Abhanga 3360
Real prayer can be simple and practical, honestly asking for help to stay focused, to be carried through hardship, and to have your worry taken over completely.
The verse
माझें चित्त तुझे पायीं । राहें ऐसें करीं कांहीं । धरोनियां बाहीं । भव तारीं दातारा ॥१॥
चतुरा तूं शिरोमणि । गुणलावण्याची खाणी । मुगुट सकळां मणि । तूं चि धन्य विठोबा ॥ध्रु.॥
करीं त्रिमिराचा नाश । दीप होउनि प्रकाश । तोडीं आशापाश । करीं वास हृदयीं ॥२॥
पाहें गुंतलों नेणतां । तुज असो माझी चिंता । तुका ठेवी माथा । पायीं आतां राखावें ॥३॥
Literal translation
Mājhē chitta tujhe pāyīm — rāhe aisē karīm kāmhī — dharōniyām bāhīm — bhava tārīm dātārā — my chitta at your feet — make it stay, do something — catch by arm — ferry me across bhava, O dātāra. Chaturā tūm śiromaṇi — guṇa-lāvaṇyāchī khāṇi — mukuṭa sakaḷām maṇi — tūm-chi dhanya Viṭhōbā — you are best-of-wise, mine-of-guṇa-beauty, mukuṭa-maṇi over all, alone-blessed Viṭhōbā. Karī trimirāchā nāśa — dīpa hounī prakāśa — tōḍī āśā-pāśa — karī vāsa hrdayīm — destroy darkness being lamp-of-light; cut āśā-noose; dwell in hrdaya. Pāhē gumtalōm neṇatām — tuja asō mājhī chimtā — Tukā ṭhevī māthā — pāyīm ātām rākhāvē — see I am tangled unknowing — let my care be yours — Tukā places head — keep (me) at feet now.
What it means
A 3-verse petition that follows the form do-something; you-are-supreme; destroy-darkness-cut-noose-dwell-within; place-my-head. The image-cluster: bāhī (arm-grip), bhava-tāraṇa (ferry), dīpa (lamp), āśā-pāśa (desire-noose), hrdaya-vāsa (heart-dwelling), māthā-pāyīm (head-at-feet).
For someone today
When the mind drifts, the prayer is not abstract — it is operational: grip me by the arm. The work is the Lord's; the placing-of-head is the devotee's.
Where this applies
- When someone struggles to keep their mind focused on what matters and asks for real, practical help
- When a person feels overwhelmed and unable to manage their difficulties alone, needing to be carried through
- When you admit honestly that you are confused or entangled without fully understanding how you got there
- When someone lets go of trying to control everything and hands their worry over completely to a trusted source