Abhanga 3244
The vine of Hari's name is ripe with fruit and flowers right now, so settle into it and taste it like a king of birds, because time is passing and the sweetness will not wait forever.
The verse
हरिनामवेली पावली विस्तार । फळीं पुष्पीं भार बोल्हावला ॥१॥
तेथें माझ्या मना होई पक्षिराज । साधावया काज तृप्तीचें या ॥ध्रु. ॥
मुळऴिचया बीजें दाखविली गोडी । लवकर चि जोडी जालियाची ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे क्षणक्षणां जातो काळ । गोडी ते रसाळ अंतरेल ॥३॥
Literal translation
Harināmavelī pāvalī vistāra — the Hari-nāma-vine reached extension; phaḷīm puṣpīm bhāra bōlhāvalā — with fruit-flower, the load weighed-down. Tethe mājhyā manā hōī pakṣirāja — there, let my mana become bird-king; sādhāvayā kāja trptīñce yā — to accomplish the work of trpti. Muḷihichayā bīje dākhavilī gōḍī — the original-seed showed the gōḍī; lavakara chi jōḍī jāliyāchī — quickly the jōḍī was made. Tukā mhaṇe kṣaṇa-kṣaṇām jātō kāḷa — Tukā says: kṣaṇa-kṣaṇām, kāḷa goes; gōḍī te rasāḷa antarela — the juicy-gōḍī will be lost.
What it means
A striking 3-verse Hari-nāma-vine image by Tukārām.
The image: Hari-nāma-velī (Hari-name-vine) is spread-out, weighed-down with-fruit-flower-load. Let-my-mana become-the-pakṣi-rāja (king-of-birds) there, to-accomplish-trpti. The-original-seed-showed-the-goḍī (sweetness); quickly the-jōḍī was-made. Moment-by-moment, kāḷa-goes; the-rasāḷa-goḍī will-be-lost.
The image mana-as-pakṣi-rāja sitting-on-the-Hari-nāma-vine eating-fruits-flowers is canonical-Vārkarī bhakti-poetry. The urgency-of-time-passing closes the verse.
For someone today
Tukārām's Hari-nāma vine image. The Hari-nāma vine has reached its full extension; with fruits and flowers, its load hangs heavy. There, let my mana become the king of birds — to accomplish the work of satisfaction. The original seed showed the sweetness — quickly the pairing was made. Moment by moment, time goes — the juicy sweetness will be lost. The verse permits the canonical bhakti image: the mind as the king of birds on the Hari-nāma vine.
मराठी: तुकारामांची ही हरिनामवेलीची प्रतिमा आहे. हरिनामाची वेल आता पूर्ण बहरली आहे, फळा-फुलांच्या ओझ्याने ती लवलेली आहे. तेव्हा माझ्या मनाने पक्षिराजासारखे होऊन तिथेच स्थिरावावे आणि तृप्तीचे कार्य साधावे. मूळ बीजानेच गोडी दाखवली, आणि लगेच जोड जुळली. पण क्षणाक्षणाला काळ सरत आहे — ही रसाळ गोडी हातातून निसटून जाईल. म्हणून वेळ न दवडता मनाने पक्षिराजासारखे हरिनामवेलीवर बसून ही गोडी चाखावी.
Where this applies
- When you keep postponing prayer or devotion even though the chance is right in front of you
- When you sense a fleeting sweetness in a quiet or devotional moment and are tempted to let it pass unused
- When you realize time is slipping away and you still have not acted on something meaningful
- When something good is ready and available right now but distraction keeps you from actually claiming it