Abhanga 4506
Krishna shares a simple communal meal with the cowherds by their true measure, and Tukaram says this intimate, shared joy among devotees surpasses even the happiness of paradise.
The verse
तयांसवें करी काला दहींभात । सिदोर्या अनंत मेळवुनी ॥१॥
[...]
तुक सकळांचे गोविंदाचे हातीं । कोण कोणे गति भला बुरा ॥७॥
[...]
तैसें सुख नाहीं वैकुंठींच्या लोकां । तें दिलें भाविकां गोपाळांसि ॥९॥
[...]
मांदीं मेळवुनी धणी दिली आम्हां । तुका म्हणे जमा केल्या गाईं ॥१४॥
Literal translation
A canonical 14-verse Krṣṇa-kāḷā narrative. (Krṣṇa) makes curd-rice-mixing with-many-gopas' sidōrīs; meets-all-in-one-place; no-cheating, knows-inner; distributes-sam-tuk-bhāve from-his-own-hand; the-tuk of-all-is-in-Govinda's-hand. No-such-sukha-in-Vaikuṇṭha — given-to-bhāvika-gopāḷas. Kavaḷa-from-each-other's-mouths; gopāḷas-pull-down-the-strong-Lord; dance-together; cows-gathered.
What it means
A canonical Krṣṇa-kāḷā narrative — the cowherd-meal-mixing where Krṣṇa distributes-everyone's-lunch from-his-own-hand. The tuk-in-Govinda's-hand image is foundational: the-Lord-holds-everyone's-measure, distributes-fairly, knows-the-inner.
For someone today
Krṣṇa gathers the cowherds together for a shared meal, mixing curds and rice from everyone's lunch bags into one common kāḷā. He makes sure no one is cheated, because he truly knows what's in each person's heart, and he distributes the food fairly with his own hands, holding everyone's true measure in balance. Tukārām says such joy doesn't even exist in Vaikuṇṭha, paradise itself — it's reserved for these devoted, ordinary cowherds who eat from each other's mouths, pull their beloved Lord down among them, and dance together as equals.
मराठी: कृष्ण गोपाळांना एकत्र जमवून दहीभाताचा काला करतो, प्रत्येकाच्या शिदोरीतले पदार्थ एका ठिकाणी मिसळून. कोणाचीही फसवणूक होऊ नये याची तो काळजी घेतो, कारण त्याला प्रत्येकाचे मन खरोखर कळते, आणि तो स्वतःच्या हाताने सर्वांना समान वाट्याने अन्न वाटतो. तुकाराम म्हणतात असे सुख वैकुंठातही नाही — ते फक्त या भाबड्या, प्रेमळ गोपाळांसाठीच राखलेले आहे, जे एकमेकांच्या घासातून खातात, आपल्या लाडक्या देवाला खाली ओढतात आणि सर्वजण मिळून समानतेने नाचतात.
Where this applies
- When you share a simple meal or moment with close friends and feel more joy in it than in any grand occasion
- When you worry that someone is not seeing your true effort or contribution
- When you feel most alive not in formal, impressive settings but in playful, intimate closeness with people who love you
- When you wonder whether being truly known matters more than being given the most