Abhanga 3984
Tukaram promises that when devotees are in trouble, God takes on that burden himself, staying close beside them at every moment, not just in a crisis. Wherever people gather to sing kirtana together, he says, God is literally standing there in that place. And beyond that, God has filled every place completely, so there is nowhere devotion happens without his presence. The comfort here is practical: you are never singing, praying, or struggling alone, because the very act of turning toward God in community is itself where he shows up.
The verse
भक्तांची सांकडीं स्वयें सोसी देव । त्यांपाशीं केशव सर्वकाळ ॥१॥
जये ठायीं कीर्तन वैष्णव करिती । तेथें हा श्रीपति उभा असे ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे देव सर्वाठायीं जाला । भरुनी उरला पांडुरंग ॥३॥
Literal translation
Bhaktāñcī sānkaḍīm svayēm sōsī deva — tyāmpāśīm keśava sarvakāḷa — bhaktas' distress Deva bears himself — Keśava is beside them all times. Jaye ṭhāyīm kīrtana vaiṣṇava karitī — tethēm hā śrīpati ubhā ase — in whatever place vaiṣṇavas do kīrtana — there this Śrīpati stands. Tukā mhaṇe deva sarvāṭhāyīm jālā — bharunī uralā pāṇḍuranga — Tukā says: Deva has become in all places — Pāṇḍuranga filled and remained.
What it means
A 3-verse Deva-stands-where-kīrtana-is text. Deva-himself-bears-bhakta-distress; Keśava-beside-them-always; wherever-vaiṣṇavas-do-kīrtana — there-Śrīpati-stands; Deva-in-all-places, Pāṇḍuranga-fills-and-remains. Companion to 2834 (kīrtana-etiquette: Pāṇḍuranga stands-waiting).
For someone today
Tukaram promises that when devotees are in trouble, God takes on that burden himself, staying close beside them at every moment, not just in a crisis. Wherever people gather to sing kirtana together, he says, God is literally standing there in that place. And beyond that, God has filled every place completely, so there is nowhere devotion happens without his presence. The comfort here is practical: you are never singing, praying, or struggling alone, because the very act of turning toward God in community is itself where he shows up.
मराठी: तुकाराम आश्वासन देतात की भक्त संकटात असताना देव स्वतः तो भार उचलतो, फक्त संकटाच्या क्षणीच नाही तर सतत त्यांच्याजवळ उभा राहतो. जिथे लोक एकत्र येऊन कीर्तन करतात, तिथे देव प्रत्यक्ष उभा असतो, असे ते सांगतात. आणि यापुढे जाऊन, देवाने प्रत्येक जागा पूर्णपणे भरून टाकली आहे, त्यामुळे भक्ती जिथे घडते तिथे त्याची उपस्थिती नसतेच असे नाही. यातील दिलासा व्यावहारिक आहे — तुम्ही कधीच एकटे गात, प्रार्थना करत किंवा झगडत नाही आहात, कारण देवाकडे समुदायात वळणे हीच ती जागा आहे जिथे तो प्रकट होतो.
Where this applies
- Tukārām's kīrtana-Deva-stands canonical
- Companion to 2834 (kīrtana-etiquette)