Abhanga 4217
God is understood not through knowledge or ritual but through simple, loving devotion, the kind that turns to tend the very one who just protected you.
The verse
बा रे कृष्णा तुझें मुख कीं कोमळ । कैसे येवढे ज्वाळ ग्रासियेले ॥१॥
बा रे कृष्णा तुझी जिव्हा कीं कोवळी । होईंल पोळिली नारायणा ॥ध्रु.॥
बैसें कृष्णा तुझें पाहूं मुखकमळ । असेल पोळलें कोणे ठायीं ॥२॥
घोंगडिया घालीं घालूनियां तळीं । वरी वनमाळी बैसविती ॥३॥
तुका म्हणे भावें आकळिला देव । कृपासिंधुराव त्रैलोक्याचा ॥४॥
Literal translation
Krṣṇa-mouth-is-soft — how-grasped-such-flames? Krṣṇa-jihvā-tender — must-have-burnt-Nārāyaṇa. Sit-Krṣṇa-see-mukha-kamala — burnt-somewhere. Ghongaḍīs-spread-below — placed-Vanamāḷī on-top. Tukā: bhāve-akaḷilā-Deva — krpā-sindhu-rāva-of-trailōkya.
What it means
Closing verse-10 of dāvānala-grasana cluster. O Krṣṇa! your mouth is so soft — how did you grasp such enormous flames? O Krṣṇa! your tongue is so tender — it must have been burnt, Nārāyaṇa. Sit, Krṣṇa — let us see your face-lotus — see if it's burnt anywhere. They spread blankets below as a seat; they seated Vanamāḷī on top. Tukā says: Deva was held by bhāva — the Compassion-Ocean-King of the three-worlds. The tender close: the bhaktas check the saviour for injury — affectionate role-reversal where the saved gopāḷas care for the saviour. The doctrine: bhāve-akaḷilā-Deva — Deva is grasped only by bhāva (echoes 4195 — bhāva-not-japa-count, 4204 — bhāva-and-vichāra-simultaneous).
For someone today
Once the danger is over, the cowherds' first instinct is not to marvel from a distance but to tend to Krishna's body with real concern, worrying that his soft mouth and tender tongue must have been burned by swallowing all those flames. They ask him to sit down so they can check his face closely for any sign of injury, and they even spread out blankets to make him a comfortable seat. Tukaram closes by saying that God, the compassionate king of all three worlds, was fully grasped in that moment not through knowledge or ritual but through simple, loving devotion. It is a beautiful reversal, where those who were just saved turn around and lovingly care for their saviour.
मराठी: संकट टळल्यावर गोपाळांची पहिली प्रतिक्रिया दुरून कौतुक करण्याची नसते, तर कृष्णाच्या शरीराची खरी काळजी घेण्याची असते — त्याचं कोमल तोंड आणि नाजूक जीभ इतक्या ज्वाळा गिळताना नक्कीच भाजली असेल, अशी त्यांना काळजी वाटते. ते त्याला बसायला सांगतात जेणेकरून त्याचा चेहरा नीट बघून कुठे भाजलंय का ते तपासता येईल, आणि आरामात बसण्यासाठी घोंगड्याही अंथरतात. तुकाराम शेवटी म्हणतात, त्रैलोक्याचा करुणासागर देव त्या क्षणी ज्ञानाने किंवा विधीने नव्हे, तर साध्या, प्रेमळ भावानेच पूर्णपणे गवसला. जे नुकतेच वाचवले गेले होते, तेच आता आपल्या तारणहाराची प्रेमाने काळजी घेतात, हा एक सुंदर उलटफेर यात दिसतो.
Where this applies
- Closing verse-10 of 10-abhang dāvānala-grasana cluster (4208-4217)
- bhāve-akaḷilā-Deva doctrine