Abhanga 3028
Kōṇe gāvīm āhe sāngā hā Viṭhṭhal — in which village is this Viṭhṭhal — please tell; jarī ṭhāvā asela tumhām kōṇā — if any of you knows.
The verse
कोणे गांवीं आहे सांगा हा विठ्ठल । जरी ठावा असेल तुम्हां कोणा ॥१॥
लागतसें पायां येतों लोटांगणीं । मात तरी कोणी सांगा याची ॥ध्रु.॥
गुण रूप याचे वाणिती या संतां । मज क्षेम देतां सुख वाटे ॥२॥
सर्वस्वें हा जीव ठेवीन चरणीं । पांडुरंग कोणी दावी तया ॥३॥
तुका म्हणे गाईंवत्सा तडातोडी । तैसी जाते घडी एकी मज ॥४॥
Literal translation
Kōṇe gāvīm āhe sāngā hā Viṭhṭhal — in which village is this Viṭhṭhal — please tell; jarī ṭhāvā asela tumhām kōṇā — if any of you knows. Lāgatasēm pāyām yetōm lōṭāngaṇīm — I fall at (your) feet — come prostrating; māta tarī kōṇī sāngā yāñcī — at least, someone, please tell news of him. Guṇa-rūpa yāñce vāṇitī yā samtām — the sants recite his guṇa-rūpa; maja kṣema detām sukha vāṭe — giving me kṣema brings sukha. Sarvasvē hā jīva ṭhevīm charaṇīm — with all (my) being, I will place jīva at the charaṇa; Pāṇḍuranga kōṇī dāvī tayā — someone, please show me Pāṇḍuranga. Tukā mhaṇe gāīm-vatsā taḍātōḍī — Tukā says: cow-and-calf wrenched-apart; taisī jāte ghaḍī ekī maja — so each ghaḍī passes for me.
What it means
A canonical Tukārām yearning-for-Viṭhṭhal abhang. The persona is a-bhakta-searching-village-to-village for-Viṭhṭhal. The opening-question (kōṇē gāvīm āhe — in-which-village-is-he) is Vārkarī-iconic — a bhakta-on-foot-asking-strangers-for-the-Lord's-whereabouts.
The verse contains the cow-and-calf-wrenched-apart (gāīm-vatsā taḍātōḍī) image — one of Tukārām's most-poignant images-for-bhakta-Lord-separation. The cow-and-calf-bond is the Vārkarī's-favorite-image for-the-irreversible-pull of-bhakti-yearning.
Compare-Tukārām's-own 2811 (chakora-and-moon, hungry-baby-for-mother), 3027 (prāṇa-like-fish-without-water).
For someone today
Tukārām's canonical yearning. In which village is this Viṭhṭhal? — please tell, if any of you knows. I fall at (your) feet — come prostrating — at least please tell me news of him. The sants recite his guṇa-rūpa — to give me the kṣema (news) brings sukha. With my whole being, I will place jīva at (his) charaṇa — someone, please show me Pāṇḍuranga. Like cow-and-calf wrenched apart — so each moment passes for me. The verse permits the bhakta-as-pilgrim-searching-village-by-village for-the-Lord, with-the-cow-calf-image at-the-center.
Where this applies
- Tukārām's canonical yearning in-which-village-is-Viṭhṭhal
- Companion to 3027 (jīva-pisā for-Viṭhṭhal) and 2811 (bhēṭīlāgī-jīvā-lāgalīse-āsa)
- Cow-and-calf-wrenched-apart canonical image