Abhanga 4373
The divine presence is like an enchanting trickster whose spell dazzles the mind, appearing wherever you turn to look.
The verse
भीमातिरींचा नाटक । यानें लावियेलें चेटक ॥१॥
मन बुद्धि जाली ठक । नेणे संसाराची टुक ॥ध्रु.॥
कैशी प्रसंगीक वाणी । प्रत्यादर कडसणी ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे मोठा ठक । जेथें तेथें उभा ठाके ॥३॥
Literal translation
Bhīmā-tīra-nāṭaka — cast-chēṭaka. Mana-buddhi-ṭhaka — don't-know-samsāra-ṭuka. Prasangika-vāṇī — pratyādara-kaḍasaṇī. Tukā: mōṭā-ṭhaka — wherever-stands.
What it means
A 3-verse Viṭṭhal-as-magician-and-trickster text. This actor of the Bhīmā-bank has cast a magic-spell. Mind-and-intelligence have become stupefied — they don't even know a tiny-portion of samsāra. How witty his on-the-spot speech, his counter-attentive ripostes! Tukā says: a great trickster — wherever you look, there he stands. The playful-image: Viṭṭhal-on-the-Bhīmā-bank as a nāṭaka-cum-trickster who-casts-magic-on-bhakta's-mind. wherever-stands: omnipresence-image.
For someone today
Tukaram describes Vitthal, standing on the bank of the Bhima river, as a kind of enchanting performer who has cast a spell over everyone who comes near. He says this spell leaves the mind and intellect so dazzled that a person forgets even the smallest ordinary details of daily life. He marvels at how clever and quick this presence is, always ready with a witty reply, always fully attentive in the moment. In the end Tukaram calls him a great trickster, because wherever you look, in whatever direction you turn, that same presence is somehow already standing there.
मराठी: तुकाराम भीमेच्या काठावर उभ्या असलेल्या विठ्ठलाचं वर्णन एका मोहक कलाकारासारखं करतात, ज्याने जवळ येणाऱ्या प्रत्येकावर जादू केली आहे. ते म्हणतात, ही जादू मन आणि बुद्धीला इतकी दिपवून टाकते की माणूस दैनंदिन आयुष्यातल्या साध्या साध्या गोष्टीही विसरून जातो. ते आश्चर्याने पाहतात की ही उपस्थिती किती चतुर आणि चपळ आहे, नेहमी हजरजबाबी, नेहमी क्षणाक्षणाला पूर्ण सजग. शेवटी तुकाराम त्याला मोठा जादूगार म्हणतात, कारण तुम्ही कोणत्याही दिशेला पाहा, तीच उपस्थिती कशी ना कशी आधीच तिथे उभी असते.
Where this applies
- When you feel utterly captivated and forget your everyday worries in a moment of deep devotion
- When you notice God's presence unexpectedly everywhere you look, in every direction
- When you want words for the overwhelming, almost dizzying feeling of encountering the divine
- When you appreciate quick-witted, alert presence rather than distant, formal reverence