Abhanga 2841
You do not need harsh austerities or renunciation; simply holding on to the Name is enough to burn away heavy karma and reveal your own deep joy.
The verse
तपाचे सायास । न लगे घेणें वनवास ॥१॥
ऐसें कळलें आम्हां एक । जालों नामाचे धारक ॥ध्रु.॥
जाळीं महाकर्में । दावीं निजसुख धर्में ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे येणें । कळिकाळ तें ठेंगणें ॥३॥
Literal translation
Tapāñce sāyāsa — thesāyāsa(effort, strain) oftapa; na lage gheṇē vanavāsa — (we) need not takevanavāsa(forest-renunciation). Aisē kaḷalē āmhām ēka — one (thing) such we have known; jālōm Nāmāñce dhāraka — we have becomeNāma-dhāraka(Name-bearers). Jāḷī mahā-karme — (Nāma) burnsmahā-karme(great-karmas); dāvī nija-sukha dharme — it showsnija-sukha(own-essential-joy) bydharma(its-own-property). Tukā says: yeṇe — by this; kaḷi-kāḷa te ṭhengaṇe — Kali-time becomesṭhengaṇa(puny, dwarfed).
What it means
A short Nāma-supremacy verse. Tapāñce sāyāsa — na lage gheṇē vanavāsa — the strain of tapa — we don't need; we don't need vanavāsa-renunciation. The democratization-claim: the Vārkarī-bhakta doesn't need tapa-or-vanavāsa.
Aisē kaḷalē āmhām ēka — jālōm Nāmāñce dhāraka — one (such) we have known — we have become Nāma-dhāraka (Name-bearers). The bhakta's-discovery: one thing alone is enough — Nāma.
Jāḷī mahā-karme — dāvī nija-sukha dharme — (Nāma) burns mahā-karme — shows nija-sukha by dharma. Two operative-functions of Nāma: (1) burns great-karmas; (2) reveals the bhakta's-own-essential-joy. The dharma here means property, intrinsic-nature — Nāma's-own-nature is to do these things.
The close: Tukā mhaṇe yeṇe — kaḷi-kāḷa te ṭhengaṇa — by this — Kali-time becomes puny. The eschatological-claim: Kali-yuga, which-is-the-difficult-age, becomes puny-and-dwarfed for the Nāma-dhāraka.
For someone today
A canonical Nāma-supremacy text. The strain of tapa — (we) don't need; (we) don't need vanavāsa. One (such thing) we have known — we have become Nāma-bearers. (Nāma) burns mahā-karmas — shows own-joy by (its) dharma. By this — Kali-time becomes puny. Two operative-claims: (1) Nāma replaces tapa-and-vanavāsa; (2) Nāma burns-mahā-karmas and reveals nija-sukha. The verse is foundational for the democratization-of-bhakti — the householder need not abandon home/work; Nāma-dhāraka-status suffices. (Compare 2448's nāma-sankīrtana-sādhana-paim-sōpe.)
Where this applies
- When you think you would need to quit your job or leave your family to become spiritual
- When you feel weighed down by heavy karma or old mistakes
- When the difficulties of the modern world make right living feel impossible
- When you want a simple, doable practice instead of an extreme one