Abhanga 2768
When you feel completely surrounded with no way out, hand over the whole tangled situation and simply trust to be protected in whatever way that protection comes.
The verse
मागें पुढें रीग न पुरे चि पाहातां । अवघा अवघीं वेष्टिलों ॥१॥
करितां न कळे कांहीं असतील गुण दोष । करीं होळी संचिताची ॥ध्रु.॥
करिती ताडातोडी ऐसी यांची खोडी । न चले माझें यास कांहीं ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे हरी राखे भलत्या परी । आम्ही तुझीं शरणागतें ॥३॥
Literal translation
Māgē puḍhē rīga na pure chi pāhātām — backward-forward, there's norīga(room/passage) to look; avaghā avaghīm veṣṭilōm — I am completely encircled by all. Karitām na kaḷē kāmhī asatīla guṇa-dōṣa — (I) don't know — there may beguṇa-dōṣa(qualities-faults); karīm hōḷī samchitāñcī — do thehōḷī(festival-fire-burning) of samchita-karma. Karitī tāḍātōḍī aisī yāñcī khōḍī — they dotāḍātōḍī(cutting-breaking) — such is theirkhōḍī(fault); na chale mājhe yāsa kāmhī — my (effort) does nothing for them. Tukā says: Hari rākhē bhalatyā parī — Hari preserves in whatever fashion; āmhī tujhīm śaraṇāgatē — we are your refuge-takers.
What it means
A short fully-encircled-surrender verse. Māgē puḍhē rīga na pure chi pāhātām — avaghā avaghīm veṣṭilōm — backward-forward, no room even to look — I am completely encircled by all. The image: encircled-by-enemies, no escape-direction available. Veṣṭilōm — wrapped, encircled.
The dhrūpada: karitām na kaḷē kāmhī asatīla guṇa-dōṣa — karīm hōḷī samchitāñcī — I don't know what guṇa-dōṣa there may be — do the holī of samchita. The bhakta-doesn't-know his own qualities-and-faults. He asks the Lord to do the holī (the festival-fire-burning) of samchita-karma (accumulated, not-yet-active karma). Holi — the spring-festival of bonfires — used as image: burn all of it in one fire.
The second verse names the external-attackers: karitī tāḍātōḍī aisī yāñcī khōḍī — na chale mājhe yāsa kāmhī — they do cutting-breaking — such is their fault; my (effort) does nothing for them. The tāḍātōḍī (cutting-breaking) — the attacks — are the encirclers' khōḍī (fault). The bhakta's effort doesn't work on them.
The close: Hari rākhē bhalatyā parī — āmhī tujhīm śaraṇāgatē — Hari preserves in whatever fashion — we are your refuge-takers. The full-surrender: preserve in any way you choose; the method is yours. The bhakta's only-claim: we are your refuge-takers.
For someone today
A useful full-surrender petition for the completely-encircled moment. Backward-forward there's no room; I am encircled by all. I don't know what guṇa-dōṣa may be in me — do the holī of samchita. They do cutting-breaking — such is their fault; my effort does nothing. Hari preserves in any fashion — we are your refuge-takers. The verse permits: (1) full-acknowledgment of being-encircled, no-escape-route; (2) full-acknowledgment of self-unknown-guṇa-dōṣa; (3) full-surrender of the method to the protector. The closing-claim — we are your refuge-takers — is the only-requirement.
Where this applies
- When you feel surrounded by problems on every side with no clear way out
- When you can't tell whether your own faults caused the trouble you're in, and the not-knowing wears you down
- When someone keeps attacking or undermining you and nothing you do seems to stop it
- When you're ready to stop trying to control the outcome and just ask for help however it comes