Abhanga 2804
True devotion can hold blunt complaint and intimate affection together, calling God by a pet name while still accusing him of failing to act.
The verse
कां रे न पवसी धांवण्या । अंगराख्या नारायणा ॥१॥
अंगीं असोनियां बळ । होसी खट्याळ नाठाळ ॥ध्रु.॥
आम्हां नरकासी जातां । काय येइल तुझ्या हातां ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे कान्हा। क्रियानष्टा नारायणा ॥३॥
Literal translation
Kā re na pavasi dhāmvaṇyā — why don't youpavasi dhāmvaṇyā(come to the rescue); anga-rākhyā Nārāyaṇā — body-keeper, Nārāyaṇa. Angī asōnīyām baḷa — strength being in (your) body; hōsī khaṭyāḷa nāṭhāḷa — (you) becomekhaṭyāḷa(mischievous) andnāṭhāḷa(stubborn, immovable). Āmhām narakāsī jātām — us going to hell; kāya yēīla tujhyā hātām — what will come to your hand? Tukā says: Kānhā — kriyā-naṣṭā Nārāyaṇā — Kānhā —kriyā-naṣṭa(action-spoiled, defective-in-action) Nārāyaṇa.
What it means
A short candid-protest-with-sharp-accusation verse. Kā re na pavasi dhāmvaṇyā — anga-rākhyā Nārāyaṇā — why don't you come to the rescue — body-keeper Nārāyaṇa? The intimate kā re (hey, why); the addressing anga-rākhyā (body-keeper) is the Lord's-job-title that-Tukārām-is-invoking.
The dhrūpada: angī asōnīyām baḷa — hōsī khaṭyāḷa nāṭhāḷa — strength being in (your) body — you become mischievous and stubborn. The accusation: you have the strength; yet you become khaṭyāḷa (playfully-mischievous) and nāṭhāḷa (stubborn-immovable). Both words are slightly-affectionate-but-also-critical — like calling a parent naughty and stubborn.
The second verse offers a relational-honor-argument: āmhām narakāsī jātām — kāya yēīla tujhyā hātām — us going to hell — what will come to your hand? The argument: if I go to hell, what do YOU get out of it? The Lord's-reputation-and-honor are tied-to-the-bhakta's-fate (compare 2637's disōm dēsī kīvilavāṇē — tarī tuja chi hē uṇē).
The close is the sharpest: Kānhā — kriyā-naṣṭā Nārāyaṇā — Kānhā — kriyā-naṣṭa Nārāyaṇa. Kriyā-naṣṭa — one whose action is spoiled, one who fails-in-action. The intimate Kānhā (familiar Krṣṇa-name) followed by the harsh kriyā-naṣṭa — the close-relationship permits-the-accusation. Compare 2686's Viṭhṭhalā — hīna-śakti (weak-power Viṭṭhala). The bhāṇḍakū-prosecutor register.
For someone today
This verse shows what an honest, close relationship with God can look like, one strong enough to hold real complaint. Tukaram asks bluntly why God, who is supposed to protect him, is not stepping in to help, and accuses him of being playful and stubborn even though he clearly has the power to act. He makes a sharp relational argument too: if I end up ruined, what good does that do you? He closes by calling God by an affectionate pet name, Kanha, in the same breath as calling him a failure at his job. That mix of tenderness and blunt accusation is only possible because the relationship is strong enough to carry both.
मराठी: हा अभंग दाखवतो की देवाशी असलेले खरे, जवळचे नाते खरी तक्रारही सहन करू शकते. तुकाराम स्पष्टपणे विचारतात की माझे रक्षण करणारा तू, मदतीला का धावत नाहीस, आणि तुझ्यात शक्ती असूनही तू खोडकर आणि हट्टी का बनतोस असा आरोप करतात. ते एक तीक्ष्ण नातेसंबंधाचा युक्तिवादही मांडतात — मी नरकात गेलो तर त्यात तुला काय मिळणार? शेवटी ते देवाला 'कान्हा' या प्रेमळ टोपणनावाने हाक मारतात, आणि त्याच श्वासात त्याला कृतीत अपयशी ठरलेला असेही म्हणतात. हा जिव्हाळा आणि थेट आरोप यांचे मिश्रण तेव्हाच शक्य होते जेव्हा नाते हे दोन्ही पेलण्याइतके भक्कम असते.
Where this applies
- The candid-protest-prayer with sharp accusations
- Recognizing the relational-honor argument — my-fall reflects on your strength
- Kānhā + kriyā-naṣṭa — extreme-accusation in close relationship
- The bhāṇḍakū-prosecutor register (compare 2686 hīna-śakti)