Abhanga 3899
Worn out by worldly pleasures and aware of his own unworthiness, Tukaram still begs to hold God's feet, knowing that such a rare gain requires real effort.
The verse
त्रासला हा जीव संसारींच्या सुखा । तुजविण सखा नाहीं कोणी ॥१॥
ऐसें माझें मनीं वाटे नारायणा । घालावी चरणावरि मिठी ॥ध्रु.॥
कइं तें सुंदर देखोनि रूपडें । आवडीच्या कोडें आळंगीन ॥२॥
नाहीं पूर्व पुण्य मज पापरासी । म्हणोनि पायांसी अंतरलों ॥३॥
अलभ्य लाभ कैंचा संचितावेगळा । विनवी गोपाळा दास तुका ॥४॥
Literal translation
Jīva-tired-of-samsāra-sukha — no-sakhā-but-you. Want-miṭhī-on-charaṇa-Nārāyaṇa. When-seeing-sundara-rūpaḍē — ālangīna-with-āvaḍī-kōḍa. No-pūrva-puṇya-pāparāśī — fell-from-feet. Alabhya-lābha-not-without-sanchita — Tukā-dāsa-prays-Gopāḷa.
What it means
A 4-verse jīva-tired prayer. This soul is exhausted by the world's pleasures — no friend but you. So my mind thinks: Nārāyaṇa, let me throw an embrace on your feet. When shall I see your beautiful form and embrace it in love's delight? I have no past-puṇya — I'm a mound-of-sins — that's why I have fallen-from your feet. From where comes the unattainable gain without accumulated puṇya? — Tukā the servant pleads with Gopāḷa. The line alabhya-lābha-not-without-sanchita is an honest concession: the lābha is real but requires sanchita-puṇya.
For someone today
Tukaram admits that he is worn out by the pleasures of ordinary life, and that nothing in the world feels like a true friend except God. His mind keeps circling back to one wish: to hold onto God's feet and never let go. He longs to see that beautiful form and embrace it in pure delight, but he is honest that he feels unworthy, weighed down by past mistakes, and cut off from that closeness. Even so, he still asks, knowing that this kind of gain is rare and does not come without real effort behind it.
मराठी: तुकाराम कबूल करतात की सांसारिक सुखांनी ते थकून गेले आहेत, आणि देवाशिवाय खरा सखा या जगात कोणीच नाही. त्यांचे मन पुन्हा पुन्हा एकाच इच्छेकडे वळते, देवाच्या पायांना मिठी मारून कधीच सोडायची नाही. त्या सुंदर रूपाला पाहून प्रेमाने आलिंगन द्यावे अशी त्यांची तळमळ आहे, पण ते प्रामाणिकपणे कबूल करतात की आपण अयोग्य आहोत, जुन्या चुकांच्या ओझ्याखाली दबलेले आहोत, आणि त्या जवळिकीपासून दूर आहोत. तरीही ते मागत राहतात, कारण त्यांना ठाऊक आहे की असा दुर्मिळ लाभ खऱ्या प्रयत्नाशिवाय मिळत नाही.
Where this applies
- When you feel exhausted by chasing worldly pleasures that never quite satisfy
- When you realize God or a deeper truth is the only steady companion left to you
- When you feel unworthy of closeness with the divine because of past mistakes
- When you keep praying for something precious even while admitting you haven't earned it yet