संत साहित्य
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संत साहित्य · Tukārām · Abhanga 3969 of 4582

Abhanga 3969

Pāṇḍurangā ātām aikā he vinantī — bahu mājhe chittīm bhaya vāṭē — Pāṇḍurangā, hear this petition now — much fear is in my chitta.

Tukārām's mocked-bhakta petition: rare biographical evidence of opposition during kīrtana

The verse

पांडुरंगा आतां ऐका हे विनंती । बहु माझे चित्तीं भय वाटे ॥१॥ नाहीं आइकिलें संतांचिया मुखें । तें या मज लोकें भडसाविलें ॥ध्रु.॥ विष्णुदासां गति नाहीं तरावया । म्हणती गेले वांयां कष्टत ही ॥२॥ धिक्कारिती मज करितां कीर्तन । काय सांगों शीण ते काळिचा ॥३॥ तुका म्हणे मज वाटतें उदास । काय करूं यास पांडुरंगा ॥४॥

Literal translation

Pāṇḍurangā ātām aikā he vinantī — bahu mājhe chittīm bhaya vāṭēPāṇḍurangā, hear this petition now — much fear is in my chitta. Nāhīm āikilēm santāñciyā mukhem — tem yā maja lōkēm bhaḍasāvilēm(what) I haven't heard from sants' mouths — these people threaten me with. Viṣṇudāsām gati nāhīm tarāvayā — mhaṇatī gele vāmyām kaṣṭata hī(they say) Viṣṇu-dāsas have no gati to cross — they went in vain even suffering. Dhikkāritī maja karitām kīrtana — kāya sāngōm śīṇa te kāḷicāthey mock me while I do kīrtana — what to tell, the fatigue of that moment. Tukā mhaṇe maja vāṭatēm udāsa — kāya karūm yāsa PāṇḍurangāTukā says: I feel udāsa — what shall I do, Pāṇḍurangā.

What it means

A 4-verse rare biographical petition. People-threaten-me-with-things-not-heard-from-sants; they-say-Viṣṇu-dāsas-go-in-vain-even-suffering; they-mock-me-during-kīrtana; I-feel-udāsa-Pāṇḍurangā. Direct evidence of opposition Tukārām faced during his kīrtana-life.

For someone today

Tukārām confides: the-bhakta-meets-mockery, fatigue, threats — bring-them-to-the-Lord.

Where this applies

Related verses