Abhanga 2714
I heard the kīrti (fame, glory) in the sants' mouths — therefore I have arrived at this sthaḷa (place).
The verse
ऐकिली कीर्ति संतांच्या वदनीं । तरि हें ठाकोनि आलों स्थळ ॥१॥
मागिला पुढिला करावें सारिखें । पालटों पारिखें नये देवा ॥ध्रु.॥
आम्हासी विश्वास नामाचा आधार । तुटतां हे थार उरी नाहीं ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे येथें नसावें चि दुजें । विनंती पंढरिराजें परिसावी हे ॥३॥
Literal translation
I heard the kīrti (fame, glory) in the sants' mouths — therefore I have arrived at this sthaḷa (place). Treat the māgila (previous) and puḍhila (future) alike — don't switch and pālaṭōm pārikhē (turn-and-become-alien), Deva. We have viśvāsa — the Name as our ādhāra (support); if it tuṭatām (breaks), no thāra (foothold) remains. Tukā says: let there not be a second (dujē) here; let vinatī (petition) be heard by Paṇḍharī-rāja.
What it means
A short consistency-and-trust verse. Aikilī kīrti santāñcyā vadanīm — tari hē ṭhākōnī ālōm sthaḷa — I heard the kīrti in the sants' mouths — therefore I have arrived at this place. The bhakta states the route by which he arrived: the sants' testimony brought me here. He didn't come on his own initiative; he came on the strength of others' testimony.
The dhrūpada: māgilā puḍhilā karāve sāriñke — pālaṭōm pārikhē nayē Devā — treat the previous and the future alike — don't switch and become alien, Deva. The petition: consistency between past-treatment-of-others and future-treatment-of-me. Pālaṭōm pārikhē — switch and become alien — would mean treating-me-differently than the sants reported. The bhakta asks the Lord not to make a special-exception against him.
The second verse names the structural-condition: āmhāsī viśvāsa nāmācā ādhāra — tuṭatām hē thāra urī nāhī — our trust — the Name-as-support; if it breaks, no foothold remains. The Name is the ādhāra (support); the thāra (foothold) depends on it. If the Name fails as support, there is no further foothold to fall-back-on.
The close: yēthē nasāve chi dujē — vinatī Paṇḍharī-rājē parisāvī hē — let there not be a second here; let the petition be heard by Paṇḍharī-rāja. Dujē — second-thing, alternative — let no alternative arise; let the petition be heard.
For someone today
A useful petition-pattern for anyone who came-to-a-refuge on the strength of others' testimony. I heard your fame in the sants' mouths — that's why I came. Now treat me consistently with how you've treated the previous ones; don't switch and become alien. Our trust is the Name-as-support; if that breaks, we have no foothold left. Let there be no alternative — listen to this petition. The verse names the structural-trust-condition: the Name as the only ādhāra. The petition is for consistency, not for special-favor.
Where this applies
- Coming to a refuge on the strength of others' testimony — and asking for consistency
- The Name-as-support — if it breaks, no foothold remains
- Petitioning that the protector not become alien by switching-treatment
- No-second-here — refusing alternative-resolutions