Abhanga 3066
Jagīm aisā bāpa hvāvā — such a bāpa should be in the world; jyāñcā vamśa muktisa jāvā — whose vamśa goes to mukti.
The verse
जगीं ऐसा बाप व्हावा । ज्याचा वंश मुक्तिस जावा ॥१॥
पोटा येतां हरलें पापा । ज्ञानदेवा मायबापा ॥ध्रु.॥
मुळीं बाप होता ज्ञानी । तरी आम्ही लागलों ध्यानीं ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे मी पोटींचें बाळ । माझी पुरवा ब्रम्हींची आळ ॥३॥
Literal translation
Jagīm aisā bāpa hvāvā — such a bāpa should be in the world; jyāñcā vamśa muktisa jāvā — whose vamśa goes to mukti. Pōṭā yetām haraḷe pāpā — on (his) coming-into-the-womb, pāpa was removed; Jñānadevā māyabāpā — Jñānadeva, mother-father. Muḷīm bāpa hōtā jñānī — at the root, the bāpa was jñānī; tarī āmhī lāgalōm dhyānīm — therefore we have attached to dhyāna. Tukā mhaṇe mī pōṭīmñce bāḷa — Tukā says: I am the pōṭīmñce-bāḷa; mājhī puravā brahmīmñcī āḷa — fulfill my brahmīmñcī āḷa (Brahma-aspiration).
What it means
★★ A MAJOR direct-praise of Jñāneśvara by Tukārām — a rare-direct Vārkarī-lineage-attestation.
The praise: Such-a-bāpa should-be-in-world whose-vamśa goes-to-mukti; on-coming-into-pōṭa, pāpa-was-removed; Jñānadeva = māyabāpā (mother-father); jñānī-from-the-root → we-attached-to-(his)-dhyāna; I-am-pōṭīmñce-bāḷa (belly-child); fulfill-my-brahmīmñcī-āḷa.
★★ This is a precious-direct-text where Tukārām explicitly-names-Jñāneśvara-as-his-spiritual-bāpa (father) and-claims we-are-his-belly-children attached-to-(his)-dhyāna. The Vārkarī-tradition holds-Jñāneśvara-as-the-mūla-puruṣa (foundational-father) of-the-tradition; Tukārām here-attests-to-this-relationship.
The phrase vamśa-muktisa-jāvā (lineage-goes-to-mukti) is striking — Jñāneśvara is-the-bāpa whose-spiritual-vamśa (= Vārkarī-tradition) is-mukti-bound. The coming-into-pōṭa-removes-pāpa is a-claim-of-Jñāneśvara's pre-birth-purifying-power.
The closing-petition: fulfill-my-brahma-iccha (Brahma-aspiration) — Tukārām asks-this-spiritual-father to-complete-his-realization.
Compare-Tukārām's-2810 (saints-list — Vidura/Prahlāda/Rohidāsa/Kabīra/Sajana-Kasāī/Sāvatā/Naraharī/Chokhā/Janī/Mīrā/Damājī/Gōrā/Puṇḍalika; Jñāneśvara not-named-in-that-list-directly, making-3066-distinctive).
For someone today
Tukārām's MAJOR direct-praise of Jñāneśvara. Such a father should be in (the) world — whose lineage goes to mukti. On (his) coming-into (the) womb, pāpa was removed — Jñānadeva, mother-father. (Since) at the root (the) father was jñānī — therefore we have attached to (his) dhyāna. I am the belly-child; fulfill my Brahma-aspiration. The verse permits the direct Vārkarī-lineage-attestation: Jñāneśvara as māyabāpa, his-tradition as the mukti-vamśa, Tukārām as his-spiritual-pōṭīmñce-bāḷa.
Where this applies
- ★★ MAJOR direct-lineage-attestation from Tukārām to Jñāneśvara
- Rare-direct-praise — Jñāneśvara as māyabāpa, vamśa-to-mukti
- Tukārām explicitly-claims pōṭīmñce-bāḷa (belly-child) status
- Companion to 2810 (Tukārām's saints-list)