Abhanga 4149
True devotion means joining the community wholeheartedly, honoring those who came before you, and giving yourself completely rather than partially.
The verse
आतां जावें पंढरीसी । दंडवत विठोबासी ॥१॥
जेथें चंद्रभागातिरीं । आम्ही नाचों पंढरपुरीं ॥ध्रु.॥
जेथें संतांची दाटणी । त्याचें घेऊं पायवणी ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे आम्ही बळी । जीव दिधला पायां तळीं ॥३॥
Literal translation
Ātām jāvem Paṇḍharīsī — daṇḍavata Viṭhōbāsī — now let-us-go to Paṇḍharī — daṇḍavata to Viṭhōbā. Jethe Chandrabhāgātirīm — āmhī nāchōm Paṇḍharpurīm — where on Chandrabhāgā-bank — we dance in Paṇḍharpura. Jethe santāñcī dāṭaṇī — tyāche ghēūm pāyavaṇī — where (is) the throng of sants — we take their foot-water. Tukā mhaṇe āmhī baḷī — jīva didhalā pāyā taḷīm — Tukā says: we are baḷī — (we) gave jīva at (your) feet-below.
What it means
A 3-verse Vārkarī yātrā-text. Go-to-Paṇḍharī-now; daṇḍavata-to-Viṭhōbā; dance-on-Chandrabhāgā-bank; take-sants'-foot-water; gave-our-jīva-at-feet-below.
For someone today
Tukaram describes the joy of the pilgrimage to Pandharpur: bowing down fully before Vitthal, dancing with the community of sants on the banks of the Chandrabhaga river, and humbly taking the water that has washed the feet of the saints. It is a picture of what it feels like to belong wholly to something greater than yourself, holding nothing back. He ends by saying he has given his very life at those feet, showing that real devotion is total, not partial.
मराठी: तुकाराम पंढरपूरच्या वारीचा आनंद वर्णन करतात: विठोबापुढे पूर्णपणे लोटांगण घालणे, चंद्रभागेच्या तीरावर संतांच्या मेळाव्यासोबत नाचणे, आणि नम्रपणे संतांच्या पायाचे तीर्थ घेणे. यातून स्वतःहून मोठ्या काहीतरी गोष्टीशी पूर्णपणे जोडले जाण्याचा अनुभव दिसतो, कशाचीही राखठेव न करता. शेवटी ते म्हणतात की त्यांनी आपला जीव त्या चरणांशी अर्पण केला आहे, म्हणजे खरी भक्ती अर्धवट नसते, ती पूर्ण असते.
Where this applies
- When you join a community gathering and feel swept up in shared joy and belonging
- When you want to show humility by honoring those who have walked the path before you
- When you are searching for a place or tradition that makes you feel fully alive and connected
- When you are ready to commit yourself completely to something instead of holding part of yourself back