Abhanga 3808
Seize this joy of devotion boldly and without hesitation, because in that wholehearted surrender, the weight of past deeds dissolves and something rare beyond measure is given freely.
The verse
घ्या रे लुटी प्रेम सुख । फेडा आजि धणी । चुकला तो मुकला । जाली वेरझार हाणी ॥१॥
घाला घातला वैकुंठीं । करूनियां जीवें साटी । पुरविली पाठी । वैष्णवीं काळाची ॥ध्रु.॥
अवघें आणिलें अंबर । विठोसहित तेथें धुर । भेदूनि जिव्हार । नामबाणीं धरियेला ॥२॥
संचित प्रारब्ध क्रियमाण । अवघीं जालीं गहन । केलीं पापपुण्यें । देशधडी बापुडीं ॥३॥
आनंदें गर्जती निर्भर । घोष करिती निरंतर । कांपती असुर । वीर कवणा नांगवती ॥४॥
जें दुर्लभ ब्रम्हादिकां । आजि सांपडलें फुका । घ्या रे म्हणे तुका । सावचित्त होउनी ॥५॥
Literal translation
Take-loot-prema-sukha — pay-debt-today — missed-lost — back-and-forth-hāṇī. Raid-on-Vaikuṇṭha — sold-jīva — vaiṣṇavas-chased-Kāḷa-from-behind. Whole-ambara-brought — Viṭhō-in-middle — Nāma-bāṇa-pierced-jivhāra. Sanchita-prārabdha-kriyamāṇa-gahana — pāpa-puṇya-dēśa-dhaḍī-bāpuḍī. Ānanda-roaring — incessant-ghōṣa — asuras-tremble — vīras-can-they-resist? Durlabha-to-Brahmādikā — today-fukā — Tukā: take-savacitta.
What it means
A breathtaking 6-verse bhakti-conquest-and-distribution text. Take! loot the prema-sukha — pay off the debts today; one who missed — lost; the back-and-forth (of samsāra) was a loss. A raid has been launched on Vaikuṇṭha — by selling the jīva — and the vaiṣṇavas have chased Kāḷa from behind. They brought the whole sky along with Viṭhō in the middle — piercing the vital-core — they caught (the Lord) with the Name-arrow. The three karmas — sanchita, prārabdha, kriyamāṇa — have all become deep (vanished, dissolved); pāpa and puṇya are banished. They roar in bliss, make incessant cries; the asuras tremble — what heroes can resist them? What was rare even to Brahmā has today been found for free. Take it, says Tukā, becoming fully-attentive. The conquest-of-Vaikuṇṭha-by-vaiṣṇavas-via-jīva-saṭi (selling-the-life) is one of Tukārām's most heroic ardent images. Read with 2745 (Paṇḍharī-hāṭa), 3740 (Vaikuṇṭha-sukha-came-to-Paṇḍharī), 3043 (canonical avatāra-stotra).
For someone today
Tukaram bursts out with an exuberant call to action: come and loot this joy of love, he says, settle your debts today, because anyone who hesitates simply loses out. He paints devotees as fearless raiders who storm heaven itself, staking their whole life on it, chasing death and time away behind them, and piercing straight to the heart of God with nothing but the arrow of his Name. In that moment, he says, all the tangled weight of past deeds and future consequences simply dissolves, sin and merit both banished, and the devotees roar with uncontainable joy while even mighty forces tremble before them. What even the greatest sages found impossible to reach, he says, is being handed out for free today — so take it, fully awake and paying attention.
मराठी: तुकाराम इथे उत्स्फूर्तपणे हाक देतात: चला, या प्रेमसुखाची लूट करा, आजच आपले कर्जफेड करा, कारण जो संकोच करतो तोच गमावतो. भक्तांना ते निर्भय स्वारांसारखे रंगवतात, जे आपला जीव पणाला लावून थेट वैकुंठावर स्वारी करतात, काळाला मागे टाकून पुढे जातात आणि केवळ नामाच्या बाणाने देवाच्या हृदयाला भेदतात. त्या क्षणी, ते म्हणतात, संचित, प्रारब्ध आणि क्रियमाण या सगळ्या कर्मांचे जाळे विरघळून जाते, पाप-पुण्य दोन्हीही निघून जातात, आणि भक्त निरतिशय आनंदाने गर्जना करतात तर बलाढ्य शक्तीही त्यांच्यापुढे थरथरतात. ब्रह्मादेवांनाही जे दुर्मिळ होते ते आज फुकट वाटले जात आहे, असे ते म्हणतात — म्हणून सावध होऊन, पूर्ण लक्ष देऊन ते घ्या.
Where this applies
- When an opportunity for real joy or grace is right in front of you and hesitation would mean losing it
- When you feel timid about pursuing devotion boldly, as if it required daring rather than caution
- When old burdens of guilt or past mistakes feel like they're finally lifting
- When you want to celebrate a moment of grace with unrestrained joy rather than quiet reserve