Abhanga 2893
Nothing about a person, their body or their past, is too impure for love to embrace; anyone who turns toward the divine is never wasted, however far they started from grace.
The verse
मासं चर्म हाडें । देवा अवघीं च गोडें ॥१॥
जे जे हरिरंगीं रंगले । कांहीं न वचे वांयां गेले ॥ध्रु.॥
वेद खाय शंखासुर । त्याचें वागवी कलिवर ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे ऐसा । बराडी हा भक्तिरसा ॥३॥
Literal translation
Māsa charma hāḍe — flesh, skin, bones; Devā avaghī chi gōḍe — to Deva, all (these) are sweet. Je je Hari-rangī rangale — those who haverangale(been-dyed, colored, stained) inHari-ranga(Hari-color, Hari-passion); kāmhī na vache vāmyām gele — none of them go in vain. Veda khāya Śankhāsura — (the demon)Śankhāsuraate theVedas; tyāñce vāgavī kalivara — (yet Deva)vāgavī(carries, bears) hiskalivara(body, form). Tukā says: aisā — such (is); barāḍī hā bhakti-rasā — thebarāḍī(vagabond, vagrant-friend, indiscriminate-companion) — thisbhakti-rasa.
What it means
A 3-verse striking bhakti-rasa-takes-all verse. Māsa charma hāḍe — Devā avaghī chi gōḍe — flesh, skin, bones — all sweet to Deva. The opening-claim: the gross-bodily-substances themselves (māsa-charma-hāḍe) are sweet-to-Deva. The body is not-impure to Deva.
Je je Hari-rangī rangale — kāmhī na vache vāmyām gele — those who have been dyed in Hari-color — none of them go in vain. The Hari-rangī-rangale (Hari-stained) are guaranteed.
The radical-reference: Veda khāya Śankhāsura — tyāñce vāgavī kalivara — Śankhāsura ate the Vedas — yet (Deva) carries his body. The reference is to the Matsya-avatāra story (Bhāgavata 8.24): the demon Śankhāsura (conch-demon, also called Hayagrīva) stole the Vedas from Brahmā and hid in the cosmic-ocean. Viṣṇu took Matsya-avatāra (fish-avatāra), killed the demon, recovered the Vedas. The radical-Tukārām-twist: even though Śankhāsura ate the Vedas (the greatest-sin), Deva carries his body — because being-killed-by-Viṣṇu is itself a form of liberation. So even the demon is not-rejected.
The close: Tukā mhaṇe aisā — barāḍī hā bhakti-rasā — such is the bhakti-rasa — a barāḍī (vagabond, indiscriminate friend). Barāḍī — a vagabond-friend, drifting-buddy, indiscriminate-companion. The image is striking: bhakti-rasa is so easy-going, so indiscriminate, that it takes-everyone — even Veda-stealing demons.
For someone today
Tukaram says something startling here, that even flesh, skin, and bone are sweet to God, nothing about a person's body or past is too impure to be embraced. Anyone who has been touched and colored by love for the divine is never wasted or lost, no matter where they started. He points to the old story of the demon who stole and devoured the sacred Vedas, yet God still carried and cared for his body. Bhakti, Tukaram says, is like a loose, easygoing companion who welcomes absolutely everyone, holding nothing against anyone, no matter how far they have fallen.
मराठी: तुकाराम इथे एक धक्कादायक गोष्ट सांगतात, देवाला मांस, त्वचा, हाडेदेखील गोड वाटतात, कोणाचे शरीर किंवा भूतकाळ इतके अशुद्ध नसते की देव त्याला स्वीकारणार नाही. ज्याच्या मनात हरीचे प्रेम रुजले आहे, तो कधीच वाया जात नाही, तो कुठूनही सुरुवात करो. वेद गिळंकृत करणाऱ्या राक्षसाची जुनी कथा ते सांगतात, तरीही देवाने त्याचे शरीर सांभाळले. भक्ती म्हणजे एका मोकळ्या, सहज मित्रासारखी आहे जो सगळ्यांचे स्वागत करतो, कोणीही कितीही खाली गेलेला असो, त्याच्याविरुद्ध काहीच मनात ठेवत नाही.
Where this applies
- When you feel too flawed, impure, or far gone to deserve love or acceptance
- When you are judging someone for their past mistakes instead of welcoming their change
- When you doubt that your own devotion or effort counts because you did not start from a pure place
- When you need a reminder that no honest turn toward good is ever wasted, however late it comes