Abhanga 2881
A small, regular discipline like the Ekadashi fast, kept with love, quietly draws a person nearer to God, and being able to sustain it at all is itself a form of grace.
The verse
ज्यासी नावडे एकादशी । तो जिता चि नरकवासी ॥१॥
ज्यासी नावडे हें व्रत । त्यासी नरक तो ही भीत ॥ध्रु.॥
ज्यासी मान्य एकादशी । तो जिता चि मुक्तवासी ॥२॥
ज्यासी घडे एकादशी । जाणें लागे विष्णुपाशीं ॥३॥
तुका म्हणे पुण्यराशी । तो चि करी एकादशी ॥४॥
Literal translation
Jyāsī nāvaḍe Ekādaśī — (he) to whomEkādaśīis notnāvaḍe(liked); tō jitā chi naraka-vāsī — that one, even while living, (is)naraka-vāsī(a resident of hell). Jyāsī nāvaḍe he vrata — (he) to whom thisvratais not liked; tyāsī naraka tō hī bhīta — to him —narakaitself isbhīta(afraid). Jyāsī mānya Ekādaśī — (he) to whomEkādaśīismānya(acceptable, accepted); tō jitā chi mukta-vāsī — that one, while living, (is)mukta-vāsī(a resident of liberation). Jyāsī ghaḍe Ekādaśī — (he) to whomEkādaśīghaḍe(regularly occurs, takes-place); jāṇe lāge Viṣṇu-pāśī — (his)jāṇe(going-after-death) attaches-(him)-toViṣṇu-pāśī(Viṣṇu-side). Tukā says: puṇya-rāśī — (he is) apuṇya-rāśī(heap-of-merit); tō chi karī Ekādaśī — (only) that one performsEkādaśī.
What it means
THE canonical 4-verse Ekādaśī-vrata-mahima text. The Ekādaśī-vrata — the 11th-tithi-fasting-vrata observed twice-monthly (in both śukla and krṣṇa paksha) — is the foundational Vārkarī ritual-discipline. The bi-annual Āṣāḍhī Ekādaśī (June-July) and Kārtikī Ekādaśī (October-November) are the great Vārkarī pilgrimage-festivals at Paṇḍharpur.
Verse 1: Jyāsī nāvaḍe Ekādaśī — tō jitā chi naraka-vāsī — who doesn't like Ekādaśī — is, while-living, a naraka-resident. The hyperbolic-warning: non-observance is naraka-while-living.
Dhrūpada: Jyāsī nāvaḍe he vrata — tyāsī naraka tō hī bhīta — who doesn't like this vrata — naraka itself is afraid of him. The intensification: such a one is so bad that even-naraka fears him.
Verse 2: Jyāsī mānya Ekādaśī — tō jitā chi mukta-vāsī — who accepts Ekādaśī — is, while-living, a mukti-resident. The mirror-claim: observance is mukti-while-living.
Verse 3: Jyāsī ghaḍe Ekādaśī — jāṇe lāge Viṣṇu-pāśī — who regularly observes Ekādaśī — (his after-death) going attaches him to Viṣṇu-side. The eschatological-promise: regular observance ensures Viṣṇu-pāśī-going at death.
Close: Tukā mhaṇe puṇya-rāśī — tō chi karī Ekādaśī — Tukā: (he is) a heap-of-merit — that one alone performs Ekādaśī. The qualifying-claim: only the puṇya-rāśī performs Ekādaśī; the rest can't even bring-themselves-to-it.
The verse-structure is a four-fold sequential-mirror: non-observer = naraka-vāsī while-living + naraka-fears-him after-death; observer = mukti-vāsī while-living + Viṣṇu-pāśī after-death. The Tukārām-warrant: Ekādaśī is the dividing-vrata-of-bhakti.
For someone today
This is the canonical Ekādaśī-vrata text. Who doesn't like Ekādaśī — is, living, naraka-resident. Who doesn't like this vrata — naraka itself fears him. Who accepts Ekādaśī — is, living, mukti-resident. Who regularly observes Ekādaśī — (his after-death) going attaches to Viṣṇu-side. (He is) a heap-of-merit — that one alone performs Ekādaśī. The verse is the foundational textual warrant for Vārkarī Ekādaśī observance. The hyperbolic claims (hell while living, liberation while living) are deliberately strong to encourage observance. The deeper claim: only someone already rich in merit can even bring himself to keep this vow — the discipline itself is a grace given only to those with prior merit.
मराठी: हा एकादशी-व्रताचा प्रमाणभूत अभंग आहे. ज्याला एकादशी आवडत नाही, तो जिवंतपणीच नरकवासी आहे. ज्याला हे व्रत आवडत नाही, त्याला नरकसुद्धा भितो. ज्याला एकादशी मान्य आहे, तो जिवंतपणीच मुक्तवासी आहे. ज्याला एकादशी नियमाने घडते, त्याचे मरणोत्तर जाणे विष्णूकडे होते. तो पुण्यराशी असतो — तोच एकादशी करतो. हा अभंग वारकरी एकादशी-पालनाचा मूळ आधार आहे. 'जिवंतपणी नरक', 'जिवंतपणी मुक्ती' असे अतिशयोक्त दावे मुद्दाम केले आहेत, जेणेकरून व्रतपालनाला प्रोत्साहन मिळावे. यामागील खोल अर्थ असा की ज्याच्याजवळ आधीच पुण्याची शिदोरी आहे तोच हे व्रत आचरणात आणू शकतो — म्हणजे हे व्रत करता येणे हीच पूर्वसुकृताने मिळालेली कृपा आहे.
Where this applies
- THE canonical Vārkarī Ekādaśī-vrata text
- Recited as the Ekādaśī-vrata-mahima announcement
- Recognizing Ekādaśī-vrata as the Vārkarī defining-discipline
- The non-observer-naraka-vāsī + observer-mukti-vāsī mirror
- Puṇya-rāśī alone performs Ekādaśī — observance-as-grace