Abhanga 4566
God regards all who raised or bore him with equal love, since he is ultimately self-sustaining and the true mother and father of the whole world.
The verse
धरी दोही ठायीं सारखा चि भाव । देवकी वसुदेव नंद दोघे ॥१॥
दोन्ही एके ठायीं केल्या नारायणें । वाढविला तिणें आणि व्याली ॥२॥
व्याला वाढला हा आपल्या आपण । निमित्या कारणें मायबापा ॥३॥
माय हा जगाची बाप नारायणा । दुजा करी कोण यत्न यासि ॥४॥
कोण जाणे याचे अंतरींचा भाव । कळों नेदी माव तुका म्हणे ॥५॥
Literal translation
Both-sets-of-parents-equal-bhāva — Devakī-Vasudeva-Nanda. Both-made-one-Nārāyaṇa — she-raised-and-bore. Born-grew-himself-by-himself — nimitya-māy-bāp. Māy-of-jagat-bāp-Nārāyaṇa — who-else-yatna-for-him. Antarīm-bhāva-not-known — Tukā: māv-not-let-known.
What it means
A 5-verse yamak-bandha — companion-statement to 4497's both-parents-equal claim. Both Devakī-Vasudeva (birth) and Nanda-Yashodā (raising) received equal-bhāva. The Lord himself made-both-into-one-place. He was-born-and-grew of-himself — the parents are only the nimitya (occasion-cause). The closing: Who else can make-effort for the Lord — the world's-mother-and-father-is-Nārāyaṇa himself — his-inner-bhāva is-not-let-known — his-māv stays-hidden. Pair with 4497 (Krṣṇa-everywhere-refrain with same two-parents claim), 4565 (preceding Kamsa-vadha).
For someone today
Krishna holds Devaki and Vasudeva, who gave birth to him, and Nanda and Yashoda, who raised him, in exactly the same regard, without favoring one pair over the other. In truth, Tukaram says, he was born and grew entirely on his own; the parents were simply the occasion through which it happened, not the real cause. He is, in the deepest sense, the mother and father of the whole world, so no one else really does anything for him, and his inner nature stays mysterious, never fully revealed to anyone.
मराठी: कृष्ण देवकी-वसुदेव, ज्यांनी त्याला जन्म दिला, आणि नंद-यशोदा, ज्यांनी त्याचे संगोपन केले, या दोघांनाही अगदी सारख्याच भावाने मानतो, कोणालाही कमी-जास्त न लेखता. खरे तर, तुकाराम म्हणतात, तो स्वतःच जन्माला आला आणि स्वतःच वाढला; आई-वडील फक्त निमित्तमात्र होते, खरे कारण नव्हते. तो, खोलवर पाहता, संपूर्ण जगाची आई आणि बाप आहे, त्यामुळे त्याच्यासाठी खरे तर कोणीच काही करत नाही, आणि त्याचे अंतरंग गूढच राहते, कोणालाही पूर्णपणे कळत नाही.
Where this applies
- When you're raised by more than one set of caregivers and worry about who deserves more of your love or gratitude
- When you want to honor both your birth family and the people who actually raised you, without ranking them
- When you feel like you did the real work behind your own growth, even though others helped along the way
- When you accept that some things about a person you love, even God, will always remain a little mysterious