Abhanga 3123
Tukaram teaches that devotion, like wheat's many flavors or the ocean's waves, renews itself endlessly, so savor it again and again rather than treating it as used up.
The verse
बहुत प्रकार परि ते गव्हाचे । जिव्हा नाचे आवडी ॥१॥
सरलें परि आवडी नवी । सिंधु दावी तरंग ॥ध्रु.॥
घेतलें घ्यावें वेळोवेळां । माय बाळा न विसंबे ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे रस राहिला वचनीं । तो चि पडताळूनि सेवीतसें ॥३॥
Literal translation
Bahuta prakāra parī te gavhāñce — many prakāras are (in) wheat-(varieties); jihvā nāche āvaḍī — the jihvā dances with āvaḍī. Saralē parī āvaḍī navī — (it) has run-out — but the āvaḍī is new; sindhu dāvī taranga — the sindhu shows taranga. Ghetale ghyāve veḷō-veḷām — taken, again-to-be-taken time-and-again; māya bāḷā na visambe — the māya doesn't forget the bāḷa. Tukā mhaṇe rasa rāhilā vachanīm — Tukā says: the rasa stayed in vachana; tō chi paḍatāḷūnī sevītsē — that very, by re-testing, (I) partake.
What it means
A short 3-verse bhakti-rasa-renewal text by Tukārām.
The 3 images: 1. Wheat-many-varieties; tongue-dances-with-fondness — the-Name has-many-flavors 2. Sindhu-shows-taranga (waves) — bhakti-renews-as-waves; māya doesn't-forget-bāḷa — Lord-doesn't-forget-bhakta 3. Rasa-stays-in-vachana — I-savour-by-re-testing
The paḍatāḷūnī sevītsē (re-testing-savouring) is striking — the bhakti-experience is-repeatedly-tested-and-savoured, not-just-tasted-once.
For someone today
Tukārām's bhakti-rasa-renewal. Many varieties are (in) wheat; the tongue dances with fondness. (One serving) has run-out — but the fondness is new; the ocean shows waves. Taken once, to be taken again and again, time and again; the mother doesn't forget the child. The rasa stays in the speech — that very (one), by re-testing, I partake. The verse offers this renewal of bhakti-rasa through repeated savoring.
मराठी: तुकाराम भक्तिरसाच्या नित्य-नूतनतेबद्दल सांगतात. गव्हाचे अनेक प्रकार असतात, आणि जीभ प्रत्येक वेळी आवडीने नाचते. एक घास संपला तरी आवड मात्र नवीच राहते, जसा समुद्र प्रत्येक वेळी नवी लाट दाखवतो. एकदा घेतलेले पुन्हा पुन्हा घ्यावेसे वाटते, कारण आई आपल्या बाळाला कधीच विसरत नाही. तुकाराम म्हणतात, हा रस शब्दांतच राहिला आहे, आणि तोच रस मी वारंवार अनुभवून चाखत असतो. अशा प्रकारे हा अभंग भक्तीचा आस्वाद वारंवार घेतल्याने तो नव्याने ताजा राहतो, हे सांगतो.
Where this applies
- When a daily practice starts to feel routine and you wonder if it still has anything to offer you
- When you're worried that repeating the same prayer, ritual, or habit will eventually lose its meaning
- When you want reassurance that being loved or cared for again and again, like a child by a mother, isn't a burden on the giver
- When you're rediscovering joy in something familiar, like a favorite verse or song, that still surprises you