Abhanga 2810
The verse
उंचनिंच नेणे कांहीं भगवंत । तिष्ठे भाव भक्त देखोनियां ॥१॥
दासीपुत्र कण्या विदुराच्या भक्षी । दैत्या घरीं रक्षी प्रल्हादासी ॥ध्रु.॥
चर्म रंगूं लागे रोहिदासा संगीं । कबिराचे मागीं विणी शेले ॥२॥
सजनकसाया विकुं लागे मास । मळा सांवत्यास खुरपूं लागे ॥३॥
नरहरिसोनारा घडों फुंकू लागे । चोख्यामेर्या संगें ढोरें ओढी ॥४॥
नामयाची जनी सवें वेची शेणी । धर्मा घरीं पाणी वाहे झाडी ॥५॥
नाम्यासवें जेवी नव्हे संकोचित । ज्ञानियाची भिंत अंगीं ओढी ॥६॥
अर्जुनाचीं घोडीं हाकी हा सारथी । भक्षी पोहे प्रीती सुदाम्याची ॥७॥
गौळियांचे घरीं गाईं अंगें वळी । द्वारपाळ बळीद्वारीं जाला ॥८॥
यंकोबाचें ॠण फेडी हृषीकेशी । आंबॠषीचे सोशी गर्भवास ॥९॥
मिराबाईं साटीं घेतो विषप्याला । दामाजीचा जाला पाडेवार ॥१०॥
घडी माती वाहे गोर्या कुंभाराची । हुंडी महत्याची अंगें भरी ॥११॥
पुंडलिकासाटीं अझूनि तिष्ठत । तुका म्हणे मात धन्य याची ॥१२॥
Literal translation
Uñca-niñca neṇe kāmhī Bhagavanta — Bhagavanta knows no uñca-niñca (high-low) — anything; tiṣṭhe bhāva bhakta dekhōnīyām — (he) stands-and-watches, seeing bhāva-bhakta (devotion-of-the-bhakta).
Dāsī-putra kaṇyā Vidurāñcyā bhakṣī — the son-of-the-dāsī (Krṣṇa) ate Vidura's kaṇyā (broken-grains, leftovers); daityā gharī rakṣī Prahlādāsī — protected Prahlāda in the daitya (demon)'s house.
Charma rangūm lāge Rohidāsā sangī — began to dye the leather with Rohidāsa; Kabīrāce māgī viṇī śēle — on Kabīra's loom, wove śele (shawls).
Sajana-Kasāyā vikum lāge māsa — began to sell meat with Sajana-Kasāī (butcher-saint); maḷā Sāvatyāsa khurapūm lāge — began to weed the maḷā (garden) with Sāvatā (Māḷī).
Naraharī-Sōnārā ghaḍōm phunkūm lāge — began to ghaḍa (forge) and phunka (blow-bellows) with Naraharī-Sōnāra (goldsmith); Chokhyā-Mēryā sange ḍhōre ōḍhī — with Chokhā-Mehyā (Mahar-caste), pulled the cattle (ḍhōre).
Nāmayāñcī Janī save vechī śēṇī — with Nāmadeva's Janī, spent the śēṇī (dung-cake); Dharmā gharī pāṇī vāhē jhāḍī — in Dharma's house, carried water, swept.
Nāmyā-save jevī navhe sankochita — ate with Nāmadeva without sankocha (modesty-shrinking); Jñānīyāñcī bhinta angī ōḍhī — pulled Jñāneśvara's wall with (own) body.
Arjunāñcīm ghōḍī hākī hā sārathī — drove Arjuna's horses as this sārathi (charioteer); bhakṣī pōhe prīti Sudāmyāñcī — ate Sudāmā's pōhe (poha-rice) with prīti**.
Gauḷiyāñce gharī gāī ange vaḷī — in the gopa's house, tended cows with (his) body; dvāra-pāḷa Balī-dvārī jālā — became the dvāra-pāḷa (doorkeeper) at Bali's door.
Yankōbāce rṇa fēḍī Hrṣīkēśī — paid Yankōbā's rṇa (debt) as Hrṣīkēśī; Āmbrṣīce sōśī garbha-vāsa — endured Ambrṣi's garbha-vāsa (gestation in the womb).
