Abhanga 3884
Tukaram sings the joy of finally reaching Pandharpur, calling it Vaikuntha itself, his true home where the endless cycle of struggle finally comes to rest.
The verse
पावलों पंढरी वैकुंठभवन । धन्य आजि दिन सोनियाचा ॥१॥
पावलों पंढरी आनंदगजरें । वाजतील तुरें शंख भेरी ॥ध्रु.॥
पावलों पंढरी क्षेमआलिंगनीं । संत या सज्जनीं निवविलें ॥२॥
पावलों पंढरी पार नाहीं सुखा । भेटला हा सखा मायबाप ॥३॥
पावलों पंढरी येरझार खुंटली । माउली वोळली प्रेमपान्हा ॥४॥
पावलों पंढरी आपुलें माहेर । नाहीं संवसार तुका म्हणे ॥५॥
Literal translation
Pāvalōm-Paṇḍharī-Vaikuṇṭha-bhuvana — dhanya-this-day-sōnīyāchā. Pāvalōm-Paṇḍharī-ānanda-gajaraṇa — tura-śankha-bhērī. Pāvalōm-Paṇḍharī-kṣēma-ālingana — santa-sajjana-soothed. Pāvalōm-Paṇḍharī-no-pār-sukha — met-sakhā-māyabāpa. Pāvalōm-Paṇḍharī-yērajhāra-khuṇṭalī — māulī-poured-prema-pānhā. Pāvalōm-Paṇḍharī-my-māhēra — no-samvasāra-Tukā.
What it means
THE canonical 6-refrain Pāvalōm-Paṇḍharī pilgrim-arrival song — sung at Pandhari-vārī by Vārkarī-pilgrims on Ekādaśī-darśana. Each verse begins I have reached Paṇḍharī and extends a different facet: (1) Paṇḍharī is Vaikuṇṭha — blessed golden-day; (2) reached in the roar-of-bliss — conches and drums sound; (3) reached in the welfare-embrace — santas-and-sajjanas have soothed me; (4) reached, no-limit-to-this-sukha — met the friend, the mother-father; (5) reached — the coming-and-going has stopped — the mother poured the love-milk; (6) reached my own natal-home — there is no samsāra. The Paṇḍharī-as-māhēra (natal-home of married-daughter) image is one of the most-loved Vārkarī tropes — the pilgrim is the daughter coming home to her mother (Viṭhṭhal-as-māulī). Compare 2811 (bhēṭīlāgī-yearning), 3740 (Vaikuṇṭha-sukha-came-to-Paṇḍharī), 3804 (Āṣāḍhī-Kārtikī-twice-yearly-vārī).
For someone today
Tukaram sings pure joy of arrival: he has finally reached Pandharpur, and for him it is nothing less than Vaikuntha itself, so he calls this a golden, blessed day. He describes being welcomed with celebration, trumpets and conches sounding, and being embraced and soothed by the saints and good people gathered there. The suffering of endless coming and going, birth after birth, feels like it has finally stopped, replaced by the tenderness of a mother pouring out her love. He calls Pandharpur his true natal home, the place a married daughter returns to, where, at last, there is no more worldly struggle.
मराठी: तुकाराम आगमनाचा शुद्ध आनंद गातात: शेवटी पंढरीला पोहोचलो, आणि त्यांच्यासाठी हे साक्षात वैकुंठच आहे, म्हणून ते हा दिवस सोनियाचा, धन्य दिवस म्हणतात. तुतारी, शंख आणि भेरी वाजत उत्सवात स्वागत झाल्याचे, आणि तिथे जमलेल्या संत-सज्जनांनी आलिंगन देऊन शांत केल्याचे ते वर्णन करतात. जन्मोजन्मीची येरझार अखेर थांबल्यासारखी वाटते, त्याजागी मातेने ओतलेल्या प्रेमळ पान्ह्याची कोमलता आहे. ते पंढरीला आपले खरे माहेर म्हणतात, जिथे विवाहित मुलगी परत येते, आणि जिथे शेवटी संसाराचा संघर्ष उरत नाही.
Where this applies
- Tukārām's THE canonical Pāvalōm-Paṇḍharī pilgrim-arrival song — Ekādaśī-darśana
- Pair with 2811 (yearning), 3740 (Vaikuṇṭha-came-to-Paṇḍharī), 3804 (twice-yearly-vārī)
- māhēra (natal-home of married-daughter) image — central Vārkarī trope