Abhanga 4464
Respecting those who keep devotion alive and simply longing to belong among sincere devotees matters more than status, birth, or knowing all the right rituals.
The verse
पंढरीची वारी जयांचिये घरीं । पायधुळी शिरीं वंदिन त्यांची ॥१॥
दासाचा मी दास पोसणा डोंगर । आतां बहु फार काय बोलों ॥ध्रु.॥
जातीचें मी हीन न कळे भजन । म्हणोनि संतचरण इच्छीतसें ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे मज म्हणावें आपुलें । बहुता तारिलें संतजनीं ॥३॥
Literal translation
Paṇḍharī-vārī-house — foot-dust-on-head-vandin. Dāsa-of-dāsa — pōsaṇā-ḍōngara — now-what-more-speak. Jātī-hīna-don't-know-bhajana — want-sant-charaṇa. Tukā: call-me-yours — many-saved-by-sants.
What it means
A 3-verse vārkarī-foot-pūjā + jāti-hīna text. Paṇḍharī's pilgrimage, at whose house it is established — of those, I bow with foot-dust on my head. I am servant of servant — yours is the mountain-of-nurturing — now what more shall I speak? I am low by birth — I do not know bhajana — so I desire your sants' feet. Tukā says: say of me '(he is) my own' — many have been saved by sant-people. The pivot: those-whose-house-celebrates-Paṇḍharī-vārī = those-whose-foot-dust-on-my-head; this is the foundational vārkarī-fraternity-ethic. The jāti-hīna and na kaḷē bhajana are autobiographical-humility-claims (cf 2755 śūdra-vamśī, 2742 yātī-hīna). The closing-request: call-me-your-own; many-have-been-saved-by-sants. Pair with 2887 (sant-pūjā), 2810 (saints-list).
For someone today
Tukārām says that whoever keeps the practice of the Paṇḍharī pilgrimage alive in their own home deserves his deepest respect, he would bow down and put the dust from their feet on his own head. He calls himself the servant of servants, someone who relies entirely on the community's nurturing, and says he has nothing grand left to add to that. He's honest that he was born low in status and doesn't even really know proper worship, so what he actually longs for is simply to be near the feet of true devotees. His closing request is simple and vulnerable, he asks to be claimed as one of their own, because he has seen that sants have saved many people just like him.
मराठी: तुकाराम म्हणतात की जो कोणी आपल्या घरात पंढरीच्या वारीची परंपरा जपतो त्याला त्यांचा सर्वोच्च मान आहे, ते त्याच्या पायाची धूळ स्वतःच्या डोक्यावर घेऊन नमन करतील. ते स्वतःला सेवकाचा सेवक म्हणवतात, जो पूर्णपणे समाजाच्या आधारावर, त्याच्या पालनपोषणावर अवलंबून आहे, आणि त्याहून मोठे काही बोलण्याजोगे उरले नाही असे सांगतात. ते प्रामाणिकपणे कबूल करतात की जन्माने ते खालच्या दर्जाचे आहेत आणि त्यांना खरी भक्तीही नीट कळत नाही, म्हणून त्यांना खरोखर हवे आहे ते फक्त खऱ्या भक्तांच्या पायाजवळ राहणे. शेवटी ते साध्या, हळव्या शब्दांत विनंती करतात, मला तुमच्यातलाच एक म्हणा, कारण अशा अनेकांना संतांनीच तारले आहे.
Where this applies
- When you meet someone whose home or family keeps a spiritual tradition alive and you feel genuine respect for them
- When you feel you don't have the right background or knowledge to belong in a devoted community
- When you want closeness to good, sincere people more than you want recognition or status
- When you're hoping to be accepted and claimed by a community rather than proving your own worthiness first