Abhanga 2981
Grief can grow so deep that it seizes hold of the Divine itself, refusing to let go until the departed loved one is returned.
The verse
न लगे चिंता आतां अन्मोन हाता । आलें मूळ भ्राता गेला त्याचें ॥१॥
घरभेद्या येथें आहे तें सुकानु । धरितों कवळून पाय दोन्ही ॥ध्रु.॥
त्याचें त्याचिया मुखें पडिलें ठावें । न लगे सारावें मागें पुढें ॥२॥
तुकयाबंधु म्हणे करील भेटी भावा । सोडीन तेधवां या विठ्ठला ॥३॥
Literal translation
Na lage chintā ātām anmōna hātā — no need forchintānow — without-asking, (something) has come into hand; āle mūla bhrātā gelā tyāñce — themūla(root, source) — thebhrātā(brother) has gone — (is) his (the Lord's). Ghara-bhedyā yethe āhe te sukānu — theghara-bhedyā(house-betrayer, breaker-in) here is thesukānu(helmsman, ruler); dharitōm kavaḷūna pāya dōnhī — I am-grabbing both (his) feet,kavaḷūna(embracing). Tyāñce tyāchiyā mukhe paḍile ṭhāve — his-own-from-his-mouth has-fallen-known; na lage sārāve māge puḍhe — no need to rearrange front-or-back. Tukyā-bandhu mhaṇe — Tukārām's-brother says; karīl bhēṭī bhāvā — sōḍīna tedhavām yā Viṭhṭhalā — (when) he-will-make-meeting (with) brother — then I will-release this Viṭṭhal.
What it means
A striking 3-verse hostage-strategy verse by Tukyā-bandhu. Part of the lament-cluster (2977-2987).
The strategic-vichāra: Na lage chintā ātām anmōna hātā — no chintā now — (something) has come into hand without-asking. The brother-realizes: I-have-something-in-hand — the Lord-himself, who-took-his-brother.
Āle mūla bhrātā gelā tyāñce — the root, the brother has gone — (it is) his (the Lord's). Cryptic-claim: the brother's-going is the Lord's-doing (i.e., the Lord took-Tukārām away).
The hostage-image: Ghara-bhedyā yethe āhe te sukānu — dharitōm kavaḷūna pāya dōnhī — the house-thief here is the sukānu — I'm-grabbing-both-his-feet, embracing-them. The Lord-the-house-thief (who-stole-the-brother) is-now-the-sukānu (ruler) — and the bhakta-brother has-grabbed-his-feet with-both-hands. The hostage-image: I-have-the-feet of-the-house-thief; he-won't-escape.
Tyāñce tyāchiyā mukhe paḍile ṭhāve — na lage sārāve māge puḍhe — his-own-from-his-mouth has-fallen-revealed — no need to rearrange. The implicit-claim: the Lord has-already-acknowledged-the-theft-by-his-own-mouth.
Close (the hostage-demand): Tukyā-bandhu mhaṇe karīl bhēṭī bhāvā — sōḍīna tedhavām yā Viṭhṭhalā — Tukārām's-brother says: (when) he will-make-meeting (with my) brother — THEN I will release this Viṭṭhal. The bhakta-brother holds-Viṭṭhal-hostage until-Tukārām-is-returned.
For someone today
This is a bold, almost audacious hostage-strategy verse written by Kānhōbā in his grief. There's no need to worry now, he says — something has fallen into my hands without even asking for it. The root of it all — my brother's departure — that was the Lord's own doing. The very housebreaker who stole him is here now, and I've grabbed both his feet, wrapping my arms around them. His own mouth has already given away the truth — there's no rearranging the story now. Tukārām's brother declares: only when he brings my brother back to meet me will I let go of this Viṭṭhal. The verse allows for a devotee's bold, hostage-like claim on God — grabbing hold of the Lord's own feet and refusing to release him until the one who was taken is returned. It is a fierce strategy: the Lord who took Tukārām is now, in a sense, caught in his brother's grip, and only by giving Tukārām back will he be set free.
मराठी: हा कान्होबांच्या दुःखातून जन्मलेला एक धीट, जवळजवळ ओलीस-धरण्यासारखा अभंग आहे. ते म्हणतात, आता चिंता करायचे कारण नाही — न मागताच काहीतरी हाती लागले आहे. या साऱ्याचे मूळ — माझ्या भावाचे जाणे — हे देवाचेच कृत्य होते. ज्याने त्याला चोरून नेले तोच घरफोड्या आता इथे आहे, आणि मी त्याचे दोन्ही पाय घट्ट धरून कवटाळले आहेत. त्याच्याच तोंडून सत्य उघड झाले आहे — आता काही लपवाछपवी करायची गरज नाही. तुकयाबंधू म्हणतात — जेव्हा तो माझ्या भावाची भेट घडवून आणेल, तेव्हाच मी या विठ्ठलाला सोडून देईन. हा अभंग भक्ताच्या एका धीट, ओलीस-धरण्यासारख्या दाव्याला वाट करून देतो — देवाचेच पाय धरून, गेलेली व्यक्ती परत मिळेपर्यंत त्याला सोडायचे नाही. ही एक निर्धाराची, आक्रमक युक्ती आहे — ज्या देवाने तुकारामांना नेले, तोच आता जणू भावाच्या पकडीत सापडला आहे, आणि तुकारामांना परत आणल्याशिवाय त्याची सुटका नाही.
Where this applies
- When your grief is so intense that quiet prayer no longer feels like enough and you need to demand something from God
- When you feel entitled to hold onto your faith fiercely, even angrily, until you receive some resolution
- When you are mourning someone you love and feel like blaming a higher power for taking them away
- When you realize that fierce, bold devotion can be as real an expression of love as gentle surrender