Abhanga 2770
A useful covenant-claim protest. I have offered prāṇa — why the delay, master? Pay back my loan — don't carry the debt-burden. Throat-burst has happened — I have come very close. How does the seva seem well to Deva? The verse permits a covenant claim backed by explicit bookkeeping: I have given X; you owe Y; the delay is itself a burden. The bhakti-economy permits this kind of explicit accounting within the relationship.
The verse
प्राण समर्पिला आम्ही । आतां उशीर कां स्वामी ॥१॥
माझें फेडावें उसणें । भार न मना या ॠणें ॥ध्रु.॥
जाला कंठस्फोट। जवळी पातलों निकट ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे सेवा । कैसी बरी वाटे देवा ॥३॥
Literal translation
Prāṇa samarpilā āmhī — we have offered (samarpilā) the prāṇa; ātām uśīra kām svāmī — why the delay (uśīra) now, master? Mājhē fēḍāve usaṇē — pay-back (fēḍāve) myusaṇa(loan); bhāra na manā yā rṇē — don't bear in mind thebhāra(burden) of thisrṇa(debt). Jālā kaṇṭha-sphōṭa — kaṇṭha-sphōṭa (throat-burst) has happened; javaḷī pātalōm nikaṭa — I have arrived verynikaṭa(close). Tukā says: kaisī barī vāṭē Devā sevā — how does (the) seva seem to Deva — well?
What it means
A short combative-affectionate protest verse. Prāṇa samarpilā āmhī — ātām uśīra kām svāmī — we have offered the prāṇa — now why the delay, master? The covenant-claim: prāṇa-samarpaṇa (life-offering) has been done; therefore the uśīra (delay) is unjustified.
The dhrūpada: mājhē fēḍāve usaṇē — bhāra na manā yā rṇē — pay back my loan — don't keep in mind this debt-burden. Usaṇa (loan) and rṇa (debt) — the bhakti-economy is invoked: I have given you something; pay it back; don't carry the debt as burden in mind. The implication: continuing-to-delay is itself a bhāra (burden) the bhakta is letting the master carry.
The second verse: jālā kaṇṭha-sphōṭa — javaḷī pātalōm nikaṭa — the throat-burst has happened — I have come very close. Kaṇṭha-sphōṭa (throat-burst) — the extreme-shouting that bursts the throat. The bhakta has called-extremely; he has arrived very close. He is at the meeting-distance.
The close: kaisī barī vāṭē Devā sevā — how does the seva seem well to Deva? The wry-question: does this seva (my full-stakes-offering + throat-bursting) actually look-well to you? The implication: it must — so respond.
For someone today
A useful covenant-claim protest. I have offered prāṇa — why the delay, master? Pay back my loan — don't carry the debt-burden. Throat-burst has happened — I have come very close. How does the seva seem well to Deva? The verse permits a covenant claim backed by explicit bookkeeping: I have given X; you owe Y; the delay is itself a burden. The bhakti-economy permits this kind of explicit accounting within the relationship.
मराठी: एक उपयुक्त कराराचं आव्हान. मी प्राण अर्पण केला — आता उशीर का, स्वामी? माझं कर्ज फेड — या ऋणाचा भार मनात ठेवू नकोस. कंठ फुटलाय — मी अगदी जवळ पोहोचलो आहे. देवा, ही सेवा तुला खरंच बरी वाटते का? हा अभंग स्पष्ट हिशोब मांडणारा एक कराराचा दावा करतो — मी हे दिलं आहे, तू ते देणं लागतोस, आणि उशीर हाच एक भार आहे. भक्तीच्या या नात्यात असा स्पष्ट हिशोब मांडण्याला जागा आहे.
Where this applies
- When you feel you've given your whole heart to something and yet still feel met with silence
- When you're waiting on an answer or a sign and the wait itself feels unbearable
- When you want permission to be honest, even blunt, in prayer instead of always polished and patient
- When you've called out for help so hard you feel spent, and you're wondering if it counted