Abhanga 4214
Whatever danger seems large enough to consume you can be swallowed entirely, and real joy follows once that threat is completely gone.
The verse
श्रीमुख वोणवा गिळीत चालिलें । भ्यासुर वासिलें वदनांबुज ॥१॥
विक्राळ त्या दाढा भ्यानें पाहावेना । धाउनी रसना ज्वाळ गिळी ॥ध्रु.॥
जिव्हा लांब धांवे गोळा करी ज्वाळ । मोटें मुखकमळ त्यांत घाली ॥ २॥
तुका म्हणे अवघा वोणवा गीळिला। आनंद जाहाला गोपाळांसी ॥३॥
Literal translation
Śrī-mukha-swallows-vōnavā — bhayāna-vasilēm-vadanāmbuja. Vikrāḷa-jaws — fear-can't-look — tongue-runs-swallows-flame. Long-tongue-runs-gathers-flame-ball — large-mukha-kamala-puts-in. Tukā: all-the-vōnavā-swallowed — ānanda-to-gopāḷas.
What it means
Verse-7 of dāvānala-grasana cluster — the actual swallowing. Śrī's mouth went swallowing the forest-fire; the open face-lotus was frightful. The terrible jaws — for fear we couldn't look; the tongue ran and swallowed the flames. The tongue ran far, gathered the flames into a ball; the large mouth-lotus puts it inside. The whole forest-fire was swallowed — joy came to the gopāḷas. The vivid imagery: long tongue runs out — gathers flames into a single ball — large mouth-lotus puts it inside — physically-specific narrative-image-cluster rare in Tukārām.
For someone today
In this striking image, the Lord's mouth opens wide and terrifyingly, and his tongue reaches out, gathers the entire raging forest fire into a single ball, and pulls it inside, swallowing the whole danger whole. The scene is frightening to watch, almost too much to look at directly, but once the fire is completely gone, pure joy floods through the cowherds who had been trapped by it. Tukaram makes the point plainly: whatever threat is consuming you can be swallowed entirely, and the relief on the other side of that terror is real and complete.
मराठी: या ठळक प्रतिमेत, देवाचं तोंड भयचकित करणाऱ्या पद्धतीने उघडतं, आणि त्याची जीभ बाहेर पडून संपूर्ण भडकलेला वणवा एकाच गोळ्यात गोळा करते आणि आत ओढून घेते, संपूर्ण संकट गिळून टाकते. हे दृश्य पाहणं भीतीदायक असतं, जणू सरळ पाहणंही अवघड, पण एकदा वणवा पूर्णपणे नाहीसा झाला की, त्यात अडकलेल्या गोपाळांच्या मनात निखळ आनंद उसळतो. तुकाराम स्पष्टपणे सांगतात — तुम्हाला ग्रासणारं कुठलंही संकट पूर्णपणे गिळलं जाऊ शकतं, आणि त्या भीतीनंतर येणारा दिलासा खरा आणि परिपूर्ण असतो.
Where this applies
- Verse-7 of 10-abhang dāvānala-grasana cluster (4208-4217)