Abhanga 4037
Tukaram speaks here like a tired child clinging to his mother, asking to be claimed and reassured that there is nothing to fear. He calls out tenderly to Vitthal as mother, saying he has held onto her feet in trust. He admits his exhaustion and worry openly, and simply asks for peace now. He ends by saying that God already lives within him, so really the two of them were never separate to begin with.
The verse
आपुलेंसें करुनी घ्यावें । आश्वासावें नाभींसें ॥१॥
ह्णउनि धरिले पाय । आवो माय विठ्ठले ॥ध्रु.॥
कळलासे सीन चिंता । शम आतां करावा ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे जीवीं वसें । मज नसें वेगळे ॥३॥
Literal translation
Make-yours-assure-don't-fear. Held-feet — āvō-māya-Viṭṭhalē. Know-śīṇa-chintā — make-śama. Tukā: in-jīva-dwell — not-separate.
What it means
A 3-verse mother-cry. Take me, make me yours; give the assurance — don't-fear. So I have held your feet — O mother Viṭṭhal! You know my fatigue and worry — make peace now. In my soul you dwell — I am not separate. The address āvō māya Viṭṭhalē (feminine vocative) is the most-tender mother-form.
For someone today
Tukaram speaks here like a tired child clinging to his mother, asking to be claimed and reassured that there is nothing to fear. He calls out tenderly to Vitthal as mother, saying he has held onto her feet in trust. He admits his exhaustion and worry openly, and simply asks for peace now. He ends by saying that God already lives within him, so really the two of them were never separate to begin with.
मराठी: तुकाराम इथे थकलेल्या मुलासारखे आईला बिलगून बोलतात, तिने आपल्याला स्वतःचे मानावे आणि घाबरू नकोस असा धीर द्यावा अशी विनंती करतात. ते विठ्ठलाला प्रेमाने माय म्हणून हाक मारतात आणि सांगतात की त्यांनी विश्वासाने तिचे पाय धरले आहेत. ते आपला थकवा आणि काळजी उघडपणे कबूल करतात आणि आता फक्त शांती द्यावी अशी विनंती करतात. शेवटी ते म्हणतात की देव आधीच त्यांच्या जीवात वसलेला आहे, त्यामुळे खरे तर ते दोघे कधीच वेगळे नव्हते.
Where this applies
- When you are exhausted and just need to be told everything will be okay
- When you want to approach God with the vulnerability of a tired child rather than formal distance
- When worry has worn you down and you need to ask directly for peace
- When you want language for feeling truly held and never actually alone