Abhanga 3066
Tukārām calls Jñāneśvar his mother and father, showing that honoring the teacher and lineage who shaped you is itself an act of devotion and gratitude.
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)