Abhanga 4320
Tukaram says God alone truly carries the burden of worldly life, personally securing his devotee's welfare, as shown by becoming Arjuna's charioteer and saving even the lowest-born through devotion.
The verse
संसारींचें ओझें वाहता वाहाविता । तुजविण अनंता नाहीं कोणी ॥१॥
गीतेमाजी शब्द दुंदुभीचा गाजे । योगक्षेमकाज करणें त्याचें ॥ध्रु.॥
चतुर्भुजा करीं वारू शृंगारावे । सारथ्य करावें अर्जुनाचें ॥२॥
श्वपच अंत्यज भक्तिस्नेहें जाला । अचळपदीं केला ध्रुव तुका ॥३॥
Literal translation
Samsārīmñce ōjhe vāhatā vāhāvitā — carrying and (making) carry samsāra-bhāra; tuja-viṇa Anamtā nāhīm kōṇī — no one but you, Ananta. Gītemājīm śabda dumdubhīñcā gāje — in Gītā, the śabda resounds like dumdubhi; yōga-kṣema-kāja karaṇe tyāñce — yōga-kṣema is his kāja. Chatur-bhujā karīm vāru śrngārāve — chatur-bhuja, decorate (the) vāru (horses); sārathya karāve Arjunāñce — do sārathya for Arjuna. Śvapacha amtyaja bhakti-snēhe jālā — śvapacha-antyaja by bhakti-snēha became; achaḷa-padīm kelā Dhruva Tukā — (you) placed Dhruva on achaḷa-pada — Tukā (says).
What it means
A 3-verse text citing-the-Gītā and Dhruva-pada as evidence for the-Lord-carries-samsāra-bhāra.
For someone today
Tukaram says that when it comes to actually carrying the heavy load of worldly life, there is no one else but God who truly does it. He points to the Gita, where God's own promise rings out like a drumbeat, that he personally takes on the responsibility for his devotee's wellbeing and security. To prove how far this care goes, Tukaram recalls that the four-armed Lord himself decorated the horses and took up the reins as Arjuna's charioteer, a humble, hands-on act for someone he loved. He adds that even a person born into the lowest, most despised station was saved through loving devotion, and that Dhruva was given a fixed, unshakeable place in the sky, showing that God's care reaches everyone who turns to him, regardless of where they started.
मराठी: तुकाराम महाराज सांगतात की संसाराचे जड ओझे खरोखर वाहणारा तुझ्याशिवाय कोणीच नाही, हे अनंता. ते गीतेकडे लक्ष वेधतात, जिथे देवाचे स्वतःचे वचन दुंदुभीसारखे गाजते, की तो स्वतः आपल्या भक्ताच्या योगक्षेमाची म्हणजे मिळवण्याची आणि टिकवण्याची जबाबदारी घेतो. हे प्रेम किती खोल आहे हे दाखवण्यासाठी तुकाराम आठवण करून देतात की चतुर्भुज देवाने स्वतः घोडे सजवले आणि अर्जुनाचा सारथी बनून लगाम हातात घेतला, आपल्या प्रिय भक्तासाठी हा साधा, प्रत्यक्ष कृतीतला विनम्रपणा. ते पुढे सांगतात की सर्वात खालच्या, तिरस्काराने पाहिल्या जाणाऱ्या स्तरात जन्मलेल्या व्यक्तीलाही प्रेमळ भक्तीने तारले गेले, आणि ध्रुवाला आकाशात स्थिर, अढळ स्थान दिले गेले, यातून दिसते की देवाची काळजी सर्वांपर्यंत पोहोचते, ते कोठून सुरुवात करतात याची पर्वा न करता.
Where this applies
- When you feel the weight of daily life is too heavy to carry alone
- When you need reassurance that someone is actively looking after your wellbeing and security
- When you doubt whether your background or low status could ever be overlooked and you could still be saved
- When you look for proof that God's care shows up in humble, hands-on acts, not just grand gestures