Abhanga 2787
No past disqualifies anyone from God's acceptance, only sincere devotion matters, so pride in one's own greatness or status is worth letting go of entirely.
The verse
अंगीकार ज्याचा केला नारायणें । निंद्य तें हि तेणें वंद्य केलें ॥१॥
अजामेळ भिल्ली तारीली कुंटणी । प्रत्यक्ष पुराणीं वंद्य केली ॥ध्रु.॥
ब्रम्हहत्याराशी पातकें अपार । वाल्मीक किंकर वंद्य केला ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे येथें भजन प्रमाण । काय थोरपण जाळावें तें ॥३॥
Literal translation
Angīkāra jyāñcā kelā Nārāyaṇē — those whom Nārāyaṇa has accepted; nindya tē hi tēṇē vandya kelē — thenindya(condemnable) ones — even those he has madevandya(honorable). Ajāmīḷa bhillī tārīlī kuṇṭanī — Ajāmīḷa, Bhillī (was) saved (tārīlī), Kuṇṭanī; pratyakṣa purāṇī vandya kelī — (she was) madevandya(honorable) directly in the purāṇas. Brahma-hatyā-rāśī pātakē apāra — brahma-killing-heaps, countless sins (of his); Vālmīka kinkara vandya kelā — Vālmīka thekinkara(servant) was madevandya. Tukā says: yēthē bhajana pramāṇa — here,bhajanais thepramāṇa(measure, authority); kāya thōrapaṇa jāḷāvē tē — what use isthōrapaṇa(greatness)? — burn it.
What it means
This abhang is one of the canonical Tukārām bhakti-redemption texts. It establishes that Nārāyaṇa's angīkāra (acceptance) can transform nindya (condemnable) into vandya (worshipable), citing four-classical purāṇic-redemption-examples.
The four redemption-examples:
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Ajāmīḷa (Bhāgavata 6.1-3): the brahmin who lived in sin for most of his life but at death called his son Nārāyaṇa (which was the son's name). The Lord interpreted the calling-of-the-name as devotion and redeemed him. Foundational Name-redemption story.
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Bhillī (Śabarī, in Rāmāyaṇa): the tribal Bhīl-woman who tasted-each-berry-before-giving-it-to-Rāma (to ensure sweetness for him). Her uncouth tribal-practices were transformed by her bhakti into acts of love that Rāma accepted. Caste-and-tribal-redemption example.
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Kuṇṭanī (likely Pingaḷā, Bhāgavata 11.8): the courtesan-procuress who, at a moment of disgust-with-her-trade, recognized God-as-the-only-true-lover and was redeemed. Occupation-of-shame redemption example.
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Vālmīka (Vālmīki): traditionally a brigand-killer before his transformation; the Rāmāyaṇa-poet. Brahma-hatyā (brahmin-killing, the highest-sin) and countless other sins in his past — yet he was made vandya kinkara (honorable-servant). The most-extreme redemption-example.
The close: yēthē bhajana pramāṇa — kāya thōrapaṇa jāḷāve tē — here, bhajana is the pramāṇa — what is the use of thōrapaṇa (greatness)? Burn it. The democratizing-claim: bhajana is the measure-of-authority; thōrapaṇa (status, greatness) is useless — burn it. The fire-imperative for greatness-and-status.
For someone today
This is one of Tukārām's most canonical texts on how bhakti democratizes through redemption. Those whom Nārāyaṇa accepted — the condemnable ones — he made honorable. Ajāmīḷa, Bhillī, Kuṇṭanī — saved. Brahma-killing heaps of sins — Vālmīka the servant was made honorable. Here bhajana is the pramāṇa — what is the use of greatness? Burn it. The four-example list covers: - Brahmin-fallen (Ajāmīḷa) - Tribal-marginalized (Bhillī) - Occupation-of-shame (Kuṇṭanī) - Caste-violating-killer (Vālmīka, brahma-killer)
Together they cover the full-spectrum of historically-condemned people who became vandya by Nārāyaṇa's-angīkāra. The democratizing-claim: no past disqualifies you; only present-bhajana qualifies.
मराठी: तुकारामांच्या भक्ती-मुक्तीद्वारे-लोकशाहीकरणाच्या कल्पनेवरचा हा एक अत्यंत प्रमाणभूत अभंग आहे. ज्यांना नारायणाने स्वीकारलं — त्या निंद्य व्यक्तींनाही त्याने वंद्य केलं. अजामेळ, भिल्ली, कुंटणी — या सर्वांचा उद्धार झाला. ब्रह्महत्येसारख्या अगणित पापांचा साठा असूनही वाल्मीकी सेवक वंद्य झाला. इथे भजन हेच खरं प्रमाण आहे — मोठेपणाचा काय उपयोग? ते जाळून टाका. या चार उदाहरणांची यादी अशी आहे: - ब्राह्मण-पतित (अजामेळ) - आदिवासी-उपेक्षित (भिल्ली) - लज्जास्पद-व्यवसायातली (कुंटणी) - जातिभेद-मोडणारा-मारेकरी (वाल्मीकी, ब्रह्महत्यारा)
एकत्रितपणे ही उदाहरणं ऐतिहासिकदृष्ट्या निंदित असलेल्या माणसांचा संपूर्ण पट दाखवतात, जे नारायणाच्या स्वीकारामुळे वंद्य ठरले. लोकशाहीकरणाचा दावा असा — भूतकाळ कुणालाही अपात्र ठरवत नाही; फक्त आत्ताचं भजनच पात्रता ठरवतं.
Where this applies
- The canonical bhakti-democratization-by-name-redemption text
- The four-fold proof-list: Ajāmīḷa, Bhillī, Kuṇṭanī, Vālmīka
- Bhajana-is-pramāṇa, burn-the-greatness democratic-claim
- The full-spectrum redemption-claim: no past disqualifies, only present-bhajana qualifies