Abhanga 2821
Devotion is expressed through complete, unreserved service and humble surrender, offered as freely as a beloved child's affectionate familiarity.
The verse
पायां पडावें हें माझें भांडवल । सरती हे बोल कोठें पायीं ॥१॥
तरि हे सलगी कवतुक केलें । लडिवाळ धाकुलें असें बाळ ॥ध्रु.॥
काय उणें तुम्हां संताचिये घरीं । विदित या परी सकळ ही ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे माझें उचित हे सेवा । नये करूं ठेवाठेवी कांहीं ॥३॥
Literal translation
Pāyām paḍāve he mājhe bhāṇḍavala — falling at the feet — this is mybhāṇḍavala(capital, working-stock); saratī he bola kōṭhe pāyī — where these wordssaratī(are current, hold-validity) — at the feet. Tari he salagī kavataka kele — therefore I have donesalagī(familiarity-imposition) andkavataka(showing-off, attention-attracting); laḍivāḷa dhākule ase bāḷa — (I) am alaḍivāḷa-dhākule(spoiled-darling-small)bāḷa(child). Kāya uṇe tumhām santāñciye gharī — what isuṇe(lacking) in your sants' house?; vidita yā parī sakaḷa hī — (this is)vidita(known) in this manner, to all. Tukā says: mājhe uchita he sevā — myuchita(proper, fitting) is sevā; naye karūm ṭhevāṭhevī kāmhī — one should not doṭhevāṭhevī(keeping-back, withholding) anything.
What it means
A short petition verse. Pāyām paḍāve he mājhe bhāṇḍavala — saratī he bola kōṭhe pāyī — falling-at-the-feet is my capital; (these) wordssaratī(current, valid) only at the feet. The bhakta's bhāṇḍavala (working-capital) is pāyām paḍaṇē — falling at the feet. He has no other capital. His words saratī (have currency) only-at-the-feet.
The dhrūpada: tari he salagī kavataka kele — laḍivāḷa dhākule ase bāḷa — therefore I have done familiarity-and-showing-off; I am a spoiled-darling-small-child. The bhakta self-names as laḍivāḷa-dhākule bāḷa (compare 2752, 2620). The familiarity-and-showing-off is permitted because of his spoiled-darling-child status.
The second verse: kāya uṇe tumhām santāñciye gharī — what is lacking in your sants' house? The rhetorical-question: nothing is lacking there; the bhakta-knows-this.
The close: mājhe uchita he sevā — naye karūm ṭhevāṭhevī kāmhī — my fitting (work) is sevā — one should not do withholding-anything. The bhakta's-role is sevā; the discipline is no-ṭhevāṭhevī (no holding-back).
For someone today
This is a tender petition prayer. Tukaram says his only wealth is falling at God's feet, his words only truly count there. Because of this, he admits he has taken liberties and shown off a little, the way a spoiled, favorite young child does with a parent who dotes on them. He then asks a rhetorical question: what could possibly be lacking in the household of the saints? Nothing, he already knows. His fitting role, he concludes, is simply service, offered completely, without holding anything back. The lesson is that when you have nothing material to give, offering full, humble service and unguarded affection is itself complete.
मराठी: ही एक हळुवार विनवणीची प्रार्थना आहे. तुकाराम सांगतात की देवाच्या चरणी लोटांगण घालणे हेच माझे एकमेव भांडवल आहे, माझे शब्द तिथेच खरे ठरतात. यामुळेच मी थोडी सलगी आणि थोडा लाडिकपणा केला आहे, जसा एखादा लाडावलेला, आवडता लहान मुलगा आपल्यावर जीव लावणाऱ्या आईवडिलांशी वागतो, हे ते कबूल करतात. मग ते एक निरुत्तर करणारा प्रश्न विचारतात — संतांच्या घरात काय बरे कमी असणार आहे? काहीच नाही, हे त्यांना आधीच माहीत आहे. आपली योग्य भूमिका फक्त सेवा हीच आहे, आणि ती संपूर्णपणे, काहीही राखून न ठेवता द्यावी, असा निष्कर्ष ते काढतात. यातून हेच शिकायला मिळते की भौतिक काही देण्यासारखे नसतानाही, पूर्ण नम्र सेवा आणि निखळ जिव्हाळा अर्पण करणे हेच स्वतःत परिपूर्ण असते.
Where this applies
- When you feel embarrassed about being overly familiar or affectionate with someone you deeply love
- When you have nothing material to offer but your genuine humility and service
- When you're serving a cause or person and are tempted to hold something back
- When you want reassurance that being close to good, wise people leaves nothing wanting