Abhanga 2900
Tukaram argues playfully that saving him costs Vitthal nothing and even brings the Lord free glory, so he boldly asks for grace as an intimate friend would, not a formal supplicant.
The verse
तुम्हां न पडे वेच । माझा सरेल संकोच ॥१॥
फुकासाटीं जोडे यश । येथें कां करा आळस ॥ध्रु.॥
कृपेचें भुकेलें । होय जीवदान केलें ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे शिकविलें । माझें ऐकावें विठ्ठलें ॥३॥
Literal translation
Tumhām na paḍe vecha — (there is) novecha(cost) for you (to pay); mājhā sarel sankocha — mysankocha(constriction, hesitation) willsarel(go away). Phukāsāṭī jōḍe yaśa — for-nothing (free),yaśa(glory, fame) joins (you); yethē kām karā āḷasa — here, why do (you) makeāḷasa(laziness)? Krpeñce bhukele — hungry-for-krpā; hōya jīva-dāna kele — make-(me)-have-the-doing-ofjīva-dāna(the gift-of-life, gift-as-a-jīva). Tukā says: śikavile — (I) have taught; mājhe aikāve Viṭhṭhale — Viṭṭhal, listen to me.
What it means
A short playful bhakta-teaches-Lord prayer. Tumhām na paḍe vecha — mājhā sarel sankocha — no cost to you — my constriction will go away. The argument-to-the-Lord: this costs you nothing; but my-sankocha will go-away (i.e., my-suffering ends).
Phukāsāṭī jōḍe yaśa — yethē kām karā āḷasa — free, fame joins you — why be lazy here? The teasing-argument: (by saving me) you-get-fame-for-free; why-be-lazy?
Krpeñce bhukele — hōya jīva-dāna kele — (I'm) hungry for kṛpā — give me jīva-dāna. The petition: make my-life a-gift (from your-kṛpā).
The close: Tukā mhaṇe śikavile — mājhe aikāve Viṭhṭhale — I have taught — Viṭṭhal, listen to me. The playful-finish: Tukārām claims-to-have-taught Viṭṭhal; the Lord-should-listen. The bhakta-as-teacher is a striking-reversal — pairs with 2891 (bhakta-as-progenitor-of-Deva).
For someone today
Tukaram prays with a playful, almost cheeky honesty, telling Vitthal that saving him costs the Lord nothing, so why the delay. He points out that the Lord even gains glory for free by rescuing a devotee, so laziness makes no sense here. Underneath the teasing is real hunger, Tukaram wants grace and asks to be given his very life as a gift. Then he turns the tables and says he has taught Vitthal something, so the Lord should listen to him for once, showing that bhakti can be an intimate, even bold, relationship rather than stiff formality.
मराठी: तुकाराम विठ्ठलाशी अगदी खेळकर आणि थेट पद्धतीने बोलतात, म्हणतात की मला वाचवण्यात तुझा काहीच खर्च नाही, मग उशीर का करतोस. ते पुढे म्हणतात की भक्ताला वाचवल्याने तुला फुकटातच कीर्ती मिळते, मग इथे आळस कशासाठी. या खेळकरपणामागे खरी ओढ आहे, तुकारामांना कृपेची भूक आहे आणि ते स्वतःचे जीवनच दान म्हणून मागतात. शेवटी ते गंमतीने म्हणतात की मी तुला शिकवले आहे, आता विठ्ठलाने माझे ऐकावे, यातून भक्ती ही औपचारिक प्रार्थना नसून जिव्हाळ्याचे, धीट नाते आहे हे दिसते.
Where this applies
- When you hesitate to ask for help because you feel you are asking for too much
- When you notice that helping you would cost the other person little or nothing, and you gently point that out
- When you feel genuinely hungry for grace or relief and want to ask for it plainly instead of formally
- When your relationship with the Divine feels close enough that you can be playful or even a little bold in prayer