Abhanga 3065
Tukārām's canonical Paṇḍharī-vārakarī-call. Go-go you to Paṇḍharī — be-be a vārakarī. Abandoning the sandy-banks, why do you wish for Vaikuṇṭha? On your shoulders — the load of flags; tuḷasī-māḷās and abīra. In the crowd of sādhus-and-sants — Tukā goes prostrating. The verse permits the iconic Vārkarī call with its radical claim that the sandy banks of the Chandrabhāgā are superior to Vaikuṇṭha itself.
The verse
जाय जाय तूं पंढरी । होय होय वारकरी ॥१॥
सांडोनियां वाळवंट । काय इच्छिसी वैकुंठ ॥ध्रु.॥
खांद्या पताकांचे भार । तुळसीमाळा आणि अबीर ॥२॥
साधुसंतांच्या दाटणी । तुका जाय लोटांगणीं ॥३॥
Literal translation
Jāya jāya tūm Paṇḍharī — go go you to Paṇḍharī; hōya hōya vārakarī — be, be a vārakarī. Sāṇḍōnīyām vāḷavamṭa — abandoning the vāḷavamṭa; kāya ichchhisī Vaikuṇṭha — why do you wish for Vaikuṇṭha. Khāmdyā patākāñce bhāra — on (the) shoulders, the load of patākas; tuḷasī-māḷā āṇi abīra — tuḷasī-māḷās and abīra. Sādhu-samtāñciyā dāṭaṇī — in the dāṭaṇī (crowd) of sādhu-samtas; Tukā jāya lōṭāngaṇīm — Tukā goes prostrating.
What it means
A canonical short 3-verse Paṇḍharī-vārakarī-call by Tukārām.
The call: Go-go-to-Paṇḍharī, be-a-vārakarī. The reasoning: Why-want-Vaikuṇṭha when the-vāḷavamṭa (sandy-banks-of-the-Chandrabhāgā at-Paṇḍharī) is-here? The picture: flags-on-shoulders, tuḷasī-māḷās, abīra, in-the-crowd-of-sants, Tukā-himself-prostrates.
This is one of the most-iconic Vārkarī-pilgrim-call texts. The claim vāḷavamṭa is preferable-to Vaikuṇṭha is striking — the sandy-banks of the-Chandrabhāgā at-Paṇḍharī are-superior-to the-paradise-realm. Bhakti-place beats bhakti-destination.
Compare-Tukārām's 3034 (Paṇḍharī-vārakarī mokṣa-adhikārī), 3036 (Paṇḍharī-jā-rē-samsāra), 2777 (Chandrabhāgā-all-tīrthas).
For someone today
Tukārām's canonical Paṇḍharī-vārakarī-call. Go-go you to Paṇḍharī — be-be a vārakarī. Abandoning the sandy-banks, why do you wish for Vaikuṇṭha? On your shoulders — the load of flags; tuḷasī-māḷās and abīra. In the crowd of sādhus-and-sants — Tukā goes prostrating. The verse permits the iconic Vārkarī call with its radical claim that the sandy banks of the Chandrabhāgā are superior to Vaikuṇṭha itself.
मराठी: तुकारामांचा हा पंढरीच्या वारकऱ्यांना पारंपरिक आवाहन देणारा अभंग आहे. जा जा तू पंढरीला — हो हो वारकरी. हे वाळवंट सोडून वैकुंठाची इच्छा का करतोस? खांद्यावर पताकांचे ओझे; तुळशीच्या माळा आणि अबीर. साधुसंतांच्या गर्दीत तुका लोटांगण घालतो. या अभंगातून हे प्रतीकात्मक वारकरी आवाहन आणि हा ठाम दावा प्रकट होतो की चंद्रभागेचे वाळवंट वैकुंठाहूनही श्रेष्ठ आहे.
Where this applies
- Canonical Paṇḍharī-vārakarī-call text
- Sandy-banks > Vaikuṇṭha radical-claim
- Iconic Vārkarī imagery: flags, tuḷasī-māḷās, abīra
- Companion to 3034, 3036, 2777