Abhanga 3557
Keeping a beloved name close in your heart, like a child calling a mother, lets you move through life freely and playfully, trusting that love will come running when called.
The verse
उच्चारूं यासाटीं । आम्ही नाम तुझें कंठीं ॥१॥
येसी धांवत धांवत । माउलिये कृपावंते ॥ध्रु.॥
पाय चित्तीं धरूं । क्रिडा भलते ठायीं करूं ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे माझे गंगे । प्रेमभरित पांडुरंगे ॥३॥
Literal translation
Uchchārūm yāsāṭīm — we utter for this reason; āmhī nāma tujhe kaṇṭhīm — we keep your Name in throat. Yesī dhāvata dhāvata — you come running-running; māuliye krpāvante — māulī, krpāvante. Pāya chittīm dharūm — (we) hold pāya in chitti; krīḍā bhalate ṭhāyīm karūm — play krīḍā in any place. Tukā mhaṇe mājhe Gange — Tukā says: my Gangā; prema-bharita Pāṇḍurange — prema-filled Pāṇḍurange.
What it means
A 3-verse canonical Name-call. We-utter-Name-so-Lord-comes-running; feet-in-chitti-play-anywhere; my-Pāṇḍuranga-is-my-prema-filled-Gangā.
For someone today
Tukaram says the whole reason we keep God's name on our lips is so that God, like a loving mother, comes running the moment we call. Once you hold that presence in your heart, you're free to go about your life and play anywhere, because you're never really away from what matters most. He ends by calling Pandurang his own Ganga, a river of love he can return to again and again. It's a picture of devotion that isn't anxious or formal, it's playful and confident, like a child who knows the mother will always come.
मराठी: तुकाराम म्हणतात की आपण देवाचे नाव सतत ओठांवर ठेवतो, ते यासाठीच की माउलीसारखा देव आपल्या हाकेला धावत यावा. एकदा का ते अस्तित्व मनात ठाम असले, की मग तुम्ही कुठेही जाऊन मनसोक्त वावरू शकता, कारण खरे तर तुम्ही कधीच त्या महत्त्वाच्या गोष्टीपासून दूर नसताच. ते शेवटी पांडुरंगाला आपली गंगा म्हणतात, प्रेमाने भरलेली नदी जिच्याकडे ते पुन्हा पुन्हा परत येऊ शकतात. ही भक्ती चिंताग्रस्त किंवा औपचारिक नाही, ती खेळकर आणि आत्मविश्वासपूर्ण आहे, जशी एक लहान मूल जाणते की आई नेहमी हाकेला धावत येईल.
Where this applies
- When you want a simple daily practice, like repeating a name or phrase, to feel close to something greater
- When you're anxious about staying disciplined in devotion and need reassurance that playfulness is allowed too
- When you trust someone so completely that you feel free to explore life without fear of losing that connection
- When you need an image of love that comes running the instant you call, like a mother to a child