Abhanga 4484
Tukaram prays that his devotion carry real feeling, trusting that sincerely speaking the divine name can burn away even the heaviest burdens and turn someone once shamed into someone worthy of respect.
The verse
देवा आदिदेवा जगत्रया जीवा । परियेसीं केशवा विनंती माझी ॥१॥
माझी वाणी तुझे वर्णी तुझे वर्णी गुण नाम । ऐसी देई प्रेम कांहीं कळा ॥२॥
कळा तुजपाशीं आमचें जीवन । उचित करून देई आम्हां ॥३॥
आम्हां शरणागतां तुझा चि आधार । तूं तंव सागर कृपासिंधु ॥४॥
सिंधु पायावाट होय तुझ्या नामें । जाळीं महाकर्में दुस्तरें तीं ॥५॥
तीं फळें उत्तमें तुझा निजध्यास । नाहीं गर्भवास सेविलिया ॥६॥
सेविंलिया राम कृष्ण नारायण । नाहीं त्या बंधन संसाराचें ॥७॥
संसार तें काय तृणवतमय । अग्नि त्यासी खाय क्षणमात्रें ॥८॥
क्षणमात्रें जाळी दोषांचिया रासी । निंद्य उत्तमासी वंद्य करी ॥९॥
करीं ब्रिदें साच आपलीं आपण । पतितपावन दिनानाथ ॥१०॥
नाथ अनाथाचा पति गोपिकांचा । पुरवी चित्तीचा मनोरथ ॥११॥
चित्ती जें धरावें तुका म्हणे दासीं । पुरविता होसी मनोरथ ॥१२॥
Literal translation
A 12-verse yamak-bandha-chain petition. Deva, primal-Deva, jīva of three-worlds — listen, Kēśava, my petition; let my voice sing your guṇa-nāma — give me some art-fragment of prema; that skill is with you — give us our proper jīvana; we śaraṇāgatas have you as only support — you are the ocean of compassion; sindhu becomes foot-path by your Name — burns the mahā-karma; highest-fruits are of your nija-dhyāsa — no garbha-vāsa having served; served Rāma-Krṣṇa-Nārāyaṇa — no bondage of samsāra; samsāra is grass-flame — agni eats in a moment; in a moment burns heap of dōṣas — makes vandya from nindya; make your vows true yourself — pātita-pāvana dīnanātha; nātha of orphans pati of gopikās — fulfill manōratha of chitta; whatever I hold in chitta, Tukā says, in your dāsa — you become fulfiller of manōratha.
What it means
A 12-verse yamak-bandha (chain-rhyme) petition. Key claims: (a) the krpā-sindhu-ocean of-compassion is-the-only-support, (b) the sindhu of samsāra becomes a pāyavāṭa (foot-path) by-the-Name, (c) serving-Rāma-Krṣṇa-Nārāyaṇa = no-bondage, (d) samsāra-is-grass-burnt-by-agni-of-Name in-one-moment, (e) the Name makes vandya-from-nindya (worship-worthy from-slander-worthy) — a key-transformation-claim, (f) closing-call make-your-bīrudas-saca — pātita-pāvana-dīnanātha-nātha-of-orphans-pati-of-gopikās — fulfill-chitta-manōratha. Pair with 4481-4482 (chain-rhyme companions), 2787 (bhakti-redeems-fallen).
For someone today
This is a heartfelt petition where Tukaram asks God to let his voice sing with real love, not just words. He says that once you truly surrender, God is your only support, and that speaking the divine name turns the ocean of worldly struggle into a simple path you can walk across, burning away even the heaviest karma in a moment. He makes a striking claim, that the name can turn someone once seen as shameful into someone worthy of respect, because it is the nature of the divine to purify whoever has fallen. He ends by trusting that, as an orphan trusts a guardian, God will fulfill the sincere longing held in his heart.
मराठी: हा एक मनापासूनचा प्रार्थनेचा अभंग आहे, ज्यात तुकाराम देवाला विनंती करतात की माझ्या आवाजाला फक्त शब्द नव्हे तर खरे प्रेम मिळावे. ते म्हणतात एकदा तुम्ही खरोखर शरण गेलात की देव हाच एकमेव आधार असतो, आणि देवाचे नाव घेतल्याने संसाराचा महासागर साध्या चालण्याजोग्या वाटेत बदलतो, अगदी अवघड कर्मसुद्धा एका क्षणात जळून जाते. ते एक ठाम दावा करतात की नामामुळे एकेकाळी निंद्य वाटणारी व्यक्तीसुद्धा पूजनीय बनू शकते, कारण पडलेल्याला शुद्ध करणे हाच देवाचा स्वभाव आहे. शेवटी ते विश्वास व्यक्त करतात की जसे अनाथ आपल्या पालकावर विसंबतो, तसा देव त्यांच्या मनातली खरी इच्छा नक्की पूर्ण करेल.
Where this applies
- When you feel your prayers are empty words and you want them to carry real feeling instead
- When you are overwhelmed by the weight of past mistakes or heavy circumstances that seem impossible to cross
- When someone has been judged harshly by others and you want to believe genuine change and respect are still possible for them
- When you feel utterly without support, like an orphan, and need to trust that you are still being cared for