Abhanga 2887
Serving and honoring true sants, down to reverencing the water that washed their feet, is itself Tukaram's worship, austerity, and pilgrimage, because he trusts their wisdom over his own.
The verse
संत गाती हरिकीर्त्तनीं । त्यांचें घेइन पायवणी ॥१॥
हें चि तप तीर्थ माझें । आणीक मी नेणें दुजें ॥ध्रु.॥
काया कुरवंडी करीन । संत महंत ओंवाळीन ॥२॥
संत महंत माझी पूजा । अनुभाव नाहीं दुजा ॥३॥
तुका म्हणे नेणें कांहीं । अवघें आहे संतापायीं ॥४॥
Literal translation
Santa gātī Hari-kīrttanī — (when) the sants sing inHari-kīrtana; tyāñce ghein pāya-vaṇī — I shall take theirpāya-vaṇī(foot-water, water-from-washing-feet). He chi tapa tīrtha mājhe — this very (is) mytapaandtīrtha; āṇīka mī neṇe duje — I do not know another. Kāyā kuravaṇḍī karīna — I shall dokāyā-kuravaṇḍī(body-wave-around, offer-body-by-circling-around-them); santa mahanta ōmvāḷīna — I shallōmvāḷīna(lustrate, perform light-circling) (over the) sants andmahants. Santa mahanta mājhī pūjā — sants andmahants(are) mypūjā; anubhāva nāhī dujā — there is no otheranubhāva(experience). Tukā says: neṇe kāmhī — I know nothing; avaghē āhe santa-pāyī — all (is) at the sants' feet.
What it means
THE canonical 4-verse sant-pūjā text in the Tukārām corpus. Santa gātī Hari-kīrttanī — tyāñce ghein pāya-vaṇī — when sants sing in Hari-kīrtana, I shall take their foot-water. The pāya-vaṇī — the water from washing the sants' feet — is the sant-pūjā-prasāda.
Verse 2 (dhrūpada): He chi tapa tīrtha mājhe — āṇīka mī neṇe duje — this is my tapa and tīrtha — I know no other. The replacement-claim: sant-foot-water replaces tapa and tīrtha. The bhakta-democratization: no need for austerity-or-pilgrimage; sant-foot-water suffices.
Verse 3 (kāyā-kuravaṇḍī): Kāyā kuravaṇḍī karīna — santa mahanta ōmvāḷīna — I shall do kāyā-kuravaṇḍī — lustrate sants and mahants. Kāyā-kuravaṇḍī — offering one's body by circumambulating-or-waving-around-the-recipient. Ōmvāḷīna — the light-circling ceremony. Both are Vārkarī liturgical-gestures directed at sants.
Verse 4 (close): Santa mahanta mājhī pūjā — anubhāva nāhī dujā — sants-mahants are my pūjā — no other anubhāva. The exclusive-claim: all my pūjā goes to sants; no other-experience.
Tukā close: neṇe kāmhī — avaghē āhe santa-pāyī — I know nothing — all is at the sants' feet. The total-deferral: all-knowledge is at-the-sants'-feet; the bhakta knows-nothing-on-his-own.
The verse is foundational for Vārkarī sant-pūjā tradition: instead-of-deity-pūjā as the primary-discipline, sant-pūjā (with its pāya-vaṇī, kāyā-kuravaṇḍī, ōmvāḷaṇē, mahantā-pūjana) is the primary-discipline.
For someone today
This is the canonical sant-pūjā text. (When) sants sing in Hari-kīrtana — I shall take their foot-water. This very is my tapa and tīrtha — I know no other. I shall do kāyā-kuravaṇḍī — lustrate sants and mahants. Sants-mahants are my pūjā — no other anubhāva. I know nothing — all is at the sants' feet. Four operative claims: (1) the water that washed the sants' feet is the bhakta's prasād; (2) that foot-water takes the place of austerity and pilgrimage to holy sites; (3) offering his own body and performing the light-waving ceremony over sants and mahants are the bhakta's true offerings; (4) the sants themselves are his worship, with no other experience needed. The verse provides the textual warrant for treating service to sants as the primary discipline, replacing austerity, pilgrimage, and even deity-worship. The closing claim — that everything rests at the sants' feet — anchors the whole position.
मराठी: हा वारकरी परंपरेतील संत-पूजेचा प्रमाणभूत अभंग आहे. संत हरिकीर्तनी गाती — त्यांचे पायवणी मी घेईन. हेच माझे तप, हेच माझे तीर्थ — दुसरे मला ठाऊक नाही. मी कायाकुरवंडी करीन — संत-महंतांना ओवाळीन. संत-महंत माझी पूजा — दुसरा अनुभव नाही. मला काही ठाऊक नाही — सगळे संतांच्या पायी आहे. यात चार मुख्य दावे आहेत : (१) संतांच्या पायाचे पाणी हाच भक्ताचा प्रसाद आहे; (२) हे पायवणी तप आणि तीर्थयात्रेची जागा घेते; (३) स्वतःचे शरीर ओवाळून व संत-महंतांवरून उतरवून अर्पण करणे हीच भक्ताची खरी सेवा आहे; (४) संतच भक्ताची पूजा आहेत, त्याहून वेगळा अनुभव नको. हा अभंग संतसेवेला तप, तीर्थयात्रा आणि देवपूजेहूनही प्रमुख स्थान देणाऱ्या परंपरेचा आधारस्तंभ आहे. शेवटचा दावा — सर्वकाही संतांच्या पायी आहे — या संपूर्ण भूमिकेचा गाभा आहे.
Where this applies
- THE canonical sant-pūjā text
- Recognizing sant-foot-water as the bhakta's tapa-tīrtha
- Sants-mahants are my pūjā; no other anubhāva exclusive-claim
- The all-knowledge-at-sants-feet deferral-claim
- Foundation for Vārkarī sant-pūjā tradition
- Pairs with 2810 (12-verse saints-list), 2811 (yearning-prayer)