Abhanga 2757
The verse is one of the most-recited Vārkarī sant-bhakti prayers, daily-celebrated. Hari-bhaktas are my dearest kinsmen; I hold their feet in my heart; at death they come to release me — I give them my head to sit on; besides Vaiṣṇavas, I have no other kinsman-friend; embrace + foot-holding destroys samsāra-struggle; tulasī-māḷā-wearers + Name-keepers are my bhava-river-savers; I clasp their feet — I have no concern for vaikuṇṭha; even those who sing the Name with effort, show, or bhāva — are my companions in the other-world; for their well-being, I give my body-voice-mind — no concern for living; those who cause me to say the Name produce fullness-of-happiness; bound by their upakāra, I came for refuge to the sants.
The verse
हरिभक्त माझे जिवलग सोइरे । हृदयीं पाउले धरिन त्यांचे ॥१॥
अंतकाळीं येती माझ्या सोडवणे । मस्तक बैसणें देइन त्यांसी ॥ध्रु.॥
आणिक सोइरे सज्जन वो कोणी । वैष्णवांवांचोनि नाहीं मज ॥२॥
देइन आळिंगण धरीन चरण । संवसारसीण नासे तेणें ॥३॥
कंठीं तुळशीमाळा नामाचे धारक । ते माझे तारक भवनदीचे ॥४॥
तयांचे चरणीं घालीन मी मिठी । चाड हे वैकुंठीं नाहीं मज ॥५॥
अळसें दंभें भावें हरिचें नाम गाती । ते माझे सांगाती परलोकींचे ॥६॥
कायावाचामनें देइन क्षेम त्यासी । चाड जीवित्वासी नाहीं मज ॥७॥
हरिचें नाम मज म्हणविती कोणी । तया सुखा धणी धणी वरी ॥८॥
तुका म्हणे तया उपकारें बांधलों । म्हणऊनि आलों शरण संतां ॥९॥
Literal translation
Hari-bhakta māze jīvalaga sōyarē — Hari-bhaktas are my jīvalaga-sōyarē (dearest-kinsmen); hrdayīm pā'ule dharīna tyāñce — I will hold their pā'ule (feet-steps) in (my) heart. Antakāḷīm yētī mājhyā soḍavaṇē — at antakāḷa (end-time), they come for my soḍavaṇa (release); mastaka baisaṇē dē'īna tyāmsī — I will give them my head to sit on (mastaka-baisaṇē). Āṇika sōyarē sajjana vō kōṇī — other kinsmen-and-friends, who?; Vaiṣṇavām-vāmchōnī nāhī maja — besides Vaiṣṇavas, I have none. Dē'īna ālingaṇa dharīna charaṇa — I will give ālingaṇa (embrace), hold (their) feet; samvasāra-sīṇa nāsē tēṇē — samsāra-struggle is destroyed by that. Kaṇṭhīm tuḷasī-māḷā nāmāñce dhāraka — those wearing tuḷasī-māḷā (tulasī-rosary) in the neck, nāma-dhāraka (Name-keepers); tē māze tāraka bhava-nadīñce — they are my tāraka (savers, crossers) of the bhava-nadī (existence-river). Tayāñce charaṇī ghālīna mī miṭhī — I will clasp their feet; chāḍa hē vaikuṇṭhīm nāhī maja — I have no chāḍa (concern, desire) for vaikuṇṭha. Aḷasē dambhē bhāvē Harīñce nāma gātī — (those who, whether) by aḷasa (laziness/effort), by dambha (show), by bhāva — sing Hari's Name; tē māze sāngātī para-lōkīñce — they are my sāngātī (companions) in para-loka (other-world). Kāyā-vāchā-manē dē'īna kṣēma tyāsī — body-voice-mind, I will give kṣēma (well-being) to them; chāḍa jīvitvāsī nāhī maja — I have no concern for jīvitva (living). Harīñce nāma maja mhaṇavitī kōṇī — those who mhaṇavitī (cause me to say) Hari's Name; tayā sukhā dhaṇī dhaṇī varī — the fullness-of-happiness flows varī (upward, abundantly). Tukā says: tayā upakārē bāndhalōm — bound by their upakāra (favor, benefit); mhaṇa'ūnī ālōm śaraṇa santām — therefore I came for refuge to the sants.
What it means
This 9-verse abhang is one of Tukārām's most-recited sant-bhakti prayers — a celebration of Hari-bhaktas as one's true-kinsmen. The structure is built around nine canonical-claims.
The opening claim — Hari-bhakta māze jīvalaga sōyarē — hrdayīm pā'ule dharīna tyāñce — Hari-bhaktas are my dearest kinsmen — I will hold their feet in my heart. Jīvalaga-sōyarē — dearest, life-attached kinsmen — the most-intimate kinship-word. The feet are held in the heart, not just touched-with-the-hand.
