संत साहित्य
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संत साहित्य · Tukārām · Abhanga 2831 of 4582

Abhanga 2831

Prema Devāñce deṇe — prema is Deva's giving; deha-bhāva jāya jeṇe — by which deha-bhāva goes; na dharāvī manē — one should not hold in (one's) mind; śuddhī deśa-kāḷācī — the śuddhī (purification-rules) of deśa-kāḷa (place-and-time).

The canonical prema-deha-bhāva-goes; no-pāpa-in-Hari-jana's-village claim
Recognizing prema is Deva's-giving, not the bhakta's earning
Hari-bhakta are born-Hari-dāsa, no garbha-vāsa for them

The verse

प्रेम देवाचें देणें । देहभाव जाय जेणें । न धरावी मनें । शुद्धी देशकाळाची ॥१॥ मुक लज्जाविरहित । भाग्यवंत हरिभक्त। जाले वोसंडत । नामकीर्तिपवाडे ॥ध्रु.॥ जोडी जाली अविनाश । जन्मोनि जाले हरिसे दास । त्यांस नव्हे गर्भवास । परब्रम्हीं सौरस ॥२॥ हे चि वाहाती संकल्प । पुण्यप्रसंगाचे जप । तुका म्हणे पाप । गांवीं नाहीं हरिजना ॥३॥

Literal translation

Prema Devāñce deṇeprema is Deva's giving; deha-bhāva jāya jeṇeby which deha-bhāva goes; na dharāvī manēone should not hold in (one's) mind; śuddhī deśa-kāḷācīthe śuddhī (purification-rules) of deśa-kāḷa (place-and-time). Muke lajjā-virahita(they are) mute (silent in awe), lajjā-virahita (devoid-of-shame); bhāgyavanta Hari-bhaktablessed are the Hari-bhakta; jāle vōsaṇḍatathey have become vōsaṇḍata (overflowing); nāma-kīrti-pavāḍewith nāma-kīrti-pavāḍe (Name-fame-praises). Jōḍī jālī avināśathe jōḍī (joining) has become avināśa (imperishable); janmōnī jāle Harise dāsaborn, they became Hari-dāsa; tyāmsa navhe garbha-vāsafor them, there is no garbha-vāsa (rebirth in womb); para-Brahmī saurasa(there is) saurasa (juice-essence) in para-Brahma. He chi vāhātī sankalpathese very (Hari-bhakta) bear/carry the sankalpa (resolves); puṇya-prasangāñce japathe japa (recitation) of puṇya-prasanga (auspicious-occasion-affairs). Tukā says: pāpa(there is no) pāpa; gāmvī nāhī Hari-janāin (the) village (society) of Hari-jana, (there is) none.

What it means

A 3-verse extreme-prema text. Prema Devāñce deṇe — deha-bhāva jāya jeṇeprema is Deva's giving — by which deha-bhāva goes. The opening foundational-claim: prema is not earned by the bhakta; it is given by Deva. And: prema is what dissolves deha-bhāva (body-consciousness).

Na dharāvī manē — śuddhī deśa-kāḷācīone should not hold in (one's) mind the śuddhī (purification-rules) of deśa-kāḷa (place-and-time). In prema-mode, one should-not-be-bound by ritual-purity-rules of place-and-time. The radical bhakti-claim against vidhi-niṣedha (rule-and-prohibition).

The dhrūpada: muke lajjā-virahita — bhāgyavanta Hari-bhakta — jāle vōsaṇḍata — nāma-kīrti-pavāḍe(they are) mute, shameless, blessed Hari-bhakta — they have become overflowing with Name-fame-praises. Muke (mute-in-awe), lajjā-virahita (shame-removed) — these are the prema-mode signs. They are vōsaṇḍata (overflowing) with nāma-kīrti (Name-fame).

Jōḍī jālī avināśa — janmōnī jāle Harise dāsa — tyāmsa navhe garbha-vāsa — para-Brahmī saurasathe joining (with Hari) has become imperishable — born, they became Hari-dāsa — for them, no garbha-vāsa — there is juice-essence in para-Brahma. The Hari-bhakta's jōḍī (joining-with-Hari) is avināśa (imperishable); their birth-itself was already as Hari-dāsa; therefore no rebirth-in-womb for them. The saurasa (juice-essence) is in para-Brahma.

The close: Tukā mhaṇe — pāpa — gāmvī nāhī Hari-janāTukā: pāpa — there is none in the village (society) of Hari-jana. The canonical Vārkarī claim: in the village/society of Hari-jana, pāpa does not exist. (Compare vaiṣṇavāmcyā gāmvī pāpa nāhī canonical line.)

For someone today

A foundational prema-text. Prema is Deva's giving — deha-bhāva goes by which. One should not hold deśa-kāḷa-purification in mind. Mute, shameless, blessed Hari-bhakta — overflowing with Name-fame-praises. The joining is imperishable — born Hari-dāsa, no garbha-vāsa — juice-essence in para-Brahma. There is no pāpa in the village of Hari-jana. Three operative-claims: (1) prema is Deva's-giving, not earned; (2) deśa-kāḷa-purity-rules don't apply in prema-mode; (3) no pāpa in Hari-jana's society. The verse warrants the radical bhakti-liberation from ritualism.

Where this applies

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