Abhanga 2887
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.
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 in Hari-kīrtana; tyāñce ghein pāya-vaṇī — I shall take their pāya-vaṇī (foot-water, water-from-washing-feet). He chi tapa tīrtha mājhe — this very (is) my tapa and tīrtha; āṇīka mī neṇe duje — I do not know another. Kāyā kuravaṇḍī karīna — I shall do kāyā-kuravaṇḍī (body-wave-around, offer-body-by-circling-around-them); santa mahanta ōmvāḷīna — I shall ōmvāḷīna (lustrate, perform light-circling) (over the) sants and mahants. Santa mahanta mājhī pūjā — sants and mahants (are) my pūjā; anubhāva nāhī dujā — there is no other anubhāva (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
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) sant-foot-water is the bhakta's prasāda; (2) sant-foot-water replaces tapa and tīrtha; (3) kāyā-kuravaṇḍī and ōmvāḷaṇē are the bhakta's offerings; (4) sants are the bhakta's pūjā — no other anubhāva. The verse provides the textual-warrant for sant-pūjā as primary-discipline — replacing-tapa-and-tīrtha-and-deity-pūjā. The closing-claim — all-is-at-the-sants'-feet — anchors the whole position.
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)