Abhanga 4579
Everyone who drew near Krishna in devotion, from the gopis to the cows, was fully united with him, showing that devotee and God are not truly separate and that the Lord does not leave his devotees behind.
The verse
भोगिला गोपिकां यादवां सकळां । गौळणीगोपाळां गाईंवत्सां ॥१॥
गाती धणीवरी केला अंगसंग । पाहिला श्रीरंग डोळेभरि ॥२॥
भक्ति नवविधा तयांसि घडली । अवघीं च केली कृष्णरूप ॥३॥
रूप दाखविलें होतां भिन्न भाव । भक्त आणि देव भिन्न नाहीं ॥४॥
नाहीं राहों दिलें जातां निजधामा । तुका म्हणे आम्हांसहित गेला ॥५॥
Literal translation
Bhōgilā-by-gopikā-Yādava-Gauḷaṇī-Gopāḷa-cows-vatsas-all. Sing-dhaṇī-vari-anga-sang — Śrīranga-dōḷē-bhari. Nava-vidhā-bhakti-fulfilled — all-made-Krṣṇa-rūpa. Rūpa-shown-when-bhinna-bhāva — bhakta-Deva-no-bhinna. Not-allowed-to-stay-going-nija-dhāma — Tukā: with-us-he-went.
What it means
MAJOR A 5-verse closing-summary of-the-entire-Bhāgavata-arc + Vaikuṇṭha-gamana-of-bhaktas. Key claims: (a) the Lord was enjoyed-to-the-full by gopikās, Yādavas, Gauḷaṇīs, Gopāḷas, cows, vatsas — universal-shared-enjoyment of-the-Lord, (b) nava-vidhā-bhakti (the nine-fold-bhakti tradition: śravaṇa, kīrtana, smaraṇa, pāda-sevana, archana, vandana, dāsya, sakhya, ātma-nivedana — Bhāgavata 7.5.23) was fulfilled in them, (c) all were made Krṣṇa-rūpa, (d) bhakta-and-Deva are not bhinna (different) — only bhinna-bhāva makes-it-appear-so, (e) Lord-didn't-allow-them-to-stay-behind when-going-to-his-nija-dhāma — Tukā says: he-went-along-with-us — radical-claim that the Lord's-Vaikuṇṭha-departure took-all-the-bhaktas-along-with-him. This connects to the Bhāgavata-tradition of-the-Yadu-clan-going-along-with-Krṣṇa in the mauṣala-parvan — but Tukārām universalizes-it to-all-bhaktas. He went along-with-us — Tukārām claims-his-place in-Vaikuṇṭha alongside-the-Bhāgavata-figures. Pair with 4448 (canonical vaikuṇṭha-gamana farewell-abhang — Tukā jātō Vaikuṇṭhālā).
For someone today
Tukaram recalls how the gopis, the Yadavas, the cowherds and even the cows and calves all got to fully enjoy Krishna's presence, seeing him to their heart's content, and in that closeness the nine paths of bhakti were completely fulfilled in them, until each of them was shaped by his form. He then makes a bold claim: any sense that devotee and Lord are separate is only a feeling, not the truth, because at the deepest level bhakta and God are not different. And when the time came for the Lord to return to his own abode, he did not leave his devotees behind, he took them with him. The reassurance here is that real closeness with the divine is not a distant hope but something devotees actually get to share, and it does not end in separation.
मराठी: तुकाराम आठवण करून देतात की गोपी, यादव, गवळी-गोपाळ आणि अगदी गाई-वासरेदेखील कृष्णाच्या सहवासाचा पुरेपूर आनंद घेत, त्याला डोळेभरून पाहत, आणि त्या जवळिकीतच नवविधा भक्ती त्यांच्यात पूर्णपणे साकार झाली, इतकी की प्रत्येकजण त्याच्याच रूपात घडला. मग तुकाराम एक धाडसी विधान करतात: भक्त आणि परमेश्वर वेगळे आहेत असे वाटणे हा केवळ भाव आहे, सत्य नाही, कारण खोलवर भक्त आणि देव भिन्न नाहीत. आणि जेव्हा परमेश्वर आपल्या निजधामाला परतला, तेव्हा त्याने भक्तांना मागे सोडले नाही, तर त्यांना सोबत नेले. यातील दिलासा असा की परमेश्वराशी खरी जवळीक ही केवळ दूरची आशा नसून भक्तांना प्रत्यक्ष अनुभवायला मिळणारी गोष्ट आहे, आणि ती विरहात संपत नाही.
Where this applies
- When you feel spiritually distant from the divine and wonder if closeness is even possible
- When you practice devotion in small, ordinary ways and doubt whether it truly counts
- When you fear that loving someone deeply, human or divine, will end in separation
- When you need reassurance that the line between devotee and God is thinner than it feels