nārāyaṇa is the enjoyer-experiencer). Such utterance from someone's vāṇī — reaches Nārāyaṇa. At bhōjana-kāḷa (meal-time), when busy with dhandā (chore, business) — say Govindā pāvalē (Govinda received it). Tukā says: no mōla (cost, price) is needed — Deva loves the bōla (words).
What it means
A short, practical bhakti-equanimity verse. Jaḷō agi paḍō khāna — Nārāyaṇa bhōktā — let fire burn, let the mine fall — Nārāyaṇa is the enjoyer. The pair of disasters — fire-burning (the house, perhaps) and mine-falling (a mine-collapse) — are let-be by attributing the bhōga (experience-enjoyment) to Nārāyaṇa. The bhōktā (enjoyer-experiencer) shift is the key: if Nārāyaṇa is the bhōktā, then the experience is his to handle, not the bhakta's-anxiety to manage.
The dhrūpada: aisī jyāñcī vadē vāṇī — Nārāyaṇī tē pāvē — such utterance from someone's voice — reaches Nārāyaṇa. The mere-saying-of-the-attribution is the practice. Vāṇī (voice, utterance) is the vehicle.
The second verse offers the everyday-application: bhōjana-kāḷīm karitām dhandā — mhaṇā Govindā pāvalē — at meal-time when busy with chores — say Govinda received it. The traditional formal-practice is to offer the meal to the Lord as naivedya before eating. But the busy-householder doesn't always have time. The simple-version: just say Govinda pāvalē — Govinda has received-it — and that is the offering.
The close: na lagē mōla — Devā bōla āvaḍatī — no cost is needed — Deva loves the words. The mōla (cost, price, ritual-elaborateness) is not required; bōla (words) is what Deva loves.
For someone today
The verse offers a remarkably accessible bhakti-practice. Let fire burn, let mine fall — Nārāyaṇa is the enjoyer is a daily equanimity-practice: whatever experience comes, attribute the bhōktā (enjoyer-experiencer) position to the Lord rather than carrying it as personal-anxiety. At meal-time when busy, just say Govinda has received it — the offering is made by the bōla (word), no ritual-cost required. Deva loves the words.
The practice is doable in the middle of any busy day: name the meal as Govinda-received; name the disaster as Nārāyaṇa-bhōktā; let the simple-attribution take the place of formal-ritual. The verse is friendly to the householder-bhakta whose life has no room for elaborate-pūjā.
Where this applies
- Daily equanimity-practice in the face of disaster: let it happen — Nārāyaṇa is the enjoyer
- The say-Govinda-received meal-time practice for the busy householder
- Recognizing that Deva loves the words — formal-cost not required
- A general principle: attribution-by-utterance is itself the offering