Mīrābāī sāṭī ghētō viṣa-pyālā — took the poison-cup in Mīrābāī's place; Dāmājīcā jālā pāḍevāra — became Damājī's pāḍevāra (cosignatory).
Ghaḍī mātī vāhe Gōryā Kumbhārāñcī — carried the clay (mātī) of Gōrā-Kumbhāra (the potter); huṇḍī Mahatyāñcī ange bharī — filled Mahatya's huṇḍī (promissory-note) with (own) body.
Puṇḍalikā-sāṭī ajhūnī tiṣṭhata — for Puṇḍalika's sake — still (today) standing; Tukā says: māta dhanya yāñcī — blessed is this māta (narrative, talk).
What it means
This is one of Tukārām's most-celebrated abhangs — the canonical 12-verse Hari-personally-helped-each-saint enumeration. Each verse pairs one or two saints with the specific physical-help the Lord gave them.
The opening claim (uñca-niñca neṇe Bhagavanta — tiṣṭhe bhāva bhakta dekhōnīyām) establishes the egalitarian-foundation: the Lord knows no high-low; he stands-and-watches when he sees a bhakta's bhāva. The 12 verses are historical-proofs of this claim.
The diverse saints-list spans: - Mahābhārata figures: Vidura, Prahlāda, Arjuna, Sudāmā, Bali - North Indian sants: Rohidāsa (chamāra), Kabīra (weaver) - Vārkarī Marathi sants: Sajana-Kasāī (butcher), Sāvatā-Māḷī (gardener), Naraharī-Sōnāra (goldsmith), Chokhā-Mehyā (Mahar), Nāmadeva, Janī (Nāmadeva's maidservant), Jñāneśvara, Damājī, Gōrā-Kumbhāra (potter), Mahatya, Puṇḍalika - Female-bhaktas: Janī, Mīrābāī - Other: Yankōbā, Ambrṣi, Dharma (lokika-perhaps Dharma-rāja)
The specific-physical-helps name the intimate-companion role the Lord plays: - Eating leftovers (Vidura's broken-grains) - Protection (Prahlāda in daitya-house) - Dyeing-leather (with Rohidāsa) - Weaving-shawls (on Kabīra's loom) - Selling-meat (with Sajana-Kasāī) - Weeding-garden (with Sāvatā) - Forging-gold (with Naraharī) - Pulling-cattle (with Chokhā) - Spending-dung-cakes (with Janī) - Carrying-water, sweeping (in Dharma's house) - Eating-without-modesty (with Nāmadeva) - Pulling-the-wall (Jñāneśvara's famous wall-riding story) - Driving-chariot (Arjuna) - Eating-poha (Sudāmā) - Tending-cows (gopa-women) - Doorkeeping (Bali's dvāra) - Paying-debt (Yankōbā) - Garbha-vāsa (Ambrṣi's curse) - Drinking-poison (Mīrābāī) - Becoming-cosignatory (Damājī) - Carrying-clay (Gōrā) - Filling-promissory-note (Mahatya) - Still standing for Puṇḍalika — the present-tense closing!
The closing line — Puṇḍalikā-sāṭī ajhūnī tiṣṭhata — for Puṇḍalika's sake, (he is) still standing — connects the historical-list to the present-Pandhari-darśana. The Lord-on-the-brick at Pandhari is still standing for the bhakta.
For someone today
The verse is sung in Vārkarī kīrtans as a recitation-of-help-stories. Each pair (bhakta-and-help) is a mini-story-cell. The teaching: the Lord does intimate physical-work alongside each bhakta — not abstract-spiritual-help, but specific-physical-companionship. The bhakti-claim is radical: the Lord enters-into-the-labor-of-the-bhakta, regardless of caste, occupation, gender, or status. The closing-present-tense — for Puṇḍalika, still standing — brings the historical-stories into the now: the same Lord is still-here, still-helping.
Where this applies
- The canonical Tukārām saints-pantheon enumeration
- Recognizing the Hari-personally-helps-the-bhakta in each story
- The uñca-niñca-neṇe-Bhagavanta egalitarian foundation
- The diverse-saints-list spanning caste, occupation, gender, time
- The closing-present-tense: for Puṇḍalika, still standing