Abhanga 2815
When you're in real distress with everything else feeling empty, it's right to cry out urgently for God's compassion instead of waiting patiently.
The verse
अगा करुणाकरा करितसें धांवा । या मज सोडवा लवकरि ॥१॥
ऐकोनियां माझीं करुणेचीं वचनें । व्हावें नारायणें उतावीळ ॥ध्रु.॥
मागें पुढें अवघा दिसे रिता ठाव । ठेवूनि पायीं भाव वाट पाहें ॥२॥
उशीर तो आतां न पाहिजे केला । अहो जी विठ्ठला मायबापा ॥३॥
उरलें तें एक हें चि मज आतां । अवघें विचारितां शून्य जालें ॥४॥
तुका म्हणे आतां करीं कृपादान । पाउलें समान दावीं डोळां ॥५॥
Literal translation
Agā Karuṇākarā — karitase dhāmvā — O Karuṇākara (Compassion-doer) — I am doingdhāmvā(running-cry, urgent-call); yā maja soḍavā lavakari — release me quickly. Aikōnīyām mājhīm karuṇēñcī vachane — hearing mykaruṇā-vachana(compassion-words); vhāve Nārāyaṇē utāvīḷa — Nārāyaṇa must becomeutāvīḷa(eager-hasty). Māge puḍhe avaghā dise ritā ṭhāva — backward, forward — all appears asritā ṭhāva(empty place); ṭhevūnī pāyī bhāva vāṭa pāhe — placing bhāva at the feet, (I) watch the path. Uśīra tō ātām na pāhije kelā — delay should not be made now; ahō jī Viṭhṭhalā māyabāpā — O Viṭhṭhala, mother-father. Uralē te ek hē chi maja ātām — for me now, there isuralē(remaining) only thiseka(one); avaghē vichāritām śūnya jāle — examining all (else) — (it) has becomeśūnya(zero, void). Tukā says: karīm krpā-dāna — pāule samāna dāvīm ḍoḷām — makekrpā-dāna(compassion-gift) — show thepāule samāna(equal-feet) to (my) eye.
What it means
A 5-verse urgent-petition-prayer. Agā Karuṇākarā — karitase dhāmvā — yā maja soḍavā lavakari — O Karuṇākara — I am doing the dhāmvā — release me quickly. The petition is urgent: yā maja soḍavā lavakari — release me quickly. Dhāmvā — the running-cry of one-in-distress.
The dhrūpada: aikōnīyām mājhīm karuṇēñcī vachane — vhāve Nārāyaṇē utāvīḷa — hearing my karuṇā-words, Nārāyaṇa must become utāvīḷa (eager-hasty). The covenant-claim: if you hear my karuṇā-words, you must hurry.
The second verse describes the bhakta's-state: māge puḍhe avaghā dise ritā ṭhāva — ṭhevūnī pāyī bhāva vāṭa pāhe — backward-and-forward, all appears empty; placing bhāva at the feet, I watch the path. The empty-everywhere state — and the path-watching at the feet.
The third verse: uśīra tō ātām na pāhije kelā — ahō jī Viṭhṭhalā māyabāpā — delay should not be made now — O Viṭhṭhala, mother-father.
The fourth verse names the concentration: uralē te ek hē chi maja ātām — avaghē vichāritām śūnya jāle — for me now, there is one thing remaining; examining all else — it has become śūnya. The bhakta has-concentrated-to-one-thing; all-else has become zero.
The close: karīm krpā-dāna — pāule samāna dāvīm ḍoḷām — make compassion-gift — show the equal-feet to (my) eye. Pāule samāna — the two-feet-paired — the kaṭi-vara-kara Viṭhṭhala-iconography with two-feet-on-the-brick. Show this to the eye.
For someone today
This is an urgent, pleading prayer. Tukaram calls out to the compassionate one, begging to be freed quickly, and insists that once God hears these words of distress, God must hurry to respond. He describes his own state: looking backward and forward, everything feels empty, and all he has left is his faith planted at God's feet, watching the path. He pleads for no more delay, addressing Vitthala as his own mother and father. Only one thing remains for him now, he says, everything else, when he examines it, has come to nothing. He ends by asking for the gift of compassion, and for his eyes to actually see God's twin feet before him. The lesson here is that when you are in real distress, with everything else feeling empty, it is right to cry out urgently for help instead of waiting patiently.
मराठी: ही एक व्याकुळ, आर्जवी प्रार्थना आहे. तुकाराम करुणाकराला हाक मारतात, लवकर सोडवण्याची विनवणी करतात, आणि ठामपणे सांगतात की माझे हे दुःखाचे शब्द ऐकल्यावर देवाने त्वरा करावीच लागेल. आपली स्वतःची अवस्था ते सांगतात — मागे पुढे पाहता सगळे रिकामे वाटते, आणि फक्त देवाच्या चरणी ठेवलेला भाव एवढाच आधार उरला आहे, वाट पाहत बसणे तेवढेच शिल्लक आहे. आता आणखी विलंब करू नकोस अशी विनंती ते विठ्ठलाला, आपल्या मायबापाला करतात. आता माझ्यासाठी एकच गोष्ट उरली आहे, बाकी सगळे पडताळून पाहिले असता शून्य ठरले आहे, असे ते सांगतात. शेवटी ते कृपादान मागतात, आणि आपल्या डोळ्यांना देवाची दोन्ही समान पावले प्रत्यक्ष दिसावीत अशी इच्छा व्यक्त करतात. यातून हेच शिकायला मिळते की जेव्हा खरी विवंचना असते आणि बाकी सगळे रिकामे वाटते, तेव्हा शांतपणे वाट पाहण्याऐवजी आर्ततेने हाक मारणे योग्यच असते.
Where this applies
- When you're in real distress and calling out for help, needing it now, not eventually
- When everything around you feels empty or meaningless and you're holding on to one hope
- When you feel you've examined every other option in life and found none of them satisfying
- When you want permission to pray with urgency instead of quiet patience