Abhanga 2742
You do not need to hide your flaws or shame before turning to God, you can come exactly as you are and trust his promise to be a refuge for the lowly and the fallen.
The verse
याती हीन मति हीन कर्म हीन माझें । सांडोनियां सर्व लज्जा शरण आलों तुज ॥१॥
येई गा तूं मायबापा पंढरीच्या राया । तुजविण सीण जाला क्षीण जाली काया ॥ध्रु.॥
दिनानाथ दीनबंधू नाम तुज साजे । पतितपावन नाम ऐसी ब्रीदावळी गाजे॥२॥
विटेवरि वीट उभा कटावरी कर । तुका म्हणे हें चि आम्हां ध्यान निरंतर ॥३॥
Literal translation
Yātī hīna mati hīna karma hīna mājhē — lowly is myyātī(caste, lineage); lowly is mymati(mind, intellect); lowly is mykarma(action, deed) — mine. Sāṇḍōniyām sarva lajjā śaraṇa ālōm tuja — abandoning alllajjā(shame), I have come for refuge to you. Yēī gā tūm māyabāpā Paṇḍharīñcyā rāyā — come, mother-father, king of Paṇḍharī; tujavīṇa sīṇa jālā kṣīṇa jālī kāyā — without you,sīṇa(struggle) has come; the body has becomekṣīṇa(wasted, depleted). Dīna-nātha dīna-bandhu nāma tuja sāje — the namesDīna-nātha(Lord-of-the-destitute),Dīna-bandhu(Kinsman-of-the-destitute) befit you; patita-pāvana nāma aisī brīdāvaḷī gāje — the namepatita-pāvana(Savior-of-the-fallen) — suchbrīdāvaḷī(banner-of-vow) thunders. Viṭēvarī viṭa ubhā kaṭāvari kara — standing on theviṭa(brick), hand on thekaṭa(hip/waist); Tukā says: hē chi āmhām dhyāna nirantara — this is ournirantara(constant, unbroken)dhyāna.
What it means
This is one of Tukārām's most-recited canonical-prayers, daily-recited across Maharashtra. Each verse is densely-packed.
The opening — yātī hīna mati hīna karma hīna mājhē — sāṇḍōniyām sarva lajjā śaraṇa ālōm tuja — lowly-caste, lowly-mind, lowly-karma is mine; abandoning all shame, I have come for refuge to you. The triple-claim of hīna (low, deficient) covers every relevant dimension: jātī (caste, lineage), mati (mind, intellect), karma (deeds). No aspect of the person makes any claim. Sāṇḍōniyām sarva lajjā — abandoning all shame — is the move-of-refuge: the bhakta will not pretend; he comes-as-he-is.
The dhrūpada — yēī gā tūm māyabāpā Paṇḍharīñcyā rāyā — tujavīṇa sīṇa jālā kṣīṇa jālī kāyā — come, mother-father, king of Paṇḍharī — without you, struggle has come, the body has wasted. The petition: come. The address: mother-father, king of Paṇḍharī. The justification: without you, sīṇa (struggle) has come; the body has become kṣīṇa (wasted). The dependency is named without disguise.
The third verse — dīna-nātha dīna-bandhu nāma tuja sāje — patita-pāvana nāma aisī brīdāvaḷī gāje — the namesDīna-nātha(Lord-of-the-destitute),Dīna-bandhu(Kinsman-of-the-destitute) befit you; the namepatita-pāvana(Savior-of-the-fallen) — suchbrīdāvaḷī(banner-of-vow) thunders. The bhakta names the Lord's titles. Sāje (befits) — these names fit you. Brīdāvaḷī gāje — the banner-of-vow thunders — these titles are not gentle-suggestions; they are proclamations.
The close — viṭēvarī viṭa ubhā kaṭāvari kara — hē chi āmhām dhyāna nirantara — standing on the brick, hand on hip — this is our constant dhyāna. The iconographic-image: Viṭhṭhala at Paṇḍharī stands on the brick (the brick of Puṇḍalika, the viṭā) with hands resting on the hips (kaṭa-vara-kara — the famous Kaṭi-vara-kara mudra). Tukārām says: hē chi āmhām dhyāna nirantara — this is ournirantara(unbroken, constant) dhyāna. The image is the dhyāna.
For someone today
This verse is the canonical daily-recited Vārkarī destitution-refuge prayer. You can pray it exactly: lowly-caste, lowly-mind, lowly-karma is mine; abandoning all shame, I have come for refuge to you; come, mother-father, king of Paṇḍharī; without you, struggle has come and the body has wasted; your names — Dīna-nātha, Dīna-bandhu, Patita-pāvana — fit you and thunder; standing on the brick, hand on hip — this is our constant dhyāna. The honesty of triple-hīna + abandoning-all-shame is the prayer's force. You do not have to qualify; you come as-you-are. The verse permits-and-models this.
Where this applies
- Daily-recited Vārkarī destitution-refuge prayer
- The triple-hīna (caste-mind-karma) extreme-destitution petition
- Abandoning-all-shame as the prerequisite for genuine refuge
- The Viṭhṭhala-on-the-brick-hand-on-hip iconographic dhyāna