Abhanga 2777
One true sight of the divine at Pandharpur gathers up every pilgrimage, dissolves old sins, and fulfills the very purpose of being born.
The verse
अवघीं च तीथॉ घडलीं एकवेळा । चंद्रभागा डोळां देखिलिया ॥१॥
अवघीं च पापें गेलीं दिगांतरीं । वैकुंठ पंढरी देखिलिया ॥ध्रु.॥
अवघिया संतां एकवेळा भेटी । पुंडलीक दृष्टी देखिलिया ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे जन्मा आल्याचें सार्थक । विठ्ठल चि एक देखिलिया ॥३॥
Literal translation
Avaghīm chi tīrthē ghaḍalīm ekaveḷā — all tīrthas happenekaveḷā(at-one-time); Chandrabhāgā ḍoḷām dekhiliyā — when Chandrabhāgā is seen with the eyes. Avaghīm chi pāpē gēlīm digāntarīm — all the pāpas (sins) have gone todigāntara(other-direction); Vaikuṇṭha Paṇḍharī dekhiliyā — when Vaikuṇṭha-Paṇḍharī is seen. Avaghiyā santā ekaveḷā bheṭī — all the sants are met at-one-time; Puṇḍalika drṣṭi dekhiliyā — when Puṇḍalika is seen by sight. Tukā says: janmā ālyāñce sārthaka — thesārthaka(fulfillment-of-purpose) of having come-to-birth; Viṭhṭhala chi eka dekhiliyā — when Viṭhṭhala alone has been seen.
What it means
This 4-verse abhang is one of the most-recited foundational Vārkarī Pandhari-darśana texts. It establishes the sufficient-pilgrimage claim — that the Pandhari-darśana converges all pilgrim-fruits.
Verse 1: Avaghīm chi tīrthē ghaḍalīm ekaveḷā — Chandrabhāgā ḍoḷām dekhiliyā — all tīrthas happen at-one-time — when Chandrabhāgā is seen with the eyes. The Chandrabhāgā (the river at Pandhari, the Bhīmā river named Chandrabhāgā because of its moon-crescent shape) is identified as all-tīrthas-at-once. The bhakta who sees Chandrabhāgā has done all-other-tīrthas.
Verse 2: Avaghīm chi pāpē gēlīm digāntarīm — Vaikuṇṭha Paṇḍharī dekhiliyā — all sins have gone to the other-direction — when Vaikuṇṭha-Paṇḍharī is seen. Vaikuṇṭha-Paṇḍharī — Paṇḍharī IS vaikuṇṭha; the bhakta who sees it has all sins digāntarīm (in-the-other-direction, far-away). The sins flee in the opposite-direction.
Verse 3: Avaghiyā santā ekaveḷā bheṭī — Puṇḍalika drṣṭi dekhiliyā — all sants are met at-one-time — when Puṇḍalika is seen by sight. Puṇḍalika is the foundation-saint of Pandhari — the one whose-bhakti-to-his-parents drew Viṭhṭhala to stand on the brick (the foundational Pandhari-myth). Seeing Puṇḍalika = meeting all sants. Puṇḍalika is the gateway-sant.
Verse 4: Tukā mhaṇē janmā ālyāñce sārthaka — Viṭhṭhala chi eka dekhiliyā — Tukā: thesārthaka(purpose-fulfillment) of having come-to-birth — is when Viṭhṭhala alone has been seen. The climactic-claim: the purpose of being-born is Viṭhṭhala-darśana. Janmā-ālyāñce sārthaka — thesārthakaof birth — is a Vārkarī life-summary phrase. This is what life is for.
Structural progression: Chandrabhāgā (purification) → Vaikuṇṭha-Paṇḍharī (sins-flee) → Puṇḍalika (all-sants-met) → Viṭhṭhala-alone (birth's-purpose-fulfilled). Each verse is more-conclusive than the last.
For someone today
The verse is one of the most-recited Vārkarī Pandhari-darśana foundational-texts. All tīrthas happen at-one-time when Chandrabhāgā is seen with the eyes. All sins flee in the other-direction when Vaikuṇṭha-Paṇḍharī is seen. All sants are met at-one-time when Puṇḍalika is seen. The sārthaka of having come-to-birth — when Viṭhṭhala alone has been seen. The verse compresses the entire Vārkarī-yātrā-promise into 4 lines. The janmā-ālyāñce-sārthaka claim is its center: being-born has a purpose, and the purpose is Viṭhṭhala-darśana.
Where this applies
- The canonical sufficient-pilgrimage Vārkarī claim
- The Chandrabhāgā = all tīrthas geography-theology
- The Puṇḍalika = all sants gateway-sant claim
- The Viṭhṭhal-alone-seen = birth's-sārthaka life-summary phrase