Abhanga 3076
No matter how fallen a person's past, sincere trust in the divine alone is enough to lift them into grace.
The verse
व्यभिचारिणी गणिका कुंटणी । विश्वास चि मनीं राघोबाचा ॥१॥
ऐसी ही पापिणी वाइली विमानी । अचळ भुवनीं टेवियेली ॥ध्रु.॥
पतितपावन तिहीं लोकीं ठसा । कृपाळू कोंवसा अनाथांचा ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे विठोबाची धरा सोय । आणिक उपाय नेणों किती ॥३॥
Literal translation
Vyabhichāriṇī gaṇikā kuṇṭanī — adulteress, courtesan, procuress; viśvāsa chi manīm Rāghōbāñcā — only viśvāsa of Rāghōbā in mind. Aisī hī pāpiṇī vāilī vimānī — even such a pāpiṇī, taken on vimāna; achaḷa bhuvanī ṭeviyelī — placed in achaḷa-bhuvana. Patita-pāvana tihīm lōkīm ṭhasā — his patita-pāvana stamp in three-worlds; krpāḷū kōmvasā anāthāñcā — compassionate shelter of anāthas. Tukā mhaṇe Viṭhōbāñcī dharā sōya — Tukā says: take Viṭhōbā's side; āṇika upāya neṇōm kitī — what other upāya do (we) know.
What it means
A canonical 3-verse bhakti-redemption text by Tukārām.
The example: vyabhichāriṇī, gaṇikā, kuṇṭanī (adulteress, courtesan, procuress — likely-a-reference to a specific-pāpiṇī-figure in-the-Rāmāyaṇa-or-Mahābhārata-tradition, perhaps the parrot-Pāpiṇī-Pingaḷā-or-similar). Despite-being-so-fallen, her-only-resource was-trust-in-Rāghōbā; she-was-carried-up-on-vimāna-to-the-immutable-world.
The doctrinal-claim: Patita-pāvana stamp-in-3-worlds; krpāḷu-shelter-of-anāthas; therefore-take-Viṭhōbā's-side — no-other-means.
Compare-Tukārām's 2787 (Nārāyaṇa's-angīkāra makes-nindya-vandya; Ajāmīḷa-Bhillī-Kuṇṭanī-Vālmīka redemption-list), 2843 (gaṇikā-Ajāmīḷa-Ahilyā-Kubjā-prthivī canonical-5).
For someone today
Tukārām's bhakti-redemption text. (There was) an adulteress, a courtesan, a procuress — she had only the trust of Rāghōbā in (her) mind. Even such a woman-of-sin was carried up on the vimāna — placed in the immutable-world. His stamp as the uplifter of the fallen is in (all) three worlds — compassionate shelter of orphans. Take Viṭhōbā's side — what other means do (we) know? The verse permits the bhakti-redemption claim that trust alone saves even the most fallen.
मराठी: तुकारामांचा हा भक्तीच्या उद्धाराचा अभंग आहे. एक व्यभिचारिणी, गणिका, कुंटणी होती — तिच्या मनात फक्त राघोबावरचा विश्वास होता. अशा पापिणीलाही विमानात बसवून नेले — अचल भुवनात स्थापित केले. पतितांचा उद्धार करणारा हा ठसा तिन्ही लोकांत उमटलेला आहे — तो अनाथांचा कृपाळू आश्रय आहे. विठोबाची कास धरा — दुसरा उपाय आपल्याला ठाऊक तरी काय आहे? या अभंगातून भक्तीच्या उद्धाराचा हा दावा प्रकट होतो की केवळ विश्वासानेच अत्यंत पतितही तरून जातो.
Where this applies
- When someone feels too morally fallen or ashamed to believe they deserve forgiveness or grace
- When you're judging someone harshly for their past and doubting they can ever change
- When a person with a troubled history wonders if devotion or faith is even open to them
- When you need reassurance that sincere trust matters more than a spotless record