Abhanga 4090
A place and community of genuine devotion can transform even the most deluded or wicked person into someone compassionate, free, and without pride of caste or birth.
The verse
पंढरीचा वास धन्य ते चि प्राणी । अमृताची वाणी दिव्य देहो ॥१॥
मूढ मतिहीन दुष्ट अविचारी । ते होती पंढरी दयारूप ॥ध्रु.॥
शांति क्षमा अंगीं विरक्ति सकळ । नैराश्य निर्मळ नारी नर ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे नाहीं वर्णा अभिमान । अवघे जीवनमुक्त लोक ॥३॥
Literal translation
Paṇḍharī-vāsa-prāṇī-dhanya — amrta-vāṇī-divya-dēha. Mūḍha-matihīna-duṣṭa-avichārī-become-Paṇḍharī-dayā-rūpa. Śānti-kṣamā-virakti-nairāśya-nirmaḷa-nārī-nara. Tukā: no-varṇa-abhimāna — all-jīvanmukta-lōka.
What it means
THE canonical 3-verse Pandhari-resident-becomes-jīvanmukta foundational. Blessed are those beings who dwell in Paṇḍharī — their speech is of nectar, their bodies are divine. Even the deluded, mindless, wicked, and undiscerning — they become forms-of-compassion in Paṇḍharī. With peace, forbearance, total detachment, hope-lessness, purity — the men and women. Tukā says: there is no varṇa-pride; all are jīvanmukta people. Foundational Vārkarī claim: Paṇḍharī-residency itself makes one jīvanmukta, regardless of varṇa, regardless of prior-character (even mūḍha-matihīna-duṣṭa-avichārī). Pair with 3730 (dhanya-tō-grāma), 3865 (Pandhari-radical-inclusion), 4031 (Tukā-Paṇḍharīsī-gēlā-janmā-nāhīm-ālā).
For someone today
Tukaram says everyone who lives in Pandharpur is blessed, their words feel sweet as nectar and their very presence feels divine. What's remarkable is that even people who were once deluded, foolish, wicked, or thoughtless become full of compassion once they settle there, transformed by the place and its community rather than by their past. Peace, patience, deep detachment, and quiet contentment fill both the women and men who live there. Tukaram insists there is no pride of caste or birth among them; everyone, regardless of where they started, is free while still alive.
मराठी: तुकाराम म्हणतात की पंढरपुरात राहणारे सर्वजण धन्य आहेत, त्यांचे बोलणे अमृतासारखे गोड वाटते आणि त्यांची उपस्थितीच दिव्य वाटते. सर्वात लक्षणीय गोष्ट म्हणजे जे कधीकाळी भ्रमित, मूर्ख, दुष्ट किंवा विचारशून्य होते तेही तिथे राहिल्यावर करुणेने भरून जातात, हा बदल त्यांच्या भूतकाळामुळे नव्हे तर त्या ठिकाणामुळे आणि तिथल्या सहवासामुळे घडतो. शांती, क्षमा, गाढी विरक्ती आणि निवांत समाधान तिथल्या स्त्री-पुरुषांमध्ये भरलेले असते. तुकाराम ठामपणे सांगतात की तिथे जातीचा किंवा जन्माचा कोणताही अभिमान नाही; जो कुठूनही आला असेल, तो जिवंतपणीच मुक्त होतो.
Where this applies
- When you doubt that someone with a troubled or wicked past could truly transform into someone compassionate
- When you feel excluded from spiritual life because of your background, caste, or past mistakes
- When you are choosing a community and wondering whether it can genuinely shape you for the better
- When you notice peace and patience growing in people simply from being around a good environment