Abhanga 3644
Tukārām's sants'-upakāra text. What can I say of these sants' upakāra — they wake me up continuously. What can I give them to become debt-cleared? — placing my life at (their) feet is too little. By natural speech, (they give) good-teaching; with effort, they teach me. As the calf in the cow's heart — so they come, cherishing me. The verse permits the canonical sants'-upakāra recognition with dhenu-vatsa image.
The verse
काय सांगों या संतांचे उपकार । मज निरंतर जागविती ॥१॥
काय द्यावें त्यांचें व्हावें उतराईं । ठेवितां हा पायीं जीव थोडा ॥ध्रु.॥
सहज बोलणें हितउपदेश । करूनि सायास शिकविती ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे वत्स धेनुवेचा चित्तीं । तैसे मज येती सांभाळीत ॥३॥
Literal translation
Kāya sāngōm yā samtāmñce upakāra — what to say of these sants' upakāra; maja nirantara jāgavitī — they wake me up continuously. Kāya dyāve tyāmñce hvāve utarāī — what to give to become utarāī; ṭhevitām hā pāyīm jīva thōḍā — placing this jīva at feet is too little. Sahaja bōlaṇe hita-upadeśa — natural speech (is) hita-upadeśa; karūnī sāyāsa śikavitī — with effort, they teach. Tukā mhaṇe vatsa dhenuvechā chittī — Tukā says: calf in cow's heart; taise maja yetī sāmbhāḷīta — so they come cherishing me.
What it means
★ A canonical 3-verse sants'-upakāra text by Tukārām.
The argument: Sants'-upakāra is-immense; they-wake-me-continuously. Can't-be-utarāī — placing-jīva-at-feet is-too-little. They-give-hita-upadeśa by-natural-speech, teach-by-effort. As-cow-for-calf in-heart — so-they-come-cherishing-me.
The dhenu-vatsa-chittī (calf-in-cow's-heart) image is the Vārkarī-canonical mother-tenderness image for sant-bhakta-relation.
For someone today
Tukārām's sants'-upakāra text. What can I say of these sants' upakāra — they wake me up continuously. What can I give them to become debt-cleared? — placing my life at (their) feet is too little. By natural speech, (they give) good-teaching; with effort, they teach me. As the calf in the cow's heart — so they come, cherishing me. The verse permits the canonical sants'-upakāra recognition with dhenu-vatsa image.
Where this applies
- ★ Canonical sants'-upakāra + cow-calf-image text