Abhanga 2850
Love doesn't need perfect words, the divine delights in a devotee's imperfect, heartfelt prayer the way parents delight in a baby's garbled speech.
The verse
प्रीतिचिया बोला नाहीं पेसपाड । भलतसें गोड करूनि घेईं ॥१॥
तैसें विठ्ठलराया तुज मज आहे । आवडीनें गायें नाम तुझें ॥ध्रु.॥
वेडे वांकडे बाळकाचे बोल । करिती नवल मायबाप ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे तुज येवो माझी दया । जीवींच्या सखया जिवलगा ॥३॥
Literal translation
Prīti-chiyā bōlā nāhī pesa-pāḍa — in the words ofprīti(love), there is nopesa-pāḍa(formal measuring-out, finicky-particularity); bhalatasē gōḍa karōnī ghēī — make (them)gōḍa(good, sweet) (in) some-way and take. Taisē Viṭṭhal-rāyā tuja maja āhe — such (is the case), Viṭṭhal-rāyā, between you and me; āvaḍīne gāye nāma tujhe — lovingly I sing your Name. Vēḍe vānkaḍe bāḷakāñce bōla — vague (vēḍe), crooked (vānkaḍe) — the baby's words; karitī navala māyabāpa — the mother-father find themnavala(wonderful, marvelous). Tukā says: tuja yēvō mājhī dayā — let yourdayācome on me; jīvīñcyā sakhayā jīvalagā — Osakhāof (my) jīva,jīvalagā(dearest-to-jīva).
What it means
A short baby-talk-prema-prayer verse. Prīti-chiyā bōlā nāhī pesa-pāḍa — bhalatasē gōḍa karōnī ghēī — in the words of prīti, there is nopesa-pāḍa(formal measure) — make (them) good (any) way (you can). The opening-claim: prema-words don't require formal-grammatical-perfection; the loving-Lord makes-them-good-anyway.
Taisē Viṭṭhal-rāyā tuja maja āhe — āvaḍīne gāye nāma tujhe — such (is the case), Viṭṭhal-rāyā, between you and me — lovingly I sing your Name. The application: Viṭṭhal-rāyā, this is between-us-too — I-sing-with-love, you-take-as-good.
The dhrūpada has the canonical image: vēḍe vānkaḍe bāḷakāñce bōla — karitī navala māyabāpa — vague, crooked baby's words — mother-father find them wonderful. The image: a small-baby's vague-crooked-pronunciation is marveled-at by parents. Parents don't correct grammar; they delight-in-the-attempt. So-too, the Lord delights-in-the-bhakta's-imperfect-prema-utterances.
The close: Tukā mhaṇe tuja yēvō mājhī dayā — jīvīñcyā sakhayā jīvalagā — let your dayā come on me — O sakhā of (my) jīva, jīvalagā (dearest-to-jīva). The closing petition with the sakhya-jīvalagā triple-affection.
For someone today
This is a tender little prayer about love not needing perfect words. Tuka says the language of love isn't measured out formally — however clumsily it comes out, it becomes sweet just by being offered. That's how it is between him and Vitthal: he sings the Name with love, however imperfect his words. He points to the most familiar image of all — a baby's garbled, crooked attempts at speech, which parents find utterly delightful rather than something to correct. In the same way, God delights in a devotee's imperfect, heartfelt words. Tuka closes by simply asking for that same compassion — calling out to the one who is dearest to his soul.
मराठी: ही प्रेमाला परिपूर्ण शब्दांची गरज नसते हे सांगणारी एक हळुवार रचना आहे. तुकाराम महाराज म्हणतात, प्रेमाची भाषा कधी औपचारिक मापाने मोजली जात नाही — ती कशीही उच्चारली तरी ती आपोआप गोड होते. विठ्ठलरायाशी माझे असेच नाते आहे — शब्द कितीही अपूर्ण असले तरी मी प्रेमाने तुझे नाम गातो. ते सर्वात परिचित उदाहरण देतात — लहान बाळाचे तुटके, वाकडे बोलणे, जे आई-वडिलांना सुधारण्याऐवजी अतिशय गोड वाटते. त्याचप्रमाणे देवही भक्ताच्या अपूर्ण, मनापासूनच्या शब्दांत आनंद मानतो. शेवटी तुकाराम महाराज केवळ तीच करुणा मागतात — आपल्या जिवलग सख्याला हाक मारत.
Where this applies
- When you feel embarrassed to pray or sing devotional songs because you think you'll sound clumsy
- When you're a parent delighting in a small child's imperfect attempts to speak
- When you hold back from expressing love to someone because you fear saying it wrong
- When you need reassurance that sincerity matters more than polish in any heartfelt expression