Abhanga 3157
Tukaram teaches that when your words and actions flow from grace rather than rehearsed ritual, they carry a lasting joy that nothing can corrupt.
The verse
खेळतों ते खेळ पायांच्या प्रसादें । नव्हती हीं छंदें नासिवंतें ॥१॥
माझा मायबाप उभा विटेवरी । कवतुकें करी कृपादान ॥ध्रु.॥
प्रसादाची वाणी वदें ती उत्तरें । नाहीं मतांतरें जोडियेलीं ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे रस वाढितिया अंगें । छाया पांडुरंगें केली वरी ॥३॥
Literal translation
Kheḷatōm te kheḷa pāyāñcyā prasāde — the play I play (is) by the prasāda of feet; navhatī hīm chande nāsivamte — these chandas are not corruptible. Mājhā māyabāpa ubhā viṭevarī — my māyabāpa stands on the brick; kavatuke karī krpādāna — with delight (he) does krpā-dāna. Prasādāñcī vāṇī vade tī uttare — the prasāda-vāṇī utters (the) uttara; nāhī matāmtare jōḍiyelīm — no matāntara cobbled-together. Tukā mhaṇe rasa vāḍhitiyā ange — Tukā says: the rasa spreads by anga; chhāyā Pāṇḍurange kelī varī — Pāṇḍuranga has-made chhāyā over (me).
What it means
A 3-verse text on grace-derived speech. The-play-is by-feet-prasāda; the-rhythms-are-not-corruptible; māyabāpa-on-brick (Vīṭheval) does-krpā-dāna with-delight; my-speech-is-prasāda-vāṇī, not-cobbled-mantras; Pāṇḍuranga-makes-chhāyā (shade) over me.
For someone today
Tukaram says that whatever play he engages in comes to him as a gift of grace from God's feet, and because of that source, it cannot decay or be corrupted. He pictures his divine parent standing on a brick, delighting simply in giving grace freely. He insists his own words are not memorized ritual or a formula cobbled together, but speech that arises directly out of that grace. He closes by saying this joy spreads through his whole being, because Pandurang has cast a protective shade over him.
मराठी: तुकाराम म्हणतात की ते जो खेळ खेळत आहेत तो देवाच्या पायांच्या प्रसादाने मिळालेला आहे, आणि म्हणूनच तो कधी नासत नाही किंवा बिघडत नाही. ते आपल्या मायबापाला, विटेवर उभ्या असलेल्या विठ्ठलाला, आनंदाने कृपा देताना पाहतात. आपले शब्द हे पाठ केलेले मंत्र किंवा जुळवलेले सोपस्कार नाहीत, तर थेट प्रसादातून उमटलेली वाणी आहे असे ते सांगतात. शेवटी ते म्हणतात की हा रस त्यांच्या संपूर्ण अंगात पसरला आहे, कारण पांडुरंगाने त्यांच्यावर आपली छाया धरली आहे.
Where this applies
- When your prayers or words feel too rehearsed and you long for them to come from somewhere more genuine
- When you feel sheltered or protected by something greater than yourself during a hard time
- When you want to trust that a joy coming from a real source will not fade or spoil over time
- When you compare your own faith to a fixed formula and wonder whether it is real or just borrowed