Abhanga 3043
Jethe āṭhavatī svāmīñce te pāya — wherever the svāmī's pāya are recalled; uttama te ṭhāya ramya sthaḷa — that ṭhāya (place) is uttama, (and a) ramya-sthaḷa.
The verse
जेथें आठवती स्वामीचे ते पाय । उत्तम ते ठाय रम्य स्थळ ॥१॥
रान अथवा घर एकांत लोकांत । समाधान चत्ति तें ते घडी ॥ध्रु.॥
धन्य तो हा काळ सरे आनंदरूप । वाहातां संकल्प गोविंदाचे ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे लाभकाळ ते चि जीणें । भाग्य नारायण उत्तम तें ॥३॥
Literal translation
Jethe āṭhavatī svāmīñce te pāya — wherever the svāmī's pāya are recalled; uttama te ṭhāya ramya sthaḷa — that ṭhāya (place) is uttama, (and a) ramya-sthaḷa. Rāna athavā ghara ekānta lōkānta — forest or house, solitude or in-crowd; samādhāna chitta te te ghaḍī — the chitta has samādhāna at that very ghaḍī. Dhanya tō hā kāḷa sare ānanda-rūpa — blessed is that kāḷa — it passes as ānanda-rūpa; vāhātām samkalpa Govindāñce — carrying Govinda's samkalpa. Tukā mhaṇe lābha-kāḷa te chi jīṇe — Tukā says: (that) is the lābha-kāḷa, that is jīṇa; bhāgya Nārāyaṇa uttama te — bhāgya, Nārāyaṇa, uttama.
What it means
A canonical 3-verse bhakti-makes-any-place-uttama text by Tukārām.
The claim: Wherever-svāmī's-feet-are-recalled, that-place is-uttama-ramya. Forest-or-house, solitude-or-crowd — chitta-samādhāna at-that-moment. Dhanya this kāḷa goes-as-ānanda-rūpa, carrying-Govinda's-samkalpa. That-itself is lābha-kāḷa — jīṇa (true-life) — bhāgya — Nārāyaṇa — uttama.
The verse-resolves the forest-vs-house and-the-ekānta-vs-lōkānta dichotomies — where-bhakti-happens, the-place is-irrelevant. This is the bhakti-non-locational doctrine.
Compare-Tukārām's 2618 (mātalē-Vaiṣṇava-kīrtana-tableau — no-need-of-mokṣa-tīrtha-vana, whole-earth-is-Hari-Hara-self), 2867 (ṭhevilē-Anantē equanimity), 3036 (Paṇḍharī as-the-place).
For someone today
Tukārām's bhakti-makes-any-place-uttama text. Wherever the svāmī's pāya are recalled — that place is uttama, a delightful spot. Forest or house, solitude or in-crowd — the chitta has peace at that very moment. Blessed is that time — it passes as ānanda-rūpa — carrying Govinda's intention. That very (time) is the gain-time — that is life — fortune — Nārāyaṇa — uttama. The verse permits the bhakti-non-locational claim that-place-is-irrelevant-where-bhakti-happens.
Where this applies
- Tukārām's canonical bhakti-makes-any-place-uttama text
- Resolves forest-vs-house, solitude-vs-crowd dichotomies
- Companion to 2618, 2867, 3036