Abhanga 2820
When you accomplish something beyond your own ability, remember you are the instrument, not the source, and the credit belongs to God working through you.
The verse
कासया जी ऐसा माझे माथां ठेवा । भार तुम्ही देवा संतजन ॥१॥
विचित्र विंदानी नानाकळा खेळ । नाचवी पुतळे नारायण ॥ध्रु.॥
काय वानरांची अंगींची ते शक्ति । उदका तरती वरी शिळा ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे करी निमित्य चि आड । चेष्टवूनि जड दावी पुढें ॥३॥
Literal translation
Kāsayā jī aisā mājhe māthām ṭhevā — why, sir, (do you) place such (a burden) on my head; bhāra tumhī Devā santa-jana — the burden, you, Deva (and) sant-people. Vichitra vindānī nānā-kaḷā khēḷa — thevichitra vindānī(wonder-player), of various-arts (nānā-kaḷā) plays; nāchavī putale Nārāyaṇa — Nārāyaṇa makes theputale(puppets, dolls) dance. Kāya vānarāñcī angīñcī te śakti — what (was) the strength (śakti) in the bodies of thevānara(monkeys)?; udakā taratī varī śiḷā — theśiḷā(stones) floated on theudaka(water). Tukā says: karī nimitta chi āḍa — (he) makes (use of) thenimitta(instrumental-cause) as (just a)āḍa(screen); cheṣṭavūnī jaḍa dāvī puḍhe — making thejaḍa(dull, heavy) perform (cheṣṭavūnī), (he) shows (it) ahead.
What it means
A short authorship-disclaimer verse. Kāsayā jī aisā mājhe māthām ṭhevā — bhāra tumhī Devā santa-jana — why place this on my head — the burden, you, Deva and sant-people. The opening protest: don't put-the-credit on my head. The bhakta refuses authorship-of-his-own-poetry-or-bhakti.
The dhrūpada: vichitra vindānī nānā-kaḷā khēḷa — nāchavī putale Nārāyaṇa — Nārāyaṇa — the wonder-player of various arts — makes the puppets dance. Vindānī — the player, the show-maker. Putale (puppets, dolls) — we are the puppets; Nārāyaṇa is the show-maker.
The second verse offers the proof-image: kāya vānarāñcī angīñcī te śakti — udakā taratī varī śiḷā — what (was) the strength in the bodies of thevānara(monkeys)? — the stones floated on water. The reference: the Rāmāyaṇa episode where Rāma's monkey-army built a bridge to Lankā with floating-stones (the stones were-floated-by-being-marked-with-Rāma's-name). Was-it-the-monkeys'-own-strength? No — the Lord made the impossible happen.
The close: karī nimitta chi āḍa — cheṣṭavūnī jaḍa dāvī puḍhe — (he) uses the nimitta as a screen — making the dull perform, (he) shows (it) ahead. Nimitta (instrumental-cause, apparent-doer) — the bhakta is just the apparent-doer; the real-doer is the Lord behind-the-screen. Cheṣṭavūnī jaḍa dāvī puḍhe — making the dull-one (the bhakta) perform, (he) shows (the performance). (Compare 2807's mūḍhā jaḍā maja cheṣṭavile.)
For someone today
This verse is Tukaram's honest refusal to take credit. He asks the saints and God directly why they would put this weight of praise on his head, insisting the accomplishment belongs to them, not to him. He compares himself to a puppet, moved by Narayana, the great wonder-worker who plays out endless forms of art through his creations. He backs this up with a vivid image from the Ramayana: it was not the monkeys' own strength that made stones float on water to build the bridge to Lanka, it was God's power working through them. In the same way, Tukaram says, God uses him merely as an instrument, a screen, making an ordinary, dull person perform and putting the result on display. Whenever something extraordinary happens through you, this verse offers a way to stay humble, crediting the source rather than yourself.
मराठी: हा अभंग तुकारामांची स्वतःचे श्रेय नाकारण्याची प्रामाणिक कबुली आहे. संतांना आणि देवाला ते थेट विचारतात की माझ्या डोक्यावर हा भार का ठेवता, हे यश तुमचेच आहे, माझे नाही असे ते ठामपणे सांगतात. ते स्वतःला बाहुल्यासारखे मानतात, ज्याला नारायण, तो महान चमत्कार-कर्ता, नाना कलांचा खेळ मांडत नाचवतो. यासाठी ते रामायणातील एक ठळक उदाहरण देतात — लंकेला जाणारा सेतू बांधताना दगड पाण्यावर तरले, ते वानरांच्या स्वतःच्या शक्तीमुळे नव्हे, तर त्यांच्यामार्फत काम करणाऱ्या देवाच्या शक्तीमुळे. त्याचप्रमाणे, तुकाराम म्हणतात, देव मला केवळ एक साधन, एक पडदा म्हणून वापरतो, एका सामान्य, जड माणसाकडून काम करवून घेतो आणि तेच पुढे दाखवतो. जेव्हा तुमच्याकडून काहीतरी विलक्षण घडते, तेव्हा हा अभंग नम्र राहण्याचा मार्ग दाखवतो — त्याचे श्रेय स्वतःला न घेता मूळ स्रोताला द्यावे.
Where this applies
- When people praise you for an accomplishment that felt bigger than your own ability
- When you want to avoid taking too much personal credit for a gift or success
- When you feel like an ordinary, unremarkable person yet something extraordinary happens through you
- When you need a way to stay humble instead of believing your own hype