Abhanga 4361
The devotee who steadily makes the Pandharpur pilgrimage already lives in Vaikuntha and, through that steady practice, lifts up their entire family line.
The verse
पंढरीचा वारकरी । खेपा वैकुंठबंदरीं ॥१॥
तया नाहीं आणखी पेणें । सदा वैकुंठीं राहाणें ॥ध्रु.॥
आला गेला केल्या यात्रा । उद्धरिलें कुळा सर्वत्रा ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे नाहीं । यासि संदेह कल्पांतीं ही ॥३॥
Literal translation
Paṇḍharī-vārkarī = khēpā-vaikuṇṭha-bandara. No-other-pēṇē — sadā-vaikuṇṭha-stays. Yātrā-saves-entire-kuḷa. Tukā: no-samdēha — even-in-kalpānta.
What it means
THE canonical 3-verse Vārkarī-as-Vaikuṇṭha-port-traveler text. The Vārkarī of Paṇḍharī (makes) a trip at the Vaikuṇṭha-port. For him there's no other camp-stop — he stays always at Vaikuṇṭha. Coming and going, doing the yātrā — he saves his entire kuḷa, everywhere. Tukā says: there's no doubt for this — even at the end of a kalpa. The trade/transport-metaphor: Paṇḍharī-yātrā = a round-trip-business-voyage at Vaikuṇṭha-port; the Vārkarī = a regular-trader at Vaikuṇṭha. The closing kuḷa-uddhāra-sarvatra + no-samdēha-even-in-kalpānta seals the soteriological-claim with kalpānta-irrefragability. Pair with 4360 (Paṇḍharī-5-step-itinerary), 3034 (Vārkarī-mokṣa-adhikārī).
For someone today
Tukaram describes the vārī pilgrim to Pandharpur as someone making a regular trip to the very port of Vaikuntha, the abode of God. For this pilgrim, he says, there is no other resting place needed, because they are, in a real sense, already always living in Vaikuntha. Each round trip of coming and going on this pilgrimage carries the blessing far beyond the pilgrim themselves, lifting up their whole family line. Tukaram insists there is no doubt about this at all, not even at the furthest edge of time, showing how much trust he places in a steady, repeated practice of devotion.
मराठी: तुकाराम पंढरपूरच्या वारकऱ्याचं वर्णन असं करतात की जणू तो वैकुंठाच्याच बंदरात नियमित फेरी करत आहे. या वारकऱ्यासाठी, ते म्हणतात, दुसरा कोणताही मुक्काम लागत नाही, कारण तो खऱ्या अर्थाने आधीच नेहमी वैकुंठातच राहतो. या यात्रेतली प्रत्येक फेरी, येणं-जाणं, केवळ त्या वारकऱ्यापुरतं मर्यादित राहत नाही, तर त्याच्या संपूर्ण कुळाला तारते. तुकाराम ठामपणे सांगतात की यात कसलीही शंका नाही, अगदी कल्पांतीही नाही, यातून स्थिर आणि नित्य केलेल्या भक्तीवर त्यांचा किती विश्वास आहे हे दिसतं.
Where this applies
- When you wonder whether a repeated, ordinary practice of devotion truly amounts to anything lasting
- When you feel your own spiritual effort might also benefit your family or ancestors
- When you want to trust that showing up consistently for pilgrimage or practice really matters
- When you need conviction, without lingering doubt, that a devoted habit is genuinely worthwhile