Abhanga 2693
How much to describe — the pavāḍē (deeds-of-fame, heroic-praise-songs) done by Śrīpati (Lord-of-Lakṣmī).
The verse
वर्णावे ते किती । केले पवाडे श्रीपति ॥१॥
विश्वासिया घडे लाभ । देइल तरी पद्मनाभ ॥ध्रु.॥
भाव शुद्ध तरी । सांगितलें काम करी ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे भोळा देव । परि हा नागवी संदेह ॥३॥
Literal translation
How much to describe — the pavāḍē (deeds-of-fame, heroic-praise-songs) done by Śrīpati (Lord-of-Lakṣmī). Viśvāsiyā (the trusting-one) gets the benefit — Padmanābha (Lotus-naveled) will give, if. If the bhāva śuddha (pure-feeling) is there, the said-work is done. Tukā says: Deva is bhōḷā (naive, simple, guileless) — but samdēha (doubt) nāgavī (strips one naked).
What it means
A small bhakti-paradox verse. Varṇāvē tē kitī — kelē pavāḍē Śrīpati — how much to describe — the pavāḍē (deeds-of-fame) done by Śrīpati. The pavāḍā is the Marathi heroic-praise-song-form. The Lord has done many such glorious-deeds.
The dhrūpada names the operative-condition: viśvāsiyā ghaḍē lābha — dēīla tarī Padmanābha — the trusting-one gets the benefit — Padmanābha will give, if (he gives, that is). Viśvāsiyā (the trusting-one) — only the trusting bhakta receives the lābha (benefit). The conditional if — Padmanābha will give if — is honest.
The second verse: bhāva śuddha tarī — sāngitalē kāma karī — if the bhāva is pure, the said-work is done. Pure-feeling is the operative-condition: if the bhāva is pure, then the work that was-asked-for gets done.
The close is the paradox: Deva is bhōḷā — parī hā nāgavī samdēha — Deva is naive — but doubt strips you naked. Bhōḷā — naive, simple, guileless — is one of Tukārām's favorite Deva-descriptions; the Lord is artless, easy-to-fool. But (and this is the trick) — samdēha (doubt) nāgavī (strips one naked) — your doubt leaves you naked. The Lord won't punish you for the doubt; the doubt itself is what strips the bhakta.
The image is precise: the naive Lord doesn't notice your doubt and withhold the benefit. The doubt itself is the disqualifier — it strips the bhakta of the trust-condition under which Padmanābha gives.
For someone today
The verse names a non-obvious bhakti-paradox: the Lord is naive and easy to receive from — but doubt strips you, not him. The disqualifier is internal: when doubt is present, the trust-condition is missing, and the trust-condition is what activates the lābha. The remedy is not to fool-the-naive-Lord; it is to be honest about whether your viśvāsa (trust) is present. If yes, the work gets done. If doubt has crept in, you are the one nāgavā (naked, exposed). The Lord doesn't track your trust-level; the trust-level itself is what determines receipt.
Where this applies
- The paradox-warning: Deva is naive — but doubt strips you
- Recognizing that the disqualifier is internal (one's own doubt), not external (Lord's-judgment)
- Pure-bhāva as the operative condition for the said-work being done
- Self-examination: is my viśvāsa present, or has doubt crept in?