Abhanga 2810
God shows no favoritism by caste, trade, gender, or era, and personally works alongside every sincere devotee in their own everyday labor.
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 nouñca-niñca(high-low) — anything; tiṣṭhe bhāva bhakta dekhōnīyām — (he) stands-and-watches, seeingbhāva-bhakta(devotion-of-the-bhakta).
Dāsī-putra kaṇyā Vidurāñcyā bhakṣī — the son-of-the-dāsī (Krṣṇa) ate Vidura'skaṇyā(broken-grains, leftovers); daityā gharī rakṣī Prahlādāsī — protected Prahlāda in thedaitya(demon)'s house.
Charma rangūm lāge Rohidāsā sangī — began to dye the leather with Rohidāsa; Kabīrāce māgī viṇī śēle — on Kabīra's loom, woveśele(shawls).
Sajana-Kasāyā vikum lāge māsa — began to sell meat with Sajana-Kasāī (butcher-saint); maḷā Sāvatyāsa khurapūm lāge — began to weed themaḷā(garden) with Sāvatā (Māḷī).
Naraharī-Sōnārā ghaḍōm phunkūm lāge — began toghaḍa(forge) andphunka(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 theśēṇī(dung-cake); Dharmā gharī pāṇī vāhē jhāḍī — in Dharma's house, carried water, swept.
Nāmyā-save jevī navhe sankochita — ate with Nāmadeva withoutsankocha(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'spōhe(poha-rice) withprīti.
Gauḷiyāñce gharī gāī ange vaḷī — in the gopa's house, tended cows with (his) body; dvāra-pāḷa Balī-dvārī jālā — became thedvāra-pāḷa(doorkeeper) at Bali's door.
Yankōbāce rṇa fēḍī Hrṣīkēśī — paid Yankōbā'srṇa(debt) as Hrṣīkēśī; Āmbrṣīce sōśī garbha-vāsa — endured Ambrṣi'sgarbha-vāsa(gestation in the womb).
Mīrābāī sāṭī ghētō viṣa-pyālā — took the poison-cup in Mīrābāī's place; Dāmājīcā jālā pāḍevāra — became Damājī'spāḍevāra(cosignatory).
Ghaḍī mātī vāhe Gōryā Kumbhārāñcī — carried the clay (mātī) of Gōrā-Kumbhāra (the potter); huṇḍī Mahatyāñcī ange bharī — filled Mahatya'shuṇḍī(promissory-note) with (own) body.
Puṇḍalikā-sāṭī ajhūnī tiṣṭhata — for Puṇḍalika's sake — still (today) standing; Tukā says: māta dhanya yāñcī — blessed is thismāta(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
This is one of Tukaram's most beloved abhangs, sung in kirtans as a roll call of the times God personally helped his devotees. Each line pairs a saint with the ordinary physical work God did alongside them: dyeing leather with Rohidas, weaving on Kabir's loom, selling meat with the butcher-saint Sajana, weeding a garden with Savata, forging metal with Naraharisonar, herding cattle with Chokhamela, gathering dung-cakes with Namdev's servant Jani, carrying water and sweeping in Dharma's house, driving Arjuna's chariot, eating simple food with Sudama in genuine affection, tending cows among the cowherds, keeping watch at Bali's door, drinking poison in place of Mirabai, and carrying clay for the potter Gora. The point Tukaram makes is that God shows no favoritism based on caste, trade, gender, or era, and personally shares in the humble, everyday labor of every sincere devotee. The final line brings it into the present: God is still standing at Pandhari for Pundalik's sake, meaning this same help is here now, not only in old stories.
मराठी: हा तुकारामांच्या सर्वाधिक प्रिय अभंगांपैकी एक आहे, जो कीर्तनांत देवाने आपल्या भक्तांना वैयक्तिकरीत्या कशी मदत केली याची जंत्री म्हणून गायला जातो. प्रत्येक ओळीत एक संत आणि देवाने त्याच्यासोबत केलेले साधे शारीरिक काम यांची जोडी आहे — रोहिदासासोबत कातडे रंगवणे, कबिराच्या मागावर विणकाम करणे, सजन कसायासोबत मांस विकणे, सावत्यासोबत मळा खुरपणे, नरहरी सोनाराबरोबर घडवणे-फुंकणे, चोखामेळ्यासोबत ढोरे ओढणे, नामदेवांची जनी हिच्यासोबत गोवऱ्या वेचणे, धर्माच्या घरी पाणी वाहणे व झाडणे, अर्जुनाचा रथ हाकणे, सुदाम्याचे पोहे प्रेमाने खाणे, गवळ्यांच्या घरी गाई राखणे, बळीच्या दारी द्वारपाळ बनणे, मीराबाईऐवजी विषाचा प्याला पिणे, आणि कुंभार गोऱ्यासाठी माती वाहणे. तुकाराम यातून सांगतात की देव जात, व्यवसाय, लिंग किंवा काळ यांच्यात भेदभाव करत नाही, आणि प्रत्येक प्रामाणिक भक्ताच्या साध्या रोजच्या श्रमात प्रत्यक्ष सहभागी होतो. शेवटची ओळ हे सर्व वर्तमानात आणते — पुंडलिकासाठी देव आजही उभा आहे, म्हणजे ही मदत केवळ जुन्या कथांपुरती नसून आजही तितकीच खरी आहे.
Where this applies
- When you feel your caste, job, or social status makes you unworthy of grace
- When you do humble, everyday work and wonder if it can also be a form of devotion
- When you need reassurance that God's help is present and personal, not distant
- When you want proof that sincerity matters more than status in the eyes of God