Abhanga 2731
A useful honest petition for the moment when you must say: I have nothing in my pouch. Coming and going stops only by Deva's compassion; I have no puṇya — my pouch is empty; who is even separate from Ananta, that could remove fear? Only Pāṇḍuranga fans away the wind of bhōga. The honest confession of an empty pouch is the petition; nothing else needs to be added. The wind of bhōga image is useful: the attractions blow like wind — you cannot stop them by gripping tight, but Pāṇḍuranga can fan them away.
The verse
येणें जाणें तरी । राहे देव कृपा करी ॥१॥
ऐसें तंव पुण्य नाहीं । पाहातां माझे गांठी कांहीं ॥ध्रु.॥
भय निवारिता कोण वेगळा अनंता ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे वारे भोग । वारी तरी पांडुरंग ॥३॥
Literal translation
Yēṇē jāṇē tarī — the coming and going (samsāra) — that — rāhē Deva krpā karī — stops, if Deva does compassion. Aisē tanva puṇya nāhīm — there is no suchpuṇya;pāhātām mājhe gāṭhī kāmhī—looking at my pouch — nothing.Bhaya nivāritā kōṇa vēgaḷā Anantā—who is separate-from-Ananta to remove the bhaya (fear)?Tukā says:vārē bhōga — vārī tari Pāṇḍuranga—the wind of bhōga — only Pāṇḍuranga fans it away.
What it means
A short humble-petition verse. Yēṇē jāṇē tarī — rāhē Deva krpā karī — the coming-and-going (of samsāra) only stops if Deva does compassion. The yēṇē-jāṇē (coming-going) is the samsāra-cycle; rāhē (stops, stays-still) only by krpā (compassion). Not by self-effort, not by accumulated-merit.
The dhrūpada: aisē tanva puṇya nāhīm — pāhātām mājhe gāṭhī kāmhī — I don't have suchpuṇya; looking at my pouch — there is nothing. Gāṭhī (pouch, knot-bag) — the place where one stores accumulated-merit (or coins). The bhakta looks at his own gāṭhī and finds kāmhī (nothing). Honest disclaimer about the puṇya-balance.
The second verse offers a rhetorical-placement: bhaya nivāritā kōṇa vēgaḷā Anantā — who is separate-from-Ananta to remove fear? The structure of the question: to remove fear, who would even be separate from Ananta? Only the non-Ananta could be the source of fear, and the removal is from-within-Ananta. The bhakta doesn't have to look elsewhere.
The close: vārē bhōga — vārī tari Pāṇḍuranga — the wind ofbhōga(experience-pleasure) — only Pāṇḍuranga fans it away. Vārē-bhōga is a striking compound: the wind of bhōga — the bhōga-attractions blow like wind. Vārī (fan-away, dispel) — only Pāṇḍuranga can dispel the wind-of-bhōga. The wind itself cannot be stopped; the fanning-away removes it.
For someone today
A useful honest petition for the moment when you must say: I have nothing in my pouch. Coming and going stops only by Deva's compassion; I have no puṇya — my pouch is empty; who is even separate from Ananta, that could remove fear? Only Pāṇḍuranga fans away the wind of bhōga. The honest confession of an empty pouch is the petition; nothing else needs to be added. The wind of bhōga image is useful: the attractions blow like wind — you cannot stop them by gripping tight, but Pāṇḍuranga can fan them away.
मराठी: 'माझ्या गाठीत काहीच नाही' असं प्रामाणिकपणे म्हणण्याच्या क्षणासाठी ही एक उपयुक्त विनंती आहे. येणं-जाणं फक्त देवाच्या कृपेनेच थांबतं; माझ्याकडे पुण्य नाही — माझी गाठ रिकामी आहे; भीती दूर करायला अनंतापासून वेगळं असं तरी कोण आहे? फक्त पांडुरंगच भोगाचा वारा वारून टाकतो. रिकाम्या गाठीची ही प्रामाणिक कबुली हीच विनंती आहे; यापुढे काही जोडायची गरज नाही. 'भोगाचा वारा' ही प्रतिमा उपयुक्त आहे: आकर्षणं वाऱ्यासारखी वाहतात — त्यांना घट्ट पकडून थांबवता येत नाही, पण पांडुरंग त्यांना वारून टाकू शकतो.
Where this applies
- When you feel you have no reserve of good karma or achievement to justify asking for help
- When you're caught in an endless cycle of anxious striving and want it to finally stop
- When fear grips you and you don't know where to turn
- When you keep trying to resist temptation through sheer willpower and it isn't working