Abhanga 2972
Because God has rescued the humiliated, the endangered, and the poor before, a person who comes in genuine surrender can trust to be remembered too.
The verse
पतित मी पापी शरण आलों तुज । राखें माझी लाज पांडुरंगा ॥१॥
तारियेले भक्त न कळे तुझा अंत । थोर मी पतित पांडुरंगा ॥ध्रु.॥
द्रौपदी बहिणी वैरीं गांजियेली । आपणाऐसी केली पांडुरंगा ॥२॥
प्रल्हादाकारणें स्तंभीं अवतार । माझा कां विसर पांडुरंगा ॥३॥
सुदामा ब्राम्हण दारिद्रे पीडिला । आपणाऐसा केला पांडुरंगा ॥४॥
तुका म्हणे तुज शरण निजभावें । पाप निदाऩळावें पांडुरंगा ॥५॥
Literal translation
Patita mī pāpī śaraṇa ālōm tuja — I,patita(fallen) andpāpī, have come to you forśaraṇa; rākhe mājhī lāja Pāṇḍurangā — protect mylāja(honor), Pāṇḍurangā. Tāriyele bhakta na kaḷe tujhā anta — (you have) saved bhaktas — youranta(end) is not knowable; thōra mī patita Pāṇḍurangā — (I am) a greatpatita. Draupadī bahiṇī vairī gāñjiyelī — Draupadī, (your)bahiṇī(sister), (was)gāñjiyelī(tormented) by enemies; āpaṇā-aiśī kelī Pāṇḍurangā — (you) made (her) like yourself. Prahlādā-kāraṇe stambhī avatāra — forPrahlāda, (you came as)avatārain thestambha(pillar); mājhā kām visara Pāṇḍurangā — why thisvisara(forgetting) of me? Sudāmā brāhmaṇa dāridrē pīḍilā — Sudāmāthebrāhmaṇa(was) tormented bydāridra(poverty); āpaṇā-aisā kelā Pāṇḍurangā — (you) made (him) like yourself. Tukā says: tuja śaraṇa nija-bhāve — I have come to you withnija-bhāva; pāpa nidāḷāve Pāṇḍurangā — destroy (my)pāpa.
What it means
A canonical 5-verse Draupadī-Prahlāda-Sudāmā redemption-list + plea. Pairs with 2843's gaṇikā-Ajāmīḷa-Ahilyā-Kubjā-prthivī and 2787's Ajāmīḷa-Bhillī-Kuṇṭanī-Vālmīka as the bhakti-redemption-confidence-corpus.
Three canonical redemptions: 1. Draupadī — when shamed-in-Kaurava-assembly, called-Krṣṇa; he-extended-her-sari-endlessly. Tukārām's-claim:made-her-like-yourself— i.e., took-her-into-his-divine-protection. 2. Prahlāda — son of Hiraṇyakaśipu; when-the-demon-king-demanded "where-is-your-Hari?" and-pointed-to-a-pillar, Viṣṇu emerged-from-the-pillar as Narasimha and killed-the-demon. Tukārām's-question:why-this-forgetting-of-me?— if-you-came-out-of-a-pillar-for-Prahlāda, why-not-for-me? 3. Sudāmā — Krṣṇa's-childhood-friend, a poor-brāhmaṇa; when-he-visited-Krṣṇa-at-Dvārakā with-a-bit-of-broken-rice-as-gift, Krṣṇa-honored-him-supremely and-made-him-rich. Made-him-like-yourself.
Petition: tuja śaraṇa nija-bhāve — pāpa nidāḷāve — I-come-with-nija-bhāva; destroy-pāpa.
For someone today
This verse draws on the classic list of Draupadī, Prahlāda, and Sudāmā to build confidence in devotion. Tukārām says: I, fallen and sinful, have come to you for refuge — protect my honor, Pāṇḍuranga. You have saved devotees before, and your greatness is beyond knowing — yet I am a great sinner, Pāṇḍuranga. Draupadī, your sister, was tormented by her enemies, and you made her your own. For Prahlāda's sake you appeared out of a pillar — so why have you forgotten me? Sudāmā the brāhmaṇa was crushed by poverty, and you made him your own too. I come to you in true surrender: destroy my sin, Pāṇḍuranga. The verse builds confidence in devotion by precedent — these three rescues show the Lord's pattern of saving those who call on him, and Tukārām's pointed question is: given all these precedents, why would you forget me now?
मराठी: हा अभंग द्रौपदी, प्रल्हाद आणि सुदामा या पारंपरिक उदाहरणांतून भक्तीवरचा विश्वास दृढ करतो. तुकाराम म्हणतात, मी पतित आणि पापी तुला शरण आलो आहे — माझी लाज राख, पांडुरंगा. तू आधीही भक्तांना तारले आहेस, तुझा अंत कळत नाही — तरी मी मोठा पतित आहे, पांडुरंगा. द्रौपदी, तुझी बहीण, शत्रूंनी छळली होती — तू तिला स्वतःसारखी केलीस. प्रल्हादासाठी तू खांबातून अवतार घेतलास — मग माझा हा विसर का, पांडुरंगा? सुदामा ब्राह्मण दारिद्र्याने पीडलेला होता — त्यालाही तू स्वतःसारखे केलेस. मी खऱ्या मनाने तुला शरण आलो आहे — माझे पाप नष्ट कर, पांडुरंगा. या तीन पूर्वदाखल्यांतून — साडी वाढवणे, खांबातून प्रकट होणे, दारिद्र्य दूर करणे — देवाच्या तारण्याच्या पद्धतीवर विश्वास निर्माण होतो; आणि तुकारामांचा थेट प्रश्न आहे — एवढे दाखले असताना माझा का विसर पडावा?
Where this applies
- When you feel too flawed to deserve help but still choose to ask for it.
- When you need to remember times you or others were rescued, to renew your hope.
- When you feel forgotten or overlooked despite years of quiet faith.
- When you are ready to surrender completely and ask for a fresh start.