संत साहित्य · Tukārām · Abhanga 4112 of 4582

Abhanga 4112

Repeating the divine Name with full devotion is already complete and sufficient in itself, needing no further proof or physical encounter to be real.

When you find deep satisfaction in a simple daily practice rather than chasing something more elaborate

When someone you love is in distress and you respond instantly, without hesitation, the way a mother rushes to her child

When you commit to something wholeheartedly and refuse to back down once you have given it your all

The verse

तुज काय करूं मज एक सार । अमृतसागर नाम तुझें ॥१॥ काय येणें उणें आम्हां तयापोटीं । गोवितां हे कंठीं कामधेनु ॥ध्रु.॥ नोळखे तानुलें माय ऐसी कोण । वोरसे देखून शोक त्याचा ॥२॥ जो नाहीं देखिला याचक नयनीं । तो पावे घेउनि लज्जा दान ॥३॥ नामासाटीं प्राण सांडियेला रणीं । शूर ते भांडणीं न फिरती ॥४॥ तुका म्हणे आम्ही गातां गीतीं भला । भेटूनी विठ्ठला काय चाड ॥५॥

Literal translation

Name-amrta-sāgara-one-sāra. Kāmadhēnu-at-throat — no-uṇē. Māya-recognizes-tānula-gushes-seeing-śōka. Yāchaka-not-seen-by-eye-takes-lajjā-on-receiving. For-Name-prāṇa-in-raṇa — śūras-don't-turn-back. Tukā: well-singing-gītī — what-need-bhēṭi-Viṭṭhal.

What it means

THE canonical 5-verse defiant Name-singing-is-enough text. What can I do for you? — for me, one essence: your Name, an amrta-ocean. What deficit could there be in his belly when Kāmadhēnu is bound at his throat? Which mother does not recognize a suckling baby — would she not gush seeing his anguish? Only one who has not seen the petitioner with his eye takes shame on giving (i.e., is stingy). For the Name, life has been abandoned in battle; warriors don't turn back. We are well singing in songs — what need have we of meeting Viṭṭhal? The defiant-close: we have the Name in our singing — we don't need physical-meeting. The strongest expression of Name-is-self-sufficient. Pair with 4021 (Nāma-tāraka-bhava-sindhu), 3743 (Name-is-everything).

For someone today

Tukaram declares he needs nothing else because the Name itself is an ocean of nectar, complete and sufficient on its own, like a wish-fulfilling cow already tied close to his throat. He compares this to a mother who cannot help but rush to comfort her crying baby the moment she recognizes its cry, and says a truly generous giver never feels ashamed to give, only someone who never really saw the one asking would hold back. He says devotees have given their very lives in battle for this Name without ever retreating, and he ends with striking confidence, singing this Name in song is already enough, so he does not even need to physically meet the divine face to face.

मराठी: तुकाराम ठामपणे सांगतात की त्यांना आणखी काहीच नको कारण नाम स्वतःच एक अमृतसागर आहे, स्वयंपूर्ण आणि पुरेसे, जणू कामधेनूच गळ्याशी बांधलेली आहे. ते याची तुलना अशा आईशी करतात जी आपल्या बाळाचे रडणे ऐकताच धावत जाऊन त्याला सांभाळते, आणि म्हणतात की खरा उदार दाता कधीच देण्यात लाज बाळगत नाही, फक्त ज्याने मागणाऱ्याला खरोखर पाहिलेच नाही तोच मागे हटतो. ते म्हणतात की भक्तांनी या नामासाठी रणांगणात प्राणही अर्पण केले आहेत आणि ते कधी मागे फिरत नाहीत, आणि शेवटी अत्यंत आत्मविश्वासाने म्हणतात की हे नाम गाण्यातच पुरेसे आहे, त्यामुळे देवाला प्रत्यक्ष भेटण्याचीही गरज उरत नाही.

Where this applies

When you feel you already have enough through a simple daily practice and do not need something more dramatic
When you witness someone respond instantly to a loved one's distress the way a mother responds to her crying child
When you want the confidence to give generously instead of holding back out of hesitation or shame
When you commit fully to something meaningful and refuse to retreat once you have given it your whole heart