संत साहित्य · Tukārām · Abhanga 3648 of 4582

Abhanga 3648

Tukaram makes a plain declaration: he is not turning back now, whatever hardship it costs him, even his own body. His bond with God is not a casual arrangement he might abandon under pressure, it is something he has staked his very life on. He also refuses to be the kind of person who makes a show of devotion and then breaks faith once others are watching. This is a lesson about the difference between a real commitment and a performance of one.

Tukārām's no-turning-back; body-as-sacrifice resolute stance

The verse

आतां येथें खरें । नये फिरतां माघारें ॥१॥ होइल हो तैसी आबाळी । देहनिमित्य या बळी ॥ध्रु.॥ तुम्हांसवें गांठी । देवा जीवाचिये साटीं ॥२॥ तुका नव्हे लंड । करूं चौघांमध्यें खंड॥३॥

Literal translation

Ātām yethe khare — now, here, truly; naye phiratām māghāre — won't turn back. Hōila tasī ābāḷī — whatever trouble comes; dehanimitya yā baḷī — (the) body is sacrifice for that. Tumhāmsavē gāṇṭhī — the tie with you; Devā jīvāñciye sāṭīm — Deva, for the jīva's sake. Tukā navhe laṇḍa — Tukā is not a laṇḍa; karūm chaughāmmadhye khaṇḍa — to make a split among the four.

What it means

Tukārām's stance: I-am-here-finally; whatever-trouble-comes, body-is-sacrifice; my-tie-with-Deva is-for-the-sake-of-jīva; I-am-not-a-fickle-rogue who-would-break-(this)-in-public.

For someone today

मराठी: तुकाराम स्पष्ट सांगतात, आता माघार नाही, यासाठी शरीरालाही किंमत द्यावी लागली तरी चालेल. देवाशी असलेले त्यांचे नाते हे काही तात्पुरते बंधन नाही, तर त्यांनी आपला जीव त्यासाठी पणाला लावला आहे. लोकांसमोर भक्तीचे नाटक करून नंतर विश्वासघात करणारा माणूस ते होणार नाहीत. खरी बांधिलकी आणि केवळ देखावा यातील फरक हीच यातील शिकवण आहे.

Where this applies

Tukārām's resolute-stance text

no-turning-back