संत साहित्य
Work in progress. Translations and commentary are AI-generated and may contain inaccuracies or hallucinations — please use your own judgement and check against the original sources.
संत साहित्य · Tukārām · Abhanga 3633 of 4582

Abhanga 3633

It is honest and permitted to voice raw anger and confusion at God directly when you feel abandoned, because that honesty itself is a form of trust in the relationship.

When you feel abandoned by God or by life at the moment you needed help most
When you are angry enough at someone you trust to say it to their face instead of staying silent
When your calls for help go unanswered and you need to voice that frustration honestly

The verse

पराधीन माझें करूनियां जीणें । सांडीं काय गुणें केली देवा ॥१॥ उदार हे कीर्ति असे जगामाजी । कां तें ऐसें आजि पालटिलें ॥ध्रु.॥ आळवितों परी न पुरे चि रीग । उचित तो त्याग नाहीं तुम्हां ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे कां बा मुळीं च व्यालासी । ऐसें कां नेणसी पांडुरंगा ॥३॥

Literal translation

Made-jīṇa-parādhīna — what-guṇa-in-sāṇḍī-Deva. Udāra-kīrti-jagat — why-pālaṭilē-today. Calling-out — rīga-doesn't-fill — uchita-tyāga-not-in-you. Tukā: why-give-birth-at-mūḷa — don't-you-know-Pāṇḍurangā.

What it means

A 3-verse sharp-complaint text. You made my life dependent — why this abandonment? Your fame is of generosity, why has it changed? My call doesn't get a response; proper-abandonment isn't in you. Why did you give birth at all? — don't you know?. Compare 3523 (why-did-you-give-birth).

For someone today

Tukaram does not hold back his frustration here: he accuses God of making his life dependent and helpless, then asks bluntly what good came of abandoning him like this. Everyone knows God's reputation for generosity, so he demands to know why that generosity seems to have changed today. He calls out and gets no response, and says plainly that proper care and follow-through are missing. He even asks, half in anguish, why God bothered to create him at all if this is how he would be treated. This is Tukaram giving himself full permission to be furious with God, and trusting the relationship enough to say so directly.

मराठी: तुकाराम इथे आपला राग लपवत नाहीत, ते थेट देवाला दोष देतात की त्याने त्यांचे आयुष्य परावलंबी आणि हतबल केले, आणि मग विचारतात की अशा प्रकारे सोडून देण्यात काय भले झाले. देवाची उदारतेची कीर्ती सगळ्या जगाला माहीत आहे, म्हणून ते स्पष्टपणे विचारतात की आज ती उदारता का बदलली. ते हाक मारतात पण कोणतेही उत्तर मिळत नाही, आणि सरळ सांगतात की योग्य काळजी आणि पाठपुरावा इथे दिसत नाही. ते जवळजवळ वेदनेने विचारतात की जर असेच वागवायचे होते तर देवाने त्यांना जन्मालाच का घातले. हे तुकारामांचे देवावर मनापासून रागावण्याचे आणि ते नाते इतके पक्के मानून थेट बोलण्याचे धाडस आहे.

Where this applies

Related verses