Abhanga 2690
When udvēga (anxiety) is spreading into many paths of distraction and your body was not made for managing all of them, this verse offers two specific moves: (1) ask the Lord to look truly at the actual condition; (2) name the full-stakes asking — intense desire for darśana, even if it destroys my life. The close is also useful — I will keep making this petition as long as I can still speak: the vijñāpana persists until the breath runs out. The verse is permission to ask for what one cannot get otherwise without softening the cost.
The verse
उद्वेगासी बहु फाकती मारग । नव्हे ऐसें अंग माझें होतें ॥१॥
आतां कोण यासी करणें विचार । तो देखा साचार पांडुरंगा ॥ध्रु ॥
मज तो अत्यंत दर्शनाची आस । जाला तरि हो नाश जीवित्वाचा ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे आहे वचनाची उरी । करितों तोंवरि विज्ञापना ॥३॥
Literal translation
To udvēga (anxiety) — many roads fākatī (spread out, fan out). My body was not made for such (i.e., for managing all of these). Now who would vichāra (think-through) this — Pāṇḍurangā, dēkhā sāchāra (look truly). My darśanāñcī āsa (desire-for-darśana) is intense — even if it becomes nāsa jīvitvāñcā (destruction of living-state), let it. Tukā says: there is still the vachanāñcī urī (rest of the utterance); until then I make vijñāpana (formal petition).
What it means
A short anxiety-and-darśana verse. Udvēgāsī bahu fākatī mārga — to anxiety, many roads spread out. Udvēga (anxiety, restless-distress) multiplies-paths-of-distraction; once anxiety arrives, suddenly there are many directions to be pulled in. Navhē aisē anga mājhē hōtē — my body was not made for such — the bhakta confesses his constitutional-limitation.
The dhrūpada: ātām kōṇa yāsī karaṇē vichāra — tō dēkhā sāchāra Pāṇḍurangā — now who would think through this — Pāṇḍurangā, look truly. Sāchāra (truly, in-truth) — the bhakta asks the Lord to see his condition truly, not as performance.
The second verse names the all-stakes ask: atyanta darśanāñcī āsa — jālā tarī hō nāsa jīvitvāñcā — the intense desire for darśana — even if it comes to destruction of life, let it. Full-stakes darśana-asking: give me the seeing, even if it costs me my life.
The close: vachanāñcī urī — karitōm tōmvari vijñāpana — there is still theurī(rest, residual) of utterance; until then I am makingvijñāpana(formal-petition). As long as the bhakta can still speak, the vijñāpana (the formal-court-petition) will continue.
For someone today
When udvēga (anxiety) is spreading into many paths of distraction and your body was not made for managing all of them, this verse offers two specific moves: (1) ask the Lord to look truly at the actual condition; (2) name the full-stakes asking — intense desire for darśana, even if it destroys my life. The close is also useful — I will keep making this petition as long as I can still speak: the vijñāpana persists until the breath runs out. The verse is permission to ask for what one cannot get otherwise without softening the cost.
मराठी: जेव्हा उद्वेग (चिंता) अनेक दिशांना पसरून लक्ष विचलित करत असतो आणि तुझे शरीर हे सगळे सांभाळण्यासाठी बनलेले नाही, तेव्हा हा अभंग दोन ठोस उपाय सुचवतो: एक, परमेश्वराला विनवावे की त्याने खरी अवस्था जशी आहे तशी पाहावी; दोन, पूर्ण पणाला लावलेली विनंती करावी — दर्शनाची तीव्र आस, त्यासाठी जीव गेला तरी चालेल. शेवटही तितकाच उपयोगी आहे — जोपर्यंत बोलता येईल तोपर्यंत ही विनंती करत राहीन: श्वास चालेपर्यंत विज्ञापना चालूच राहते. हा अभंग म्हणजे, जे अन्यथा मिळणे शक्य नाही ते किंमत सौम्य न करता मागण्याची परवानगी आहे.
Where this applies
- The diagnostic recognition that anxiety spreads many paths
- Full-stakes darśana-asking — even if it destroys my life
- The as-long-as-I-can-speak-I-petition persistence
- Asking the protector to look truly (sāchāra) rather than to be entertained