Abhanga 2871
You do not need miracles from God, only simple closeness, and since every creature naturally receives what it needs, it is fair to ask why your own heart's longing for that closeness goes unanswered.
The verse
वांजा गाईं दुभती । देवा ऐसी तुझी ख्याति ॥१॥
ऐसें मागत नाहीं तुज । चरण दाखवावे मज ॥ध्रु.॥
चातक पाखरूं । त्यासी वर्षे मेघधारु ॥
पक्षी राजहंस । अमोलिक मोतीं त्यास॥३॥
तुका म्हणे देवा । कां गा खोचलासी जीवा ॥४॥
Literal translation
Vāmjā gāī dubhatī — barren cows yield milk; Devā aisī tujhī khyāti — Deva, such is yourkhyāti(fame). Aisē māgata nāhī tuja — I am not asking such (miracles) of you; charaṇa dākhāve maja — show (your) feet to me. Chātaka pākharūm — (as for) thechātaka-pakṣa(chātaka-bird); tyāsī varṣe megha-dhāru — for it, themegha-dhāru(rain-from-cloud) falls. Pakṣī rāja-hamsa — (as for) therāja-hamsa(king-swan); amōlika mōtī tyāsa — for him, pricelessmōtī(pearls). Tukā says: Devā — (O) Deva; kām gā khōchalāsī jīvā — why have (you)khōchalāsī(pricked, pinched) the jīvā?
What it means
A 4-verse paradox-fame petition. Vāmjā gāī dubhatī — Devā aisī tujhī khyāti — barren cows yield milk — such is your fame, Deva. The opening: the Lord is famous-for-impossible-miracles (a barren cow yielding milk).
Aisē māgata nāhī tuja — charaṇa dākhāve maja — I am not asking such miracles of you — (just) show (your) feet to me. The paradox-petition: I-don't-want-the-miracles; I just want the simple-charaṇa-darśana. (Compare 2871's emphasis: the bhakta wants relationship, not spectacle.)
The dhrūpada-image-pair: chātaka pākharūm — tyāsī varṣe megha-dhāru — (as for) the chātaka — the cloud-rain falls for it; pakṣī rāja-hamsa — amōlika mōtī tyāsa — (as for) the king-swan — priceless pearls for him. The Lord-provides-each-bird-with-its-natural-food: the chātaka, which only-drinks-rain-from-the-cloud, gets-the-rain; the rāja-hamsa, which feeds-only-on-pearls (in-poetic-tradition), gets-the-pearls. Each creature gets what-it-needs-naturally.
The close: Tukā mhaṇe Devā — kām gā khōchalāsī jīvā — Deva — why have you pricked the jīvā? The wound-protest: if every-creature gets-its-natural-food, why-have-you-pricked-my-jīva (denied-me-the-darśana)? The bhakta argues: the chātaka gets-rain, the hamsa-gets-pearls, the jīva needs-your-darśana — why are you not-giving it?
For someone today
This is a tender, honest petition that also carries a note of protest. Tuka says he knows the Lord is famous for miracles, like making a barren cow give milk, but he isn't asking for anything like that, all he wants is to see the Lord's feet, nothing more. He points out how nature already provides for every creature according to its need: the chataka bird lives on nothing but raindrops from the cloud, and rain falls for it; the royal swan feeds on pearls, and pearls come to it. Then comes the honest ache: Lord, if you provide for every creature exactly what it naturally needs, why have you pierced my heart by withholding the one thing my soul truly needs, closeness to you?
मराठी: ही एक हळुवार, प्रामाणिक विनवणी आहे, ज्यात सौम्य तक्रारीचाही सूर आहे. तुकाराम महाराज म्हणतात, मला माहीत आहे की तू चमत्कारांसाठी प्रसिद्ध आहेस — वांझ गाईलाही दूध फुटवणारा — पण मी तसे काही मागत नाही, मला फक्त तुझे चरण पाहायचे आहेत, यापेक्षा अधिक काही नको. ते दाखवून देतात की निसर्ग आधीच प्रत्येक प्राण्याला त्याच्या गरजेप्रमाणे पुरवतो — चातक पक्षी केवळ ढगातून पडणाऱ्या पावसाच्या थेंबांवर जगतो, आणि त्याच्यासाठी पाऊस पडतो; राजहंस मोत्यांवर जगतो, आणि त्याला मोती मिळतात. मग येते ती प्रामाणिक वेदना — हे देवा, जर तू प्रत्येक प्राण्याला त्याच्या नैसर्गिक गरजेप्रमाणे देतोस, तर माझ्या जिवाची खरी गरज — तुझा सहवास — नाकारून तू माझ्या मनाला का बोचकारले आहेस?
Where this applies
- When you feel you need something spectacular to prove God cares about you
- When all you really want is quiet closeness, not a miracle
- When you notice everyone around you seems to get what fits their nature, but you feel left out
- When your heart aches with longing and you want to honestly ask why it isn't answered