Abhanga 2863
True focus on what matters most feels like a water carrier balancing jars while walking freely, or like waiting eagerly for an invitation, a steady undercurrent of attention beneath everyday life.
The verse
दुडीवरी दुडी । चाले मोकळी गुजरी ॥१॥
ध्यान लागो ऐसें हरी । तुझे चरणीं तैशापरी ॥ध्रु.॥
आवंतण्याची आस । जैसी लागे दुर्बळासी ॥२॥
लोभ्या कळांतराची आस । बोटें मोजी दिवस मास ॥३॥
तुका म्हणे पंढरीनाथा । मजला आणिक नको व्यथा ॥४॥
Literal translation
Duḍīvarī duḍī — upon (a)duḍī(water-jar) — (another)duḍī; chāle mōkaḷī Gujarī — theGujarī(Gujarat-woman, water-carrier) walksmōkaḷī(loose, freely). Dhyāna lāgo aise Harī — let (my)dhyānaattach like that, Hari; tujhe charaṇī taiśā-parī — to your feet — in that-same-way. Āvantaṇyāñcī āsa — theāsa(longing) for anāvantaṇa(invitation, dinner-call); jaiśī lāge durbaḷāsī — as it attaches to adurbaḷa(destitute, weak) one. Lōbhyā kaḷāntarāñcī āsa — thelōbhī(greedy one)'s longing forkaḷāntara(interest, returns-on-loan); bōṭe mōjī divasa māsa — (he) counts on fingers — days, months. Tukā says: Pandharī-nāthā — (O) Pandharī-nātha; majalā āṇika nakō vyathā — for me — no othervyathā(pain, want).
What it means
A 4-verse concentration-image verse. The image-trio for fixed-on-the-Lord attention:
Image 1: Duḍīvarī duḍī — chāle mōkaḷī Gujarī — jar-upon-jar — the Gujarī walks loose-and-free. The image: a water-carrier-woman from Gujarat balancing multiple water-jars on her head, walking mōkaḷī (with-hands-free, freely). Her mind is fixed-on-the-balance — her body walks-freely. The image-application: let-my-dhyāna-be-like-that — fixed-on-your-feet (the balance-point), while everything-else carries-on.
Image 2: Āvantaṇyāñcī āsa — jaiśī lāge durbaḷāsī — the longing for a dinner-invitation — as it attaches to a destitute one. The destitute one, when expecting-a-meal-invitation, is single-mindedly-waiting — every-sound at the door, every-passer-by, etc. The image-application: bhakta's-longing should be like that.
Image 3: Lōbhyā kaḷāntarāñcī āsa — bōṭe mōjī divasa māsa — the greedy one's longing for interest — counts days-months on fingers. The moneylender awaiting-loan-repayment — counts days-and-months daily on his fingers. The image-application: the bhakta should count-the-time-of-Lord's-arrival like that.
The close: Tukā mhaṇe Pandharī-nāthā — majalā āṇika nakō vyathā — Tukā: Pandharī-nātha — no other vyathā for me. The bhakta wants only this single-vyathā (longing for the Lord) — no other concern.
For someone today
This is a lovely set of everyday images for what real, focused longing feels like. Tuka pictures a woman balancing jar upon jar of water on her head, walking freely and easily with her hands unburdened, her attention staying perfectly fixed on the balance even as her body moves through the world. He wants his meditation on Hari's feet to be exactly like that. He compares it too to how a poor, hungry person waits eagerly for a dinner invitation, hanging on every sound, and to how a moneylender counts the days and months on his fingers, waiting for interest to come due. Tuka closes by asking Pandharinath for nothing else, just let this one longing, for you, be the only ache he carries.
मराठी: ही रोजच्या जीवनातील उदाहरणांतून खऱ्या, एकाग्र ओढीचे वर्णन करणारी रचना आहे. तुकाराम महाराज एका स्त्रीचे चित्र रंगवतात जी डोक्यावर एकावर एक पाण्याचे हंडे घेऊन, हात मोकळे ठेवून सहज चालते — तिचे शरीर जगात वावरत असले तरी तिचे लक्ष तोल सांभाळण्यावरच खिळलेले असते. हरीच्या चरणांवरचे आपले ध्यान असेच असावे अशी त्यांची इच्छा आहे. ते याची तुलना गरीब, भुकेल्या माणसाच्या जेवणाच्या आमंत्रणाची आतुरतेने वाट पाहण्याशीही करतात, जो प्रत्येक आवाजाकडे कान देऊन असतो, आणि सावकाराच्या व्याज येण्याची बोटांवर दिवसमहिने मोजण्याच्या सवयीशीही करतात. शेवटी तुकाराम महाराज पंढरीनाथाकडे दुसरे काहीही मागत नाहीत — फक्त हीच एक ओढ, तुझ्यासाठीची, माझी एकमेव व्यथा राहू दे, अशी विनंती करतात.
Where this applies
- When you are trying to keep your mind on something important, like prayer or meditation, while still going about your daily tasks.
- When you notice how eagerly you wait for good news, a call, or an invitation, and wonder if you could direct that same eagerness toward something deeper.
- When you are counting down the days toward something you want badly, and realize that same intensity could be pointed at your spiritual life.
- When you want a concrete, everyday image for what focused attention or longing actually feels like.