Abhanga 2915
Tukaram teases God for seeming indifferent, arguing that a devotee who serves freely and sacrifices comfort deserves at least a yes, not silence.
The verse
मोल वेचूनियां धुंडिती सेवका । आम्ही तरी फुका मागों बळें ॥१॥
नसतां जवळी हित फार करूं । जीव भाव धरूं तुझ्या पायीं ॥ध्रु.॥
नेदूं भोग आम्ही आपुल्या शरीरा । तुम्हांसी दातारा व्हावें म्हूण ॥२॥
कीर्ती तुझी करूं आमुचे सायास । तूं का रे उदास पांडुरंगा ॥३॥
तुका म्हणे तुज काय मागों आम्ही । फुकाचे कां ना भी म्हणसी ना ॥४॥
Literal translation
Mōla vechūnīyām dhūṇḍitī sevakā — (people) spendingmōla(money) seeksevaka(servants); āmhī tarī phukā māgōm baḷe — we (on the other hand) ask freely (phukā) with-force (baḷe). Nasatām javaḷī hita phāra karūm — while not near (you), we do muchhita(welfare-work); jīva bhāva dharūm tujhyā pāyī — we holdjīva-bhāvaat your feet. Nedūm bhōga āmhī āpulyā śarīrā — we will not givebhōga(enjoyment) to our ownśarīra(body); tumhāsī dātārā hvāve mhūṇa — so that you become adātāra(giver, donor) for us. Kīrtī tujhī karūm āmuche sāyāsa — we do yourkīrti(fame, praise) (with) oursāyāsa(toil); tūm kā re udāsa Pāṇḍurangā — why are youudāsa(indifferent), Pāṇḍurangā? Tukā says: tuja kāya māgōm āmhī — what do we ask of you?; phukāñce kām nā bhī mhaṇasī nā — are you afraid to saynā(no) to a free (request) (= just say yes!)?
What it means
A 4-verse bhakta-bargains-with-Lord verse. Mōla vechūnīyām dhūṇḍitī sevakā — āmhī tarī phukā māgōm baḷe — people spend money for servants — we ask freely with force. The opening-contrast: normal-employers pay for servants; we (bhaktas) ask-freely-with-force (we don't pay, but demand).
Nasatām javaḷī hita phāra karūm — jīva bhāva dharūm tujhyā pāyī — while not near, we do much hita — we hold jīva-bhāva at your feet. The bhakta's-services-from-afar: even when not in the Lord's-presence, we do much for him; we hold jīva-bhāva at his feet.
Nedūm bhōga āmhī āpulyā śarīrā — tumhāsī dātārā hvāve mhūṇa — we don't give bhōga to our body — so you become a dātāra. The bargain-claim: we forego-bodily-enjoyment (vairāgya) so-that you-become-our-giver. The bhakta foregoes self-bhōga to compel-the-Lord-into-dātāra-mode.
Kīrtī tujhī karūm āmuche sāyāsa — tūm kā re udāsa Pāṇḍurangā — we do your fame with our toil — why are you indifferent, Pāṇḍurangā? The toil-of-kīrtana for the Lord's fame; the complaint about the Lord's udāsa-paṇa (indifference).
The close: Tukā mhaṇe tuja kāya māgōm āmhī — phukāñce kām nā bhī mhaṇasī nā — what do we ask of you — are you afraid to saynāto a free (request)? The playful-challenge: we're-asking-nothing-material; just-say-yes; are you afraid?
For someone today
Tukaram teases Pandurang like a bold devotee bargaining with the divine: other people pay money to hire servants, but we serve you freely and even insist on it. Even when we're not near you, we do a great deal for you and hold our whole heart at your feet. We deny our own bodies comfort and pleasure just so that you'll become the giver in this relationship. We work hard to spread your fame with our own toil — so why are you being so distant, Pandurang? What are we even asking of you? We're not asking for anything costly — so why be afraid to just say yes?
मराठी: तुकाराम पांडुरंगाची खट्याळपणे थट्टा करतात, जणू एक धीट भक्त देवाशी घासाघीस करत आहे: इतर लोक नोकर ठेवण्यासाठी पैसे मोजतात, पण आम्ही तुझी सेवा फुकट करतो, उलट हट्टाने करतो. तू जवळ नसलास तरी आम्ही तुझ्यासाठी खूप काही करतो आणि आमचे मन-भाव तुझ्या पायांशी वाहतो. आम्ही आमच्या शरीराला सुख-चैन नाकारतो, फक्त यासाठी की तू आमचा दाता बनावास. आमच्या मेहनतीने आम्ही तुझी कीर्ती वाढवतो — मग तू इतका उदासीन का, पांडुरंगा? आम्ही तुझ्याकडे काय मागतो आहोत? काही महागडे नाही — मग फक्त होकार द्यायला एवढी भीती का?
Where this applies
- When you feel shy about asking God or a loved one for closeness, as if only formal payment earns attention
- When you have given up comforts or made sacrifices out of devotion and feel unseen or ignored in return
- When you want to voice a playful complaint to someone you love deeply instead of staying silently resentful
- When you are pouring effort into praising or serving something greater and wonder why it feels distant