Abhanga 2892
Holding onto the one thing that truly quiets your inner distress, as Tukaram holds Vitthal's feet in his heart, is the refuge worth seeking above all else.
The verse
बरवयांबरवंट । विटे चरण सम नीट ॥१॥
ते म्या हृदयीं धरिले । तापशमन पाउलें ॥ध्रु.॥
सकळां तीर्थां अधिष्ठान । करी लक्षुमी संवाहन ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे अंतीं । ठाव मागितला संतीं ॥३॥
Literal translation
Baravayām baravaṇṭa — thebaravayām baravaṇṭa(the very-best of the best, the finest); viṭē charaṇa sama nīṭa — the feet on the brick —sama-nīṭa(even, straight, aligned). Te myām hrdayī dharile — those (I) havedharile(held) in (my)hrdaya(heart); tāpa-śamana pāule — (those)tāpa-śamana pāule(thetāpa(heat, distress) —śamana(quenching) feet). Sakaḷām tīrthām adhiṣṭhāna — theadhiṣṭhāna(foundation, basis) of alltīrthas; karī Lakṣumī samvāhana — Lakṣmī does thesamvāhana(kneading, foot-massage). Tukā says: antī — at the end; ṭhāva māgitalā santīm — (this)ṭhāva(place) wasmāgitalā(asked-for) by the sants.
What it means
A 3-verse Viṭṭhal-feet-praise verse. Baravayām baravaṇṭa — viṭē charaṇa sama nīṭa — the finest-of-the-fine — the feet on the brick, aligned. The opening: Viṭṭhal's feet on the brick are the finest-of-the-fine. The sama-nīṭa (even-and-straight) detail refers to Viṭṭhal's iconic-stance: both-feet placed evenly on the brick, posture-straight, hands-on-hips.
Te myām hrdayī dharile — tāpa-śamana pāule — those (I) have held in (my) heart — heat-quenching feet. The feet are tāpa-śamana (the tāpa — heat, distress — śamana — quenching). To hold-them-in-the-heart is to-experience-the-tāpa-śamana.
Sakaḷām tīrthām adhiṣṭhāna — karī Lakṣumī samvāhana — the foundation of all tīrthas — Lakṣmī does the foot-massage. Two-fold honoring: (1) the feet are the foundational-tīrtha (all tīrthas-stand-on these-feet); (2) Lakṣmī (his consort) kneads-the-feet.
The close: Tukā mhaṇe antī — ṭhāva māgitalā santīm — at the end — (this) place was asked-for by the sants. The bhakti-claim: the sants, at-the-end (of-life), asked-for-this-place (at-Viṭṭhal's-feet). The final-refuge for the sants.
For someone today
Tukaram is describing the deep comfort he finds in Vitthal's feet, standing evenly on the brick, the finest thing he has ever known. He says he holds those feet in his own heart, and doing so cools and quiets whatever distress is burning inside him. He calls these feet the very foundation that all the sacred pilgrimage places rest on, and even Lakshmi herself tends to them with care. In the end, he says, this is the one place the saints ask for, the resting point they seek above all else. It points to something simple: find the one place, person, or practice that genuinely quiets your inner heat, and let that be your true refuge.
मराठी: तुकाराम विठ्ठलाच्या विटेवरील सम आणि सरळ उभ्या पावलांत मिळणाऱ्या खोल समाधानाबद्दल बोलतात, त्यांना ते आजवरचे सर्वात सुंदर वाटते. ती पावले आपल्या हृदयात धरली की आतील अस्वस्थता, ताप शमतो असे ते म्हणतात. ही पावले सर्व तीर्थांचा पाया आहेत असे ते सांगतात, आणि खुद्द लक्ष्मीदेखील त्यांची सेवा करते. शेवटी, संतांनाही अखेर हेच स्थान हवे असते, हाच खरा विसावा असे तुकाराम म्हणतात. यातून एक साधी शिकवण मिळते, जे स्थान, व्यक्ती किंवा साधना खरोखर तुमचा आतला ताप शांत करते, तेच तुमचे खरे आश्रयस्थान माना.
Where this applies
- When you are searching for one steady place or practice that actually calms your inner turmoil
- When you feel restless and need to identify what genuinely gives you peace, rather than settling for distractions
- When you are drawn to a person, ritual, or memory that consistently quiets your anxiety
- When you are thinking about what you want to hold onto at the end of life as your true resting place