Abhanga 4220
Whatever form protection takes, however overwhelming it seems, its true purpose is devotion to your wellbeing, and its full nature is beyond anyone's complete understanding.
The verse
गोपाळांचें कैसें केलें समाधान । देउनि आलिंगन निवविले ॥१॥
ज्वाळाबरोबरि तुम्हां कां ग्रासीन । अवतार घेणें तुम्हांसाटीं ॥ध्रु.॥
निर्गुण निर्भय मी सर्वांनिराळा । प्रकृतिवेगळा गुणातीत ॥२॥
चिन्मय चिद्रूप अवघें चिदाकार । तुका म्हणे पार नेणे ब्रम्हा ॥३॥
Literal translation
Gave-ālingaṇa — pacified-gopāḷas. Why-swallow-you — took-avatāra-for-you. Nirguṇa-nirbhaya — sarvāṇirāḷā — prakrtī-vegaḷā-guṇātīta. Chinmaya-chid-rūpa-chid-ākāra. Tukā: Brahmā-doesn't-know-pāra.
What it means
Verse-13 of dāvānala-grasana cluster — Krṣṇa's self-disclosure doctrine. How well Krṣṇa pacified the gopāḷas — by giving them an embrace, he calmed them: 'Along with the flames, why would I swallow you? I took this avatāra for you. I am unqualified, fearless, separate from all; apart from prakrti, beyond the guṇas. Consciousness-form, all is consciousness-shape.' Tukā says: even Brahmā doesn't know the limit. The doctrinal disclosure: Krṣṇa-as-nirguṇa-nirbhaya-sarvāṇirāḷā-prakrtī-vegaḷā-guṇātīta-chinmaya-chid-rūpa-chid-ākāra. Pair with 2925 (formless-Viṭṭhal), 2922 (karma-became-Nārāyaṇa).
For someone today
To calm the terrified cowherds, Krishna embraces them and reassures them directly: why would I swallow you along with the flames, I took this very form for your sake. He then reveals something deeper about himself: beyond all the qualities and roles he displays, he is essentially formless, fearless, and separate from all created nature, pure consciousness itself, and even Brahma cannot fathom his full extent. Tukaram's point is that the very being who terrified them a moment before is, underneath, the one utterly devoted to their wellbeing, and that whatever form love takes to protect you, its true nature is boundless and beyond full understanding.
मराठी: घाबरलेल्या गोपाळांना शांत करण्यासाठी कृष्ण त्यांना मिठी मारतो आणि स्पष्टपणे सांगतो — ज्वाळांबरोबर तुम्हांला मी का गिळेन, मी हा अवतार तुमच्यासाठीच घेतला आहे. मग तो स्वतःबद्दल एक खोल गोष्ट उलगडतो — जी रूपं आणि गुण मी दाखवतो त्यापलीकडे मी मुळात निर्गुण, निर्भय आणि सगळ्या प्रकृतीहून वेगळा आहे, शुद्ध चैतन्य आहे, आणि माझा पार ब्रह्मालाही कळत नाही. तुकारामांचा मुद्दा असा आहे की क्षणापूर्वी ज्याने भीती वाटवली तोच खरं तर आतून त्यांच्या हितासाठी पूर्णपणे झटणारा आहे, आणि रक्षणासाठी प्रेम कोणतंही रूप घेत असलं तरी त्याचं खरं स्वरूप अमर्याद आणि पूर्णपणे समजण्यापलीकडचं असतं.
Where this applies
- Verse-13 of extended 14-abhang dāvānala-grasana cluster (4208-4221)
- Pair with 2925 (formless-Viṭṭhal), 2922 (karma-became-Nārāyaṇa)