Abhanga 2873
Tukaram brings different traditions together at one table with patience through delay and humility, crediting any real good he does to God's merit rather than his own greatness.
The verse
चिंतामणिदेवा गणपतीसी आणा । करवावें भोजना दुजे पात्रीं ॥१॥
देव म्हणती तुक्या एवढी कैची थोरी । अभिमानाभीतरी नागवलों ॥ध्रु.॥
वाडवेळ जाला सिळे जालें अन्न । तटस्थ ब्राम्हण बैसलेती ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे देवा तुमच्या सुकृतें । आणीन त्वरित मोरयासी ॥३॥
Literal translation
Chintāmaṇi-Devā Gaṇapatī-sī āṇā — (O) Chintāmaṇi-Deva, bring Gaṇapati; karavāve bhōjanā duje pātrī — make (him) takebhojana(eat) at the otherpātra(eating-leaf, plate). Deva mhaṇatī Tukyā evaḍhī kaichī thōrī — Deva says:Tukyā(Tukārām), where (have you) suchthōrī(greatness, capacity)?; abhimānā-bhītarī nāgavalōm — I have becomenāgavalō(stripped-naked, exposed) within (the)abhimāna(pride). Vāḍa-veḷa jālā — a longveḷa(time) has passed; śiḷe jāle anna — the food has becomeśiḷe(stale, cold); taṭa-stha brāhmaṇa baisaletī — the brāhmaṇas are sittingtaṭa-stha(waiting, stalled). Tukā says: Devā — (O) Deva; tumchyā sukrte āṇīna tvarita Mōrayā-sī — by yoursukrta(merit, good-deeds), I will quickly bringMōrayā(the Gaṇapati-name in Mōrayā Gosāvī's tradition).
What it means
A 3-verse biographical narrative-episode — part of Tukārām's Chinchwaḍa-visit context (paired with 2870's editorial-marker). The narrative-content reflects a specific scene during Tukārām's stay at the Chintāmaṇi-Gaṇeśa shrine at Chinchwaḍa (the Mōrayā Gosāvī Gaṇeśa lineage).
Verse 1: Chintāmaṇi-Devā Gaṇapatī-sī āṇā — karavāve bhōjanā duje pātrī — (O) Chintāmaṇi-Deva, bring Gaṇapati — make (him) eat at the other plate. The scene: a bhojana-occasion — Viṭṭhal (or perhaps the host-Deva at the shrine) is asked-to-bring-Gaṇapati to a-second-eating-pātra (a co-eating arrangement).
Dhrūpada: Deva mhaṇatī Tukyā evaḍhī kaichī thōrī — abhimānā-bhītarī nāgavalōm — Deva says: Tukyā, where (have you) such greatness? — I have been stripped-naked within (the) abhimāna. The cryptic-exchange: the (other?) Deva says: Tukyā, you-have-no-such-thōrī (you-don't-have-the-rank-to-summon-Gaṇapati); I am-stripped-naked-by-(my)-abhimāna (my-pride-has-exposed-me).
Verse 2: Vāḍa-veḷa jālā śiḷe jāle anna — taṭa-stha brāhmaṇa baisaletī — a long time has passed — the food has gone cold — the brāhmaṇas are sitting waiting. The narrative-setting: a feast where food-has-gone-cold while-waiting; the brāhmaṇas are stalled.
Verse 3 (close): Tukā mhaṇe Devā tumchyā sukrte — āṇīna tvarita Mōrayā-sī — Tukā: Deva — by your sukrta — I will quickly bring Mōrayā. The resolution: Tukārām promises to quickly bring Mōrayā (the Gaṇapati of Mōrayā Gosāvī's tradition) — by Deva's (= Viṭṭhal's) sukrta-power.
The narrative shows Tukārām on bhakti-platform at the Chintāmaṇi-Gaṇeśa-shrine, mediating-between-Viṭṭhal-and-Gaṇapati. The bhakti-claim: Tukārām's-(Viṭṭhal-)bhakti can-bring-Gaṇapati-too. The Mōrayā — the popular-Marathi-name for Gaṇeśa-from-Mōrayā-Gosāvī-tradition — shows the cross-tradition reverence.
For someone today
This is the well-known Tukārām-Chintāmaṇi episode. He asks the Chintāmaṇi Deva to bring Gaṇapati so he can be fed at a second plate; the Deva answers, "Tukyā, where do you get such standing?" and admits, "I have been exposed in my own pride." A long time passes, the food grows cold, and the brāhmaṇas sit waiting. Tukārām replies that by the Deva's own merit, he will quickly bring Mōrayā. The point of the story is that Tukārām's devotion can draw a deity from another tradition to the same meal: visiting the Chintāmaṇi shrine at Chinchwaḍ, he shows that his devotion to Viṭṭhal does not shut out reverence for other gods, since he does not refuse Gaṇapati but welcomes him as a guest — and bringing Mōrayā through the Deva's own merit becomes an expression of respect across traditions.
मराठी: ही तुकाराम-चिंतामणीची प्रसिद्ध कथा आहे. तुकाराम चिंतामणी देवाला विनवतात की गणपतीला आणा, म्हणजे त्यांना दुसऱ्या पात्रात भोजन देता येईल; देव उत्तर देतात, "तुक्या, एवढी थोरी तुला कोठून आली?" आणि कबूल करतात, "मी माझ्याच अभिमानात उघडा पडलो." बराच वेळ जातो, अन्न शिळे होते, आणि ब्राह्मण वाट पाहत बसतात. तुकाराम म्हणतात की देवाच्याच सुकृतामुळे ते लवकरच मोरयाला घेऊन येतील. या कथेचा गाभा असा की तुकारामांची भक्ती दुसऱ्या परंपरेतील देवतेलाही त्याच पंगतीत आणू शकते — चिंचवडच्या चिंतामणी देवस्थानी जाऊन ते दाखवतात की विठ्ठलावरील त्यांची भक्ती इतर देवतांचा अनादर करत नाही, कारण ते गणपतीला नाकारत नाहीत तर पाहुणा म्हणून स्वीकारतात; आणि देवाच्याच सुकृताने मोरयाला आणणे हे विविध परंपरांतील परस्पर आदराचे प्रतीक ठरते.
Where this applies
- The canonical Tukārām-Chintāmaṇi-Gaṇapati narrative episode
- Recognizing the Chinchwaḍa-Mōrayā-Gosāvī Gaṇeśa-lineage context
- Bring-Mōrayā-by-Deva's-sukrta — the cross-tradition reverence
- Pairs with 2874 as the Tukārām-Chintāmaṇi narrative-pair