Abhanga 3018
Because the divine has always borne the world's weight and rescued devotees before, there is no reason left to fear or worry now.
The verse
मत्स्यकूर्मशेषा कोणाचा आधार । पृथिवीचा भार वाहावया ॥१॥
काय धाक आम्हां कासयाची चिंता । ऐसा तो असतां साहाकारी ॥ध्रु.॥
शंखचक्रगदा आयुधें अपार । वागवितो भार भक्तांसाटीं ॥२॥
पांडवां जोहरी राखिलें कुसरी । तो हा बंधुचा कैवारी तुकयाच्या ॥३॥
Literal translation
Matsya-kūrma-śeṣā kōṇāñcā ādhāra — Matsya, Kūrma, Śeṣa — whoseādhāra(support); prthivīñcā bhāra vāhāvayā — to bear thebhāra(weight) of theprthivī. Kāya dhāka āmhām — kāsayāñcī chintā — what fear (do) we (have) — what worry; aisā tō asatām sahāyakārī — such a one being asahāyakārī. Śankha-chakra-gadā āyudhe apāra — conch-discus-mace —āyudha-apāra(immeasurable weapons); vāgavitō bhāra bhaktāmsāṭīm — carries the weight for (the) bhaktas. Pāṇḍavām jōharī rākhile kusarī — (he) protected the Pāṇḍavas withkuśalī(skill) in thejōhara(lac-house); tō hā bandhuchā kaivārī tukayāchyā — this (one) is thekaivārī(protector) ofTukārām's-brother.
What it means
A confidence-verse by Tukyā-bandhu. NON-Tukārām.
The brother invokes the Lord's-avatāra-chain (Matsya-Kūrma-Śeṣa carrying-the-earth) and-the-weapons-arsenal (śankha-chakra-gadā) and-the-historical-protection (Pāṇḍavas in the lākṣā-grha jōhara) — all to-establish this-same-Lord is-the-protector-of-Tukārām's-brother. The closing-identification is the verse's-claim: I'm-Tukārām's-brother, and this Lord protects-me.
For someone today
Kānhobā builds his confidence here by remembering the Lord's long history of protection. If the Lord could take the forms of Matsya, Kūrma, and Śeṣa to bear the whole weight of the earth, what fear or worry could remain for someone under his care? He carries conch, discus, and mace — an endless arsenal — specifically to shoulder the burdens of his devotees. He recalls how skillfully the Lord once protected the Pāṇḍavas in the lac-house plot, and declares that this very same Lord is now the protector of Tukārām's brother. It's a reminder that because the divine has always borne the world's weight and rescued devotees before, there is no reason left to fear or worry now.
मराठी: कान्होबा येथे परमेश्वराच्या दीर्घ रक्षणपरंपरेचे स्मरण करून आत्मविश्वास मिळवतो. मत्स्य, कूर्म आणि शेष यांच्या रूपात परमेश्वराने पृथ्वीचा संपूर्ण भार वाहिला, तर त्याच्या आश्रयाखाली असलेल्याला कसली भीती किंवा काळजी उरणार? शंख, चक्र, गदा अशी अगणित आयुधे तो केवळ आपल्या भक्तांचा भार उचलण्यासाठी बाळगतो. लाक्षागृहाच्या कटात पांडवांचे कौशल्याने रक्षण त्याने कसे केले, हे तो आठवतो, आणि सांगतो की तोच परमेश्वर आता तुकारामांच्या भावाचा रक्षणकर्ता आहे. परमेश्वराने आजवर नेहमी जगाचा भार वाहिला आहे आणि भक्तांचे रक्षण केले आहे, त्यामुळे आता भीती किंवा काळजीचे काहीच कारण उरत नाही, हेच हा अभंग सांगतो.
Where this applies
- NON-Tukārām composition — signed by Tukayāchyā bandhuchā kaivārī (protector of Tukārām's-brother)
- Confidence-verse: avatāra-support-chain → present-confidence
- Self-identification: I'm-Tukārām's-brother