Abhanga 2787
Angīkāra jyāñcā kelā Nārāyaṇē — those whom Nārāyaṇa has accepted; nindya tē hi tēṇē vandya kelē — the nindya (condemnable) ones — even those he has made vandya (honorable).
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 — the nindya (condemnable) ones — even those he has made vandya (honorable). Ajāmīḷa bhillī tārīlī kuṇṭanī — Ajāmīḷa, Bhillī (was) saved (tārīlī), Kuṇṭanī; pratyakṣa purāṇī vandya kelī — (she was) made vandya (honorable) directly in the purāṇas. Brahma-hatyā-rāśī pātakē apāra — brahma-killing-heaps, countless sins (of his); Vālmīka kinkara vandya kelā — Vālmīka the kinkara (servant) was made vandya. Tukā says: yēthē bhajana pramāṇa — here, bhajana is the pramāṇa (measure, authority); kāya thōrapaṇa jāḷāvē tē — what use is thōrapaṇa (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 bhakti-democratization-by-redemption texts. 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.
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