The antakāḷa-claim — antakāḷīm yētī mājhyā soḍavaṇē — mastaka baisaṇē dē'īna tyāmsī — at the end-time they come for my release; I will give them my head to sit on. The Hari-bhaktas have the antakāḷa (death-time) function: they come to soḍavaṇa (release) the bhakta from samsāra-bondage. In gratitude, the bhakta offers his mastaka (head) for them to sit-on — the most-extreme respect-gesture.
The exclusivity-claim — āṇika sōyarē sajjana vō kōṇī — Vaiṣṇavām-vāmchōnī nāhī maja — other kinsmen-and-friends, who? Besides Vaiṣṇavas, I have none. The Hari-bhaktas are the only kinsmen-and-friends; no others matter.
The mechanism — dē'īna ālingaṇa dharīna charaṇa — samvasāra-sīṇa nāsē tēṇē — I will give embrace, hold the feet — samsāra-struggle is destroyed by that. Ālingaṇa (embrace) and charaṇa-dharaṇa (foot-holding) — these two acts destroy samsāra-struggle. The mechanism is specified.
The operational-markers — kaṇṭhīm tuḷasī-māḷā nāmāñce dhāraka — tē māze tāraka bhava-nadīñce — those wearing tulasī-rosary, Name-keepers — they are my bhava-river-savers. Two visible-markers identify the real Vaiṣṇava: tuḷasī-māḷā (the tulasī-bead-necklace) and Nāma-dhāraka (Name-keeping). These are tāraka (savers) of the bhava-nadī (existence-river).
The vaikuṇṭha-rejection — tayāñce charaṇī ghālīna mī miṭhī — chāḍa hē vaikuṇṭhīm nāhī maja — I will clasp their feet — I have no concern for vaikuṇṭha. The radical Vārkarī-position: sants' feet are preferred over vaikuṇṭha. (Compare 2624's what mokṣa, my entanglement is in your darśana.)
The generous-inclusion — aḷasē dambhē bhāvē Harīñce nāma gātī — tē māze sāngātī para-lōkīñce — those who sing Hari's Name with effort, with show, with bhāva — are my companions in the other-world. The generosity is striking: even those who sing with dambha (ostentation, show) — they too are companions. The Name-singing itself qualifies, regardless of the motivation. This is one of Tukārām's most-inclusive lines.
The sacrifice — kāyā-vāchā-manē dē'īna kṣēma tyāsī — chāḍa jīvitvāsī nāhī maja — body-voice-mind, I will give them well-being; I have no concern for living. The complete-offering: even living (jīvitva) is offered for the well-being (kṣēma) of the Hari-bhaktas.
The fullness — Harīñce nāma maja mhaṇavitī kōṇī — tayā sukhā dhaṇī dhaṇī varī — those who cause me to say Hari's Name — the fullness-of-happiness flows abundantly. The special-recognition: those who make-you-say the Name are the conduits of sukha-dhaṇī (fullness-of-happiness, satiety).
The seal — tayā upakārē bāndhalōm — mhaṇa'ūnī ālōm śaraṇa santām — bound by their upakāra, therefore I came for refuge to the sants. The closing-recognition: the bhakta is upakāra-bāndhalōm (bound-by-favor) — and therefore came for refuge to the sants. The gratitude is the source-of-the-refuge.
For someone today
The verse is one of the most-recited Vārkarī sant-bhakti prayers, daily-celebrated. Hari-bhaktas are my dearest kinsmen; I hold their feet in my heart; at death they come to release me — I give them my head to sit on; besides Vaiṣṇavas, I have no other kinsman-friend; embrace + foot-holding destroys samsāra-struggle; tulasī-māḷā-wearers + Name-keepers are my bhava-river-savers; I clasp their feet — I have no concern for vaikuṇṭha; even those who sing the Name with effort, show, or bhāva — are my companions in the other-world; for their well-being, I give my body-voice-mind — no concern for living; those who cause me to say the Name produce fullness-of-happiness; bound by their upakāra, I came for refuge to the sants.
The most-radical claim: sants' feet are preferred over vaikuṇṭha. The most-generous claim: even those who sing the Name with dambha (show) are companions. The most-grateful claim: upakāra-bound, I came to sants.
Where this applies
- One of the most-recited Vārkarī sant-bhakti daily-prayers
- The Hari-bhakta-jīvalaga-sōyarē canonical kinship-claim
- The no-vaikuṇṭha-concern-only-their-feet preference
- The tulasī-māḷā + Name-keeping = bhava-river-saver operational-marker
- The radical body-voice-mind-for-their-well-being sacrifice