Abhanga 3898
Feeling how quickly the body can be gone, Tukaram asks the sants to carry his plea to God and begs simply to be kept close, treating this as the decisive act that brings protection.
The verse
जायाचें शरीर जाईंल क्षणांत । कां हा गोपिनाथ पावे चि ना ॥१॥
कृपेचे सागर तुम्ही संत सारे । निरोप हा फार सांगा देवा ॥ध्रु.॥
अनाथ अज्ञान कोणी नाहीं त्यासि । पायापें विठ्ठला ठेवीं मज ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे ऐसें करावें निर्वाण । मग तो रक्षण करिल माझें ॥३॥
Literal translation
Body-goes-in-an-instant — why-Gopinātha-not-come. Santas-krpā-sāgara — tell-niropa-to-Deva. Anātha-ajñāna-no-one — Viṭṭhal-keep-at-feet. Tukā: do-niravāṇa — then-rakṣaṇa-me.
What it means
A 3-verse santas-as-intercessors urgency-prayer. The mortal body will be gone in an instant — why hasn't Gopinātha come? You santas are oceans-of-compassion — please tell this message to Deva. There's no one for this orphan-and-fool — Viṭṭhal, keep me at your feet. Make this final-plea, says Tukā — then he will protect me. Compare 3819 (sants-tell-Pandharināth canonical intercessors trope).
For someone today
Tukaram feels the urgency of life: this body will be gone in an instant, so why hasn't God come to him yet? He turns to the sants, calling them oceans of compassion, and asks them to carry his message straight to God. He describes himself as an orphan with no one else and no wisdom of his own, and begs Vitthal simply to keep him close at his feet. He says this is the kind of decisive, all-in plea that finally brings protection.
मराठी: तुकारामांना आयुष्याची तातडी जाणवते, हे शरीर क्षणात जाणार आहे, मग गोपीनाथ अजून का आला नाही? ते संतांकडे वळतात, त्यांना कृपेचे सागर म्हणतात, आणि त्यांचा निरोप देवापर्यंत पोहोचवण्याची विनंती करतात. स्वतःला ते अनाथ आणि अज्ञानी म्हणतात, ज्याला दुसरे कोणी नाही, आणि विठ्ठलाला फक्त आपल्या पायाशी ठेवून घे अशी याचना करतात. असा निर्णायक, संपूर्ण शरणागतीचा धावा शेवटी रक्षण मिळवून देतो असे तुकाराम म्हणतात.
Where this applies
- When you feel time slipping away and wonder why help hasn't arrived yet
- When you ask people you trust to speak up for you or carry your message to someone who matters
- When you feel utterly alone and admit you don't have the answers yourself
- When you decide to make one final, complete plea instead of half-hearted requests