Abhanga 4576
The Lord took form and wore the name Krishna-Rama like a veil so devotees could cross the river of worldly life, and he grows restless with genuine care for them in return.
The verse
धरियेलें रूप कृष्ण नाम बुंथी । परब्रम्ह क्षिती उतरलें ॥१॥
उत्तम हें नाम राम कृष्ण जगीं । तरावयालागीं भवनदी ॥२॥
दिनानाथब्रिदें रुळती चरणी । वंदितील मुनि देव ॠषि ॥३॥
ॠषीं मुनीं भेटी दिली नारायणें । आणीक कारणें बहु केलीं ॥४॥
बहु कासावीस जाला भक्तांसाटीं । तुका म्हणे आटी सोसियेली ॥५॥
Literal translation
Held-rūpa-Krṣṇa-Nāma-bunthi — para-brahma-descended-on-earth. Uttama-Name-Rāma-Krṣṇa-jagat — for-crossing-bhava-nadī. Dīna-nātha-bīrudas-roll-at-feet — vandita-muni-deva-rṣi. Rṣis-munis-given-bhēṭī-Nārāyaṇa — many-other-purposes-done. Kāsāvīsa-for-bhaktas — Tukā: bore-the-aṭi.
What it means
A 5-verse yamak-bandha — closing-summary of Lord's-avatāra. Key claims: (a) rūpa held — Krṣṇa-Nāma as bunthi (veil-cover) — para-brahma-descended-on-earth — incarnation as Brahman-disguising-itself, (b) Rāma-Krṣṇa is uttama-Name-in-jagat for-crossing-bhava-nadī, (c) dīna-nātha bīrudas (vows of being-the-Lord-of-the-destitute) roll at the feet — vandita by-munis-devas-rṣis, (d) Lord became-greatly-kāsāvīsa (restless-agonized) for-the-sake-of-bhaktas — bore-the-extreme-effort (aṭi). Pair with 4577 (continuing), 4467 (Tukā-śūra-at-feet).
For someone today
This verse says the Lord took on a form, wrapping himself in the name Krishna the way one wraps a veil, so that the highest reality could come down and walk on earth. That name, Rama-Krishna, is offered as the best raft for crossing the river of worldly struggle. Even great sages and rishis bow at his feet, drawn by his own vow to stand by the lowly and the lost. He is not a distant, untouched god either: he grows restless and anguished for the sake of his devotees and bears real strain on their behalf. The lesson for today is that devotion does not require grasping something abstract; it can be as close and repeatable as a name, and it is met by genuine care from the other side.
मराठी: या अभंगात म्हटले आहे की परमेश्वराने रूप धारण केले, कृष्ण या नावाचा जणू पडदा घेतला, आणि परब्रह्म पृथ्वीवर उतरले. राम-कृष्ण हे नाव संसाराच्या नदीतून पार होण्यासाठी सर्वोत्तम आधार म्हणून दिले आहे. मोठमोठे ऋषी-मुनीही त्याच्या चरणी नतमस्तक होतात, कारण त्याने दीनांचा नाथ होण्याची शपथ घेतली आहे. तो दूर राहणारा, अलिप्त देव नाही; भक्तांसाठी तो व्याकूळ होतो आणि त्यांच्यासाठी कष्ट सोसतो. आजच्या काळासाठी हा धडा असा की भक्तीसाठी काही अमूर्त गोष्ट पकडण्याची गरज नाही; ती एका साध्या, वारंवार घेता येणाऱ्या नामाइतकी जवळ असू शकते, आणि त्या भक्तीला प्रतिसाद म्हणून खरी काळजी मिळते.
Where this applies
- When you feel that spiritual practice is too abstract or distant to hold onto
- When you doubt whether simply repeating a name can really carry any weight
- When you feel too lowly, broken, or destitute to deserve divine attention
- When you need reassurance that your devotion is met with real care, not silence