Abhanga 3828
Tukaram surrenders completely, calling God his gracious mother and his own life nothing but resting at her feet. He asks not to be left looking pitiable, since he is her suckling child, utterly dependent for everything. Birth and death themselves he accepts as belonging to God, and he asks plainly, without you who will ever relieve my weariness. It is a picture of total, trusting dependence, the way an infant relies completely on its mother.
The verse
माझें जीवन तुझे पाय । कृपाळुं तूं माझी माय ॥१॥
नेदीं दिसों किविलवाणें । पांडुरंगा तुझें तान्हें ॥ध्रु.॥
जन्ममरण तुजसाटीं । आणीक नेणें दुजी गोष्टी ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे तुजविण । कोण हरिल माझा सीण ॥३॥
Literal translation
My-jīvana-your-pāya — krpāḷu-you-my-māya. Don't-let-me-look-kivilavāṇē — Pāṇḍurangā-your-tānhē. Janma-maraṇa-for-your-sake — no-other-gōṣṭi. Tukā: without-you — who-removes-my-śīṇa.
What it means
A 3-verse suckling-baby śaraṇāgati. My life is your feet — you are my gracious mother. Don't let me look pitiable, Pāṇḍuranga — I am your suckling-child. Birth and death (I bear) for your sake — I know no other matter. Without you, who will remove my fatigue? The image of the tānhē (suckling-baby) places the bhakta in the most-helpless position — utterly dependent on the mother for life-sustenance. Pair with 2597 (tūm-mājhī-māulī).
For someone today
Tukaram surrenders completely, calling God his gracious mother and his own life nothing but resting at her feet. He asks not to be left looking pitiable, since he is her suckling child, utterly dependent for everything. Birth and death themselves he accepts as belonging to God, and he asks plainly, without you who will ever relieve my weariness. It is a picture of total, trusting dependence, the way an infant relies completely on its mother.
मराठी: तुकाराम पूर्णपणे शरण जातात, देवाला आपली कृपाळू माय म्हणतात आणि आपले जीवन म्हणजे फक्त तिच्या पायाशी असणे असे मानतात. आपण केविलवाणे दिसू नये अशी विनंती करतात, कारण ते तिचे तान्हे बाळ आहेत, प्रत्येक गोष्टीसाठी पूर्णपणे अवलंबून. जन्म-मरण हेही देवासाठीच आहे असे ते मान्य करतात, आणि सरळ विचारतात, तुझ्याशिवाय माझा शीण कोण दूर करेल. हे संपूर्ण, विश्वासू अवलंबित्वाचे चित्र आहे, जसे एखादे तान्हे मूल पूर्णपणे आईवर अवलंबून असते.
Where this applies
- When you feel completely helpless and need to trust someone else fully
- When a person going through exhaustion longs for a source of comfort and relief
- When you want to express total dependence rather than pretending to be self-sufficient
- When you accept that even hardships like birth and death are not entirely in your control