Abhanga 3114
Tukaram shows that devotion to Hari works paradoxical wonders, letting the lame cross mountains and sinners become virtuous, through God's effortless, hidden play.
The verse
तुज करितां होती ऐसे । मूढ चतुर पंडित पिसे॥१॥
परि वर्म नेणे तें कोणी । पीडाखाणी भोगितील ॥ध्रु.॥
उलंघितें पांगुळ गिरी । मुकें करी अनुवाद ॥२॥
पापी होय पुण्यवंत । न करी घात दुर्जन ॥३॥
अवघें हेळामात्रें हरि । मुक्त करी ब्रम्हांड ॥४॥
तुका म्हणे खेळे लीळा । पाहे वेगळा व्यापूनि ॥५॥
Literal translation
Tuja karitām hōtī aise — for (the doing of) you, (they) become; mūḍha chatura paṇḍita pise — mūḍha, chatura, paṇḍita — all mad. Pari varma neṇe te kōṇī — but the varma — no one knows; pīḍākhāṇī bhōgatīla — they will suffer in pīḍākhāṇī. Ulanghite pānguḷa girī — the lame crosses the mountain; muke karī anuvāda — the mute does anuvāda. Pāpī hōya puṇyavanta — the pāpī becomes puṇyavanta; na karī ghāta durjana — the durjana doesn't do harm. Avaghe heḷāmātre Hari — Hari, with only heḷā-mātra; mukta karī brahmāṇḍa — makes brahmāṇḍa mukta. Tukā mhaṇe kheḷe līḷā — Tukā says: (he) plays līḷā; pāhe vegaḷā vyāpūnī — (he) looks separate while pervading.
What it means
A striking 5-verse līlā-claim text by Tukārām.
The 5 paradoxical-claims of-Hari's-bhakti-līlā: 1. Mūḍha-chatura-paṇḍita-all-become-pisē (mad-for-bhakti) 2. Lame (pangu) crosses-the-mountain 3. Mute (mūka) does-anuvāda (response, speech) 4. Pāpī becomes-puṇyavanta; durjana doesn't-do-harm 5. Hari makes-brahmāṇḍa-mukta with only-heḷā-mātra (a-mere-sport)
The closing: plays-līḷā; looks-separate while-vyāpana (pervading) — pure paradox-bhakti.
The pangu-crosses-mountain, mūka-does-anuvāda is a canonical Vedānta-Bhakti-image: pangu giri-langhayate, mūka karoti vāchālam — a-foundational-Tukārām-favorite-image expressing-bhakti's-transformative-power.
For someone today
Tukārām's claim about Hari's play. For your sake — the fool, the clever one, the scholar — all become mad with devotion. But no one truly knows the secret; they will go on suffering in a mine of pain. The lame man crosses the mountain; the mute speaks in response. The sinner becomes virtuous; the wicked no longer does harm. With just the slightest touch of play, Hari sets the whole universe free. He plays out his līlā — appearing separate even while he pervades everything. The verse allows this classic bhakti paradox: the lame crosses the mountain through the Lord's mere sport.
मराठी: तुकारामांचा हा हरीच्या लीलेचा दावा आहे. तुझ्यासाठी — मूढ, चतुर, पंडित — सगळे वेडे होतात. पण हे वर्म कोणालाच कळत नाही — ते पीडेच्या खाणीतच भोगत राहतात. पांगळा डोंगर ओलांडतो; मुका बोलू लागतो. पापी पुण्यवंत होतो; दुर्जन घात करत नाही. केवळ किंचित लीलेने हरी संपूर्ण ब्रह्मांडाला मुक्त करतो. तो लीला खेळतो — सर्वव्यापी असूनही वेगळाच भासतो. हा अभंग हा भक्तिविरोधाभास मान्य करतो: भगवंताच्या केवळ किंचित लीलेने पांगळाही डोंगर ओलांडतो.
Where this applies
- When you feel stuck by a limitation, physical, emotional, or circumstantial, that seems impossible to overcome
- When you're amazed that love or faith has changed someone you thought could never change
- When you want to trust that transformation can happen even without fully understanding the mechanism
- When you feel unseen effort or grace working behind the scenes of your life, present but not obvious