Abhanga 4456
Treating every deity as equal to the Supreme is like treating a diamond and hailstone as the same thing, real devotion to one clear source is what actually leads to liberation.
The verse
शिव शक्ति आणि सूर्य गणपति । एक चि म्हणती विष्णूस ही ॥१॥
हिरा गार दोनी मानिती समान । राजस भजनें वांयां जाती ॥ध्रु.॥
अन्य देवतांसि देव म्हणऊन । तामस जीवन तमोयोग्या ॥२॥
वांयां जायासाठीं केलासे हव्यास । अन्य देवतांस देवपण ॥३॥
आपुलिया मुखें सांगतसे धणी । नव्हे माझी वाणी पदरींची ॥४॥
धन्य ते वैष्णव भजती केशव । साित्वक हे जीव मोक्षा योग्य ॥५॥
तुका म्हणे मोक्ष नाहीं कोणापासीं । एका गोविंदासी शरण व्हा रे ॥६॥
Literal translation
Śiva-Śakti-Sūrya-Gaṇapati — one-only-saying-Viṣṇu. Hīrā-gāra-considered-equal — rājasa-bhajana-vāyām. Other-devatā-as-Deva — tāmasa-jīvana-tamō-yōgya. For-vāyām-going — hauvyāsa-made — other-devatā-deva-paṇa. Own-mouth-the-dhaṇi-tells — not-my-padarīmchī-vāṇī. Dhanya-vaiṣṇavas-bhaja-Kēśava — sāttvika-mokṣa-yōgya. Tukā: mokṣa-nowhere — only-Govinda-refuge.
What it means
A 6-verse anti-pañchāyatana exclusive-Vaiṣṇava polemic. Śiva, Śakti, and Sūrya, Gaṇapati — those who call them one-with Viṣṇu (or: identify them all with Viṣṇu). They consider diamond and hailstone equal — their rājasa worship goes in vain. Calling other deities 'Deva' — is tāmasa living, fit for darkness. They have made effort for going-in-vain — by giving godhood to other deities. From his own mouth, the Lord tells this — it is not my own-cloth speech. Blessed are those vaiṣṇavas who worship Kēśava — those sāttvika souls are fit for liberation. Tukā says: liberation is not with anyone (else) — go to refuge with only one Govinda. The polemic: Tukārām here explicitly rejects the pañchāyatana view (5-deity worship — Śiva, Śakti, Sūrya, Gaṇapati, Viṣṇu treated as five-equal-forms). He says treating-them-as-equal is treating-diamond-and-hailstone-as-equal — rājasa-bhajana = wasted. Only-Viṣṇu-Kēśava-Govinda gives mokṣa. Crucial qualifier: he disclaims this is his-own-statement — the dhaṇi (Lord) himself speaks from-own-mouth, not my-out-of-cloth speech — i.e., this is scriptural-revealed-position. Contextualize with Tukārām's elsewhere-warmth toward Śiva (Hari-Hara-self in 2618). Pair with 2374 (anti-folk-deity polemic), 4456 itself sits-as-most-systematic.
For someone today
Tukārām argues that treating every deity, Śiva, Śakti, Sūrya, Gaṇapati, as simply equal to Viṣṇu is like treating a diamond and a piece of hailstone as the same thing, worship offered that way ends up wasted. He says calling other deities the supreme God comes from a clouded, unfocused state of mind, and effort spent that way doesn't actually lead anywhere. He's careful to add that this isn't just his own opinion, he says it is the Lord's own word, not something spoken out of his own cloth. His conclusion is direct: only those who devote themselves clearly and steadily to Kēśava are fit for liberation, so take refuge in the one Govinda alone.
मराठी: तुकाराम म्हणतात की शिव, शक्ती, सूर्य, गणपती या सर्वांना विष्णूसमान मानणे म्हणजे हिरा आणि गारेला सारखेच मानण्यासारखे आहे, अशी भक्ती शेवटी वाया जाते. इतर देवतांना सर्वोच्च देव मानणे हे मनाच्या गोंधळलेल्या, अस्पष्ट अवस्थेतून येते, आणि त्यासाठी घेतलेले परिश्रम कुठेच पोहोचत नाहीत. ते स्पष्ट करतात की हे त्यांचे स्वतःचे मत नाही, तर हे प्रत्यक्ष परमेश्वराचेच वचन आहे, त्यांच्या स्वतःच्या शब्दांतून आलेले नाही. त्यांचा निष्कर्ष स्पष्ट आहे: जे स्थिर मनाने केवळ केशवाची भक्ती करतात तेच मोक्षास पात्र आहेत, म्हणून केवळ एका गोविंदाला शरण जा.
Where this applies
- Tukārām's MOST-EXPLICIT anti-pañchāyatana exclusive-Vaiṣṇava polemic canonical