Abhanga 2965
Singing the divine Name with real trust frees you from endless rebirth, and this practice is open to everyone, free of cost, starting right now.
The verse
तुझें नाम गाऊं आतां । तुझ्या रंगीं नाचों था था ॥१॥
तुझ्या नामाचा विश्वास । आम्हां कैंचा गर्भवास ॥ध्रु.॥
तुझे नामीं विसर पडे । तरी कोटी हत्या घडे ॥२॥
नाम घ्या रे कोणी फुका । भावें सांगतसे तुका ॥३॥
Literal translation
Tujhe nāma gāūm ātām — now I'll sing your Name; tujhyā rangī nāchōm thā thā — I'll dancethā thāin yourranga. Tujhyā nāmāñcā viśvāsa — (with) trust in your Name; āmhām kaiñchā garbha-vāsa — for us, where (is)garbha-vāsa? Tujhe nāmī visara paḍe — (if) forgetting falls (about) your Name; tarī kōṭī hatyā ghaḍe — thenkoṭī hatyā(millions of murders/sins) (are) committed-and-cleansed. Nāma ghyā re kōṇī phukā — take the Name freely (at no cost); bhāve sāngatase Tukā — Tukā says (it) withbhāva.
What it means
A canonical 4-verse Name-sankīrtana verse. Tujhe nāma gāūm ātām — tujhyā rangī nāchōm thā thā — now I'll sing your Name — dancethā thāin your ranga. The opening-commitment + dance-onomatopoeia (thā thā = the rhythm-step of-dancing).
Tujhyā nāmāñcā viśvāsa — āmhām kaiñchā garbha-vāsa — trust in your Name — for us, no garbha-vāsa. The Name-rebirth-claim.
Tujhe nāmī visara paḍe — tarī kōṭī hatyā ghaḍe — if forgetting falls about your Name — then koṭi hatyā are done. Ghaḍe has the double-sense: committed AND cleansed. The verse-says: if-you-forget-the-Name, that's-the-same-as-committing-millions-of-sins; but-also: the Name-remembrance cleanses-millions-of-sins.
The close: Nāma ghyā re kōṇī phukā — bhāve sāngatase Tukā — take the Name freely — Tukā speaks-with-bhāva. The democratization-claim: the Name is FREE (no-cost); just-take-it.
For someone today
Tukaram commits to singing the Lord's Name right now, dancing joyfully to its rhythm. With real trust in the Name, he says, there is no more need to be born again into the womb, cycle after cycle. If you forget the Name, it's as serious as committing countless wrongs — but remembering it just as powerfully washes all of that away. So Tukaram calls out with real feeling: take the Name, it costs nothing at all.
मराठी: तुकाराम आताच देवाचे नाव गाण्याचा आणि त्याच्या तालावर आनंदाने नाचण्याचा निश्चय करतात. नामावर खरी श्रद्धा असली की पुन्हा पुन्हा गर्भवासात जन्म घ्यायची गरजच उरत नाही, असे ते म्हणतात. नाम विसरणे हे जणू असंख्य पापे केल्यासारखे गंभीर आहे — पण तेच नाम आठवणे तितक्याच शक्तीने ती सगळी पापे धुऊन टाकते. म्हणून तुकाराम मनापासून हाक मारतात: नाम घ्या, त्याला काहीही किंमत नाही.
Where this applies
- When someone wants to start a spiritual practice but worries it requires money or special resources
- When a person feels weighed down by fear of repeated struggles and longs for release
- When you catch yourself forgetting to turn your mind toward what matters and want to return to it
- When you want to express joy through singing or movement rather than quiet, solemn ritual