Abhanga 4582
The verse
चारी वेद ज्याची कीर्ती वाखाणिती । प्रत्यक्ष ये मूर्ति विठोबाची ॥१॥
चहुंयुगांचें हें साधन साधिलें । अनुभवा आलें आपुलिया ॥२॥
एवढें करूनि आपण निराळा । प्रत्यक्ष डोळां दाखविलें ॥३॥
दावुनि सकळ प्रमाणाच्या युक्ति । जयजयकार करिती अवघे भक्त ॥४॥
भक्ति नवविधा पावली मुळची । जनार्दननामाची संख्या जाली ॥५॥
नवसें ओंव्या आदरें वाचितां । त्याच्या मनोरथा कार्यसिद्धि ॥६॥
सीमा न करवे आणीक ही सुखा। तुका म्हणे देखा पांडुरंगा ॥७॥
Literal translation
★★★★★ Chārī-Vēdas-praise-kīrti — Viṭhōbā-mūrti-pratyakṣa-came. Chārī-yugas'-sādhana-sādhilēm — anubhava-came-of-own. Lord-niraḷā-doing-this-much — pratyakṣa-eye-shown. Showed-all-pramāṇa-yukti — jaya-jaya-kāra-by-all-bhaktas. Nava-vidhā-bhakti-from-root — Janārdana-Nāma-sankhyā-jālī. With-nava-navasas-ovis-read-respect = manōratha-kārya-siddhi. Sīmā-na-karavē-anīka-sukha — Tukā: dēkhā-Pāṇḍurangā.
What it means
★★★★★ THE FINAL CLOSING ABHANG OF THE ENTIRE TUKĀRĀM GATHĀ — colophon-benediction. After 4581 abhangs of devotional-poetry, the corpus closes with this culminating-benediction.
Structural arc of the final-final abhang:
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Cosmic-acclamation: the one whose kīrti the four Vedas praise — has come as the manifest mūrti of Viṭhōbā — the para-brahma-incarnated-as-Viṭhōbā
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Four-yugas' sādhana accomplished: the four-yugas' sādhana is here sādhilēm — the anubhava came of-its-own — the bhakti-path has-found-its-fruition
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Paradox of incarnation: doing-this-much, the Lord-himself-is-nirāḷā (untouched) — yet showed himself before-the-very-eyes
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All-proofs-shown: all the techniques of pramāṇa shown — all bhaktas make jayajayakāra
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Nava-vidhā-bhakti from-root: the nine-fold-bhakti has been attained from its mūḷa — the count of Janārdana-Nāma is complete — closing-statement that the Gathā IS the full-count-of-the-Name
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★ Phala-śruti for reading-the-Gathā: reading the ōmvyās with nine vows of respect = manōratha-kārya-siddhi — reading-this-Gathā-with-reverence brings-fulfillment-of-heart-desire — the canonical phala-śruti (fruit-of-reciting) for the entire-corpus
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Sīmā-na-karavē-sukha + closing-petition: no limit can be made — sukha beyond all — Tukā says: behold Pāṇḍurangā — ★ DĒKHĀ PĀṆḌURAṄGĀ — the very last words of the Gathā are an imperative to the reader to BEHOLD PĀṆḌURAṄGA.
Why monumental: This is the colophon-benediction of the entire Tukārām Gathā, providing: - (a) divine-credentialing (Vēdas-praise + para-brahma-incarnated) - (b) bhakti-tradition-fulfillment (chārī-yugas + nava-vidhā) - (c) ★ phala-śruti for reading-the-Gathā — reciting-the-ovis-with-respect = fulfillment-of-heart-desire - (d) ★★ dēkhā Pāṇḍurangā — the imperative-final-words: BEHOLD PĀṆḌURAṄGA
Pair with 4448 (vaikuṇṭha-gamana farewell), 4581 (penultimate self-deprecation closing), 4001-3 (opening invocation), 1-3 (opening abhangs of corpus).
For someone today
Tukārām (at the absolute end of the Gathā): the-Lord-whom-the-four-Vedas-praise-has-come-as-the-visible-mūrti-of-Viṭhōbā — the-four-yugas'-spiritual-discipline-is-here-fulfilled-the-direct-experience-came-of-itself — though-doing-all-this-the-Lord-himself-stays-untouched-yet-shows-himself-to-the-eye — all-the-techniques-of-proof-shown-bhaktas-make-victory-cheers — the-nine-fold-devotion-is-attained-from-root-the-count-of-Janārdana-Name-is-complete — reading-these-ovis-with-the-nine-vows-of-respect-fulfills-the-heart's-desire — no-limit-to-this-bliss — BEHOLD-PĀṆḌURAṄGA.
Where this applies
- ★★★★★ THE FINAL CLOSING ABHANG OF THE ENTIRE TUKĀRĀM GATHĀ — colophon-benediction with phala-śruti for-reading-the-Gathā + dēkhā Pāṇḍurangā as final-imperative-words