Abhanga 3650
When you cannot argue your case, trust confidently, or even decide for yourself, the honest response is simple surrender and asking to be looked after.
The verse
नव्हों सभाधीट । समोर बोलाया नीट । एकलीं एकट । दुजें नाहीं देखिलें ॥१॥
आतां अवघें तुम्हीं जाणां । तुमचें माझें नारायणा । येईंल करुणा । ते चि पहा तुम्हांसी ॥ध्रु.॥
ताळ नाहीं माझे बुद्धी । धरली न धरवे शुद्धी । आतां बळें कधीं । कोण्या जन्में निवाड ॥२॥
आतां शेवटीचें । उत्तर तें हें चि साचें । शरण आलें त्याचें । तुका म्हणे सांभाळा ॥३॥
Literal translation
Navhōm sabhādhīṭa, samōra bōlāyā nīṭa — not bold-in-assembly, to-speak straight. Ekalīm ekaṭa, dujē nāhī dekhile — alone, ekaṭa; second not seen. Ātām avaghe tumhīm jāṇām, tumache mājhe Nārāyaṇā — now you know all, yours and mine, Nārāyaṇa. Yeīmla karuṇā, te chi pahā tumhāmsī — karuṇā will come, see for yourself. Tāḷa nāhī mājhe buddhī — no rhythm in my buddhi; dharalī na dharavē śuddhī — cannot hold purity. Ātām baḷe kadhīm, kōṇyā janme nivāḍa — now by what strength, in which janma, decision. Ātām śevaṭīmñce uttara te he chi sāche — the final answer is this true (one); śaraṇa āle tyāñche, Tukā mhaṇe sāmbhāḷā — come to śaraṇa — Tukā says: protect.
What it means
The śaraṇāgati-petition. Tukārām confesses inability to argue, recognizes solitude, asks the Lord to know-all-and-show-karuṇā. Final-answer: I've-come-to-refuge; protect.
For someone today
Tukaram admits he is not bold enough to argue his case or speak confidently in front of others, and he feels utterly alone, with no one else to lean on. Instead of pretending otherwise, he simply hands the whole situation over to God, trusting that God already knows what belongs to whom and that compassion will follow. He confesses his mind is scattered and he cannot even trust his own judgment to make a decision. His final word is simple surrender: having come this far, all he asks is to be looked after.
मराठी: तुकाराम कबूल करतात की सभेत ठामपणे बोलण्याचे धैर्य त्यांच्यात नाही, आणि त्यांना अगदी एकटे वाटते, कोणाचाही आधार नाही. असे असूनही खोटे भासवण्याऐवजी ते संपूर्ण परिस्थिती देवाच्या हाती सोपवतात, कारण देवाला आधीच माहीत आहे काय कोणाचे आहे आणि करुणा नक्की येईल असा त्यांना विश्वास आहे. त्यांचे मन विस्कळीत आहे, स्वतःच्या निर्णयावरही विश्वास ठेवता येत नाही असे ते सांगतात. शेवटचा शब्द म्हणजे साधी शरणागती, इथवर आलो आहे, आता फक्त सांभाळ कर एवढीच विनंती आहे.
Where this applies
- Tukārām's śaraṇāgati-petition