Abhanga 3572
A relationship built on true belonging does not break just because one side momentarily forgets, the bond itself carries the claim.
The verse
माझे विषयीं तुज पडतां विसर । नको धरूं दूर पांडुरंगा ॥१॥
तुझा म्हणवितों हे चि लाज तुला । आतां झणी मला विसरेसी ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे तुझी माझी नाहीं उरी । आतां केली खरी देवराया ॥३॥
Literal translation
Mājhe viṣayīm tuja paḍatām visara — if visara falls on you about me; nakō dharūm dūra pāmḍurangā — don't hold-(me)-at-distance, Pāṇḍuranga. Tujhā mhaṇavitōm he chi lāja tulā — I am called-yours — this is your lāja; ātām jhaṇī malā visaresī — now don't forget me. Tukā mhaṇe tujhī mājhī nāhīm urī — Tukā says: there's no remainder between us; ātām kelī kharī devarāyā — now it's truly settled, Deva-rāya.
What it means
A 3-verse remembrance-prayer: if-forgetting-comes-upon-you, don't-distance-me — being-called-yours, your-name-is-on-the-line; we-have-no-remainder-between-us; it's-truly-settled. The plea is built on the relation already declared, not on merit.
For someone today
Tukaram gently pleads with Pandurang, even if you happen to forget me sometime, please do not hold me at a distance because of it. He reasons that since he already calls himself God's own, it is God's honor that is now at stake in remembering him, not just his own effort to stay remembered. He ends by saying there is nothing left owing between them, the relationship is already fully settled. This is a lesson about relationships built on belonging rather than performance, once you truly belong to someone, the bond does not depend on either side never slipping.
मराठी: तुकाराम महाराज पांडुरंगाला हळुवारपणे विनवतात, कदाचित तू कधी मला विसरशील, पण तेवढ्यामुळे मला दूर लोटू नकोस. ते म्हणतात मी स्वतःला तुझा म्हणवतो, त्यामुळे आता मला लक्षात ठेवणं ही तुझीच जबाबदारी आणि तुझीच प्रतिष्ठा आहे, फक्त माझी धडपड नाही. शेवटी ते म्हणतात आपल्यामध्ये आता काहीच उरलेलं नाही, नातं पूर्णपणे निश्चित झालेलं आहे. यातून हा धडा मिळतो की खऱ्या नात्यात कामगिरीपेक्षा आपलेपणा महत्त्वाचा असतो, एकदा तुम्ही खरोखर कोणाचे झालात की ते नातं कधीतरी विसराळूपणा झाला तरी तुटत नाही.
Where this applies
- Tukārām's don't-forget-me; your-name's-shame prayer
- Companion to 3561 (no remainder) and 3567 (samartha's-child)