Abhanga 4424
Tukaram calls out to the king of Pandharpur, urging him to come quickly and eagerly, not slowly or reluctantly. He says God's very name already means friend of the poor, so all he asks is that this love be given to him directly. He calls God the living force that animates the entire universe and the only true mother orphans have. Finally he turns to Pundalik, the beloved devotee of Pandharpur, and asks for the simple blessing of having the Lord's sandals placed on his head.
The verse
अगा पंढरीच्या राया । वेगीं येई तूं सावया ॥१॥
दीनबंधु तुझें नाम । देई आपुलें आम्हां प्रेम ॥ध्रु.॥
जीवनकळा तूं विश्वाची । तूं चि माउली अनाथाची ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे पुंडलिका । ठेवीं मस्तकीं पादुका ॥३॥
Literal translation
Agā-Paṇḍharī-rāya — come-quickly-sāvayā. Dīna-bandhu-Name — give-prema. Jīvana-kaḷā-viśva — māulī-of-anātha. Tukā: Puṇḍalikā — pādukā-on-mastaka.
What it means
A 3-verse Paṇḍharī-petition text. Agā, king-of-Paṇḍharī — come quickly, eagerly. Your name is friend-of-the-poor — give us your love. You are the life-art of the universe; you alone are the mother of the orphan. Tukā says: Puṇḍalikā — place (the Lord's) sandals on (my) head.
For someone today
Tukaram calls out to the king of Pandharpur, urging him to come quickly and eagerly, not slowly or reluctantly. He says God's very name already means friend of the poor, so all he asks is that this love be given to him directly. He calls God the living force that animates the entire universe and the only true mother orphans have. Finally he turns to Pundalik, the beloved devotee of Pandharpur, and asks for the simple blessing of having the Lord's sandals placed on his head.
मराठी: तुकाराम पंढरीच्या रायाला हाक मारतात, त्याने हळू नव्हे तर वेगाने आणि आतुरतेने यावे अशी विनवणी करतात. देवाच्या नावाचाच अर्थ दीनांचा बंधू असा आहे, म्हणून तेच प्रेम आपल्यालाही थेट द्यावे अशी ते मागणी करतात. ते देवाला संपूर्ण विश्वाची जीवनकळा आणि अनाथांची एकमेव खरी माउली म्हणतात. शेवटी ते पुंडलिकाकडे वळून विनवतात की त्याने देवाच्या पादुका माझ्या मस्तकावर ठेवाव्यात, हा साधा पण अर्थपूर्ण आशीर्वाद मागतात.
Where this applies
- When you want to pray with urgency, asking for a quick response rather than a distant, formal one
- When you feel like an orphan in the world, without any real source of belonging
- When you want to be reminded that love is already built into who God is, not something you have to earn
- When you long for a simple, tangible gesture of blessing rather than something abstract