Abhanga 4176
Tukārām tells God he has become his servant and asks for only one thing in return: let him never miss the vārī, the yearly walking pilgrimage to Paṇḍharpur. He does not ask for wealth or comfort. What he wants is the company of sants, love filling his whole being, and a bath in the Chandrabhāgā river, and he says that is the only gift worth having. The lesson is that when you know which practice truly nourishes you, you should ask to keep doing it rather than asking for things that only distract from it.
The verse
जालों आतां दास । माझी पुरवीं हे आस ॥१॥
पंढरीचा वारकरी । वारी चुकों नेदीं हरी ॥ध्रु.॥
संतसमागम । अंगीं भरोनियां प्रेम ॥२॥
चंद्रभागे स्नान । तुका म्हणे हें चि दान ॥३॥
Literal translation
Jālōm ātām dāsa — mājhī puravīm he āsa — I have become a dāsa — fulfill this wish of mine. Paṇḍharīcā vārakarī — vārī chukōm nedīm Harī — (make me) a Paṇḍharī-vārakarī — don't let the vārī be missed, Harī. Santasamāgama — angīm bharōniyām prema — sant-association — prema filling the anga. Chandrabhāge snāna — Tukā mhaṇe he chi dāna — bath in Chandrabhāgā — Tukā says: this alone is the dāna.
What it means
A 3-verse vārakarī-wish-prayer. I-have-become-your-dāsa — fulfill-this-only-wish: make-me-a-Paṇḍharī-vārakarī, never-let-the-vārī-be-missed; sant-sanga, prema-filling-anga, Chandrabhāgā-bath — this-alone-is-the-dāna. Among the most-canonical Vārkarī wish-prayers.
For someone today
Tukārām tells God he has become his servant and asks for only one thing in return: let him never miss the vārī, the yearly walking pilgrimage to Paṇḍharpur. He does not ask for wealth or comfort. What he wants is the company of sants, love filling his whole being, and a bath in the Chandrabhāgā river, and he says that is the only gift worth having. The lesson is that when you know which practice truly nourishes you, you should ask to keep doing it rather than asking for things that only distract from it.
मराठी: तुकाराम देवाला सांगतात की ते त्याचे दास झाले आहेत आणि त्या बदल्यात फक्त एकच गोष्ट मागतात, की पंढरीची वारी कधीच चुकू नये. ते धन किंवा सुख मागत नाहीत. त्यांना हवे आहे संतांची संगत, अंगभर भरून राहणारे प्रेम, आणि चंद्रभागेत स्नान, आणि तेच खरे दान आहे असे ते म्हणतात. यातून हा धडा मिळतो की जी साधना खरोखर आपल्याला पोषण देते हे एकदा कळले की तीच चालू ठेवायला मागावे, इतर गोष्टींच्या मागे लागू नये.
Where this applies
- When you have found a yearly practice, pilgrimage, or ritual that genuinely feeds your spirit
- When someone offers to grant you a wish and you have to decide what actually matters most
- When you value time with a community of like-minded people over material rewards
- When you want a simple prayer that names exactly what sustains you instead of a long wish list