Abhanga 3778
Āśvāsāvem dāsa — give the servant reassurance; tarī ghaḍe tō viśvāsa — then the trust happens.
The verse
आश्वासावें दास । तरी घडे तो विश्वास ॥१॥
नाहीं चुकत चाकरी । पुट लाडे शोचे थोरी ॥ध्रु.॥
स्वामीच्या उत्तरें । सुख वाटे अभयें करें ॥२॥
न मगें परि भातें । तुका म्हणे निढळि रितें ॥३॥
Literal translation
Āśvāsāvem dāsa — give the servant reassurance; tarī ghaḍe tō viśvāsa — then the trust happens. Nāhīm chukata chākarī — (my) service is not missing; puṭa lāḍe sōche thōrī — coddling (me) puffs up (my) great grief. Svāmīcyā uttare — by the svāmī's reply; sukha vāṭe abhayem karem — sukha is felt by the hand of abhaya. Na magem pari bhātem — I do not beg but the (ration-)bowl; Tukā mhaṇe niḍhaḷi rite — Tukā says: empty on the forehead.
What it means
A 3-verse servant-petition. Reassure-the-dāsa — that's-how-viśvāsa-happens; service-isn't-lacking — but-coddling-makes-grief-worse; the-svāmī's-word-brings-sukha by-the-hand-of-abhaya; I-don't-beg-but-the-bowl-stands-empty-in-plain-view. The closing image — bowl held forth on the forehead/in plain view — is the silent dignified beggar.
For someone today
Tukārām petitions: one-word-of-reassurance is-what-builds-trust; my-need-is-visible-without-words.
Where this applies
- Tukārām's reassure-the-dāsa; empty-bowl-on-forehead canonical
- Companion to dignified-petition cluster