Abhanga 3405
Whenever someone cries out genuinely for help, that protecting presence comes running, and it is closer than you think, present wherever you look.
The verse
वेद नेलें शंखासुरें । केलें ब्रम्ह्यानें गार्हाणें ॥१॥
धांव धांव झडकरी । ऐसें कृपाळुवा हरी ॥ध्रु.॥
गजेंद्र नाडियें गांजिला । तेणें तुझा धांवा केला ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे पद्मनाभा । जेथें पाहें तेथें उभा ॥३॥
Literal translation
Śankhāsura-stole-Vedas — Brahmā-cried-out. Run-run-jhaḍakarī — such-krpāḷu-Hari. Gajendra-snared — made-your-dhāvā. Tukā: Padmanābha — wherever-I-look you-stand.
What it means
A 3-verse 2-rakṣaṇa compact: Śankhāsura took the Vedas; Brahmā cried; Lord ran to rescue. Gajendra was snared (in the crocodile-noose); called the Lord; Lord ran. Tukā: wherever I look, Padmanābha stands.
For someone today
Tukaram recalls two old stories of rescue, when the demon Shankhasura stole the sacred Vedas, Brahma cried out in distress, and the compassionate Lord came running immediately. When the elephant Gajendra was caught and tormented in a crocodile's grip, he too called out, and the Lord ran to save him just as quickly. Tukaram draws the lesson forward into his own life, saying that now, wherever he looks, he finds that same protecting presence already standing there. The point is that a genuine, urgent call for help has always been answered, and that presence is not far away but right in front of you if you look.
मराठी: तुकाराम दोन जुन्या रक्षणकथा आठवतात, शंखासुराने वेद चोरले तेव्हा ब्रह्मदेवाने आक्रोश केला, आणि दयाळू देव लगेच धावत आला. गजेंद्र हत्ती मगरीच्या पकडीत अडकून यातना भोगत असताना त्यानेही हाक मारली, आणि देव तितक्याच वेगाने त्याला वाचवायला धावला. तुकाराम हा धडा स्वतःच्या आयुष्यात आणतात, म्हणतात की आता, मी जिथे पाहतो तिथे तीच रक्षणकर्ती उपस्थिती आधीच उभी असलेली दिसते. मुद्दा असा आहे की खरी, तातडीची हाक नेहमीच ऐकली गेली आहे, आणि ती उपस्थिती दूर नाही, नीट पाहिले तर ती तुमच्यासमोरच आहे.
Where this applies
- When you're in real trouble and unsure whether calling out for help will actually be heard
- When you feel trapped or tormented by circumstances beyond your control, like Gajendra in the crocodile's grip
- When something precious to you has been taken and you don't know how to get it back
- When you need reassurance that help is closer than it feels, present right where you are looking