Abhanga 2995
Even in complete grief and family ruin, you can refuse to let go of your bond with God, no matter what the world says about you for it.
The verse
काय सांगों हृषीकेशा । आहे अनुताप आला ऐसा । गिळावासी निमिषा । निमिष लागों नेदावें ॥१॥
माझें बुडविलें घर । लेंकरें बाळें दारोदार । लाविलीं काहार । तारातीर करोनि ॥ध्रु.॥
जीव घ्यावा कीं द्यावा । तुझा आपुला केशवा । इतुकें उरलें आहे । भावाचिया निमित्यें ॥२॥
तुकयाबंधु म्हणें जग । बरें वाईंट म्हणो मग । या कारणें परी लाग । न संडावा सर्वथा ॥३॥
Literal translation
Kāya sāngōm Hrṣīkeśā — what can I say, Hrṣīkeśa; āhe anutāpa ālā aisā — such ananutāpa(remorse-burning-regret) has come; giḷāvāsī nimiṣā — (I want) to swallow (you) in animiṣa(instant); nimiṣa lāgōm nedāve — not (even) letting animiṣago by. Mājhe buḍavile ghara — you have sunk my house; lenkare bāḷe dārō-dāra — lenkare-bāḷe(small-children) at every door; lāvilīm kāhāra — tārātīra karōnī — sent (them) tokāhāra(mountains, distant-places) withtā-rā-tī-ra(cry-of-distress). Jīva ghyāvā kī dyāvā — thejīva— to be taken or given; tujhā āpulā Keśavā — yours or mine, Keśava; itake urale āhe — this-much remains; bhāvāñciyā nimityē — because of (the) brother. Tukyā-bandhu mhaṇe jaga — Tukārām's-brother says: thejaga(world); bare vāīṭa mhaṇō maga — let it call (us) good-or-bad; yā kāraṇe parī lāga — for thiskāraṇa(cause), thelāga(pull-attachment); na saṇḍāvā sarvathā — do not give-(it)-up at-all.
What it means
A striking 3-verse extreme-grief verse by Tukyā-bandhu. NON-Tukārām.
The bhakta-brother's-anutāpa (burning-regret) is so-strong he wants-to-swallow-the-Lord-in-an-instant. He laments: house-sunk, children-at-every-door (begging), sent-to-distant-places-with-distress-cry. The only-thing-keeping-him-alive: the-cause-of-(getting-back)-the-brother. The discipline: don't-give-up-the-lāga (pull-attachment) at-all; let the world-say-what-it-will.
For someone today
This is a verse of extreme, overwhelming grief by Kānhōbā. What can I even say, Hrṣīkeśa, he asks — such burning remorse has come over me that I want to swallow you whole in an instant, without letting even a moment pass. You have sunk my household; my little children are begging at every door, sent off crying in distress to distant places. Whether this life of mine is to be taken or given, yours or mine, Keśava — only one thing keeps me holding on: getting my brother back. Tukārām's brother says: let the world call us good or bad, whatever it likes — for this reason, I will never let go of this bond. The verse allows for a devotee's most extreme grief, clinging on despite collapse and despite whatever the world thinks of him for it.
मराठी: हा कान्होबांचा अत्यंत तीव्र दुःखाचा अभंग आहे. मी काय सांगू, हृषीकेशा, ते विचारतात — इतका जळजळीत पश्चात्ताप माझ्यात दाटला आहे की मला वाटते तुला क्षणार्धात गिळून टाकावे, एक क्षणही जाऊ देऊ नये. तू माझे घर बुडवलेस; माझी लहान मुले दारोदार भीक मागत आहेत, आक्रोश करत दूरदूरच्या ठिकाणी पाठवली गेली आहेत. हा जीव घ्यायचा की द्यायचा, तुझा असो वा माझा, केशवा — फक्त एकच गोष्ट मला तगवून ठेवते आहे — माझा भाऊ परत मिळवणे. तुकयाबंधू म्हणतात — जग आम्हाला बरे म्हणो वा वाईट, त्याची पर्वा नाही — या कारणासाठी मी हे नाते कधीही सोडणार नाही. हा अभंग भक्ताच्या सर्वात टोकाच्या दुःखाला वाट करून देतो — सगळे कोसळलेले असतानाही, जग काहीही म्हणो, तो हे नाते धरून राहतो.
Where this applies
- When your household or family life has collapsed and you feel like you can't hold it together anymore.
- When regret and grief burn so intensely that you want an answer or relief right now, not later.
- When almost everything that used to steady you is gone, and only one relationship or bond keeps you going.
- When people around you judge or mock you for staying devoted through hard times, and you have to decide whether to hold on anyway.