Abhanga 3786
Tukaram accepts his place as rightly given, honors a promise once made as a lasting weight, stays quietly restrained rather than showing off, and trusts the companionship that protects him.
The verse
आहे तैसा आतां आहे ठायीं बरा । ठेविलों दातारा उचितें त्या ॥१॥
वचनाचा भार पडिलिया शिरीं । जालें मग भारी उतरेना ॥ध्रु.॥
अबोल्याची सवे लावुनियां मना । फाकों नेदीं गुणा ऐसें करूं ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे आम्हां गोंवळ्याचा संग । राखतें तें अंग जाणतसों ॥३॥
Literal translation
Āhe taisā ātām āhe ṭhāyīm barā — as I am, I am now well in (this) place; ṭhevilōm dātārā uchite tyā — placed, Dātāra, by your uchita. Vachanāchā bhāra paḍiliyā śirīm — the load of the word having fallen on the head; jāle maga bhārī utarenā — (it) has become heavy and cannot be taken down. Abōlyāchī save lāvuniyām manā — making the mana acquainted with silence; phākom nedīm guṇā aisem karūm — I do not let the guṇa spread; thus I do. Tukā mhaṇe āmhām gōvaḷyāchā sanga — Tukā says: we have the cowherd's company; rākhate te anga jāṇatasom — we know the anga that protects.
What it means
A 3-verse equanimity-petition. As-I-am, I'm-well-where-placed by-your-uchita; once-the-word's-load-is-on-the-head it-cannot-be-taken-down; I-make-mana-keep-company-with-silence — don't-let-the-guṇa-spread; we-have-the-sanga-of-the-Gōvaḷā — we-know-what-protects-us.
For someone today
Tukaram says that wherever he has been placed in life is good enough, because he trusts it was placed there by God's own fitting judgment. Once a promise or a word of commitment has settled on your shoulders, it becomes a weight you carry, not something you can simply set back down. He trains his mind toward quiet restraint, choosing not to let his good qualities spill out for show or applause. He says he keeps the company of the cowherd, meaning Krishna, and from that companionship he knows exactly what protects him.
मराठी: तुकाराम म्हणतात की आयुष्यात जिथे आपल्याला ठेवले गेले आहे तेच पुरेसे आहे, कारण देवाच्या योग्य निर्णयानेच ही जागा ठरवली गेली आहे यावर त्यांचा विश्वास आहे. एकदा दिलेले वचन किंवा शब्द खांद्यावर पडला की तो एक भार बनतो जो वाहावा लागतो, तो सहज खाली टाकता येत नाही. ते आपल्या मनाला शांत संयमाची सवय लावतात, आपले गुण दाखवण्यासाठी किंवा वाहव्वा मिळवण्यासाठी उधळून देत नाहीत. ते म्हणतात की त्यांना गोवळ्याची म्हणजे कृष्णाची सोबत लाभली आहे, आणि त्या सोबतीतूनच त्यांना नेमके कळते की कशामुळे आपले रक्षण होते.
Where this applies
- Tukārām's load-of-word; sanga-of-Gōvaḷā canonical
- Companion to ṭhevilē-Anantē-equanimity (2867)