Abhanga 4582
The closing verse of the whole Gatha promises that reading it with reverence fulfills the heart's longing, and it ends with one simple command: behold Pandurang.
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
This is the very last verse of the entire Tukaram Gatha, a closing blessing on the whole collection. Tukaram says that the Lord whose glory the four Vedas praise has appeared here, visibly, as Vitthal, and that the spiritual striving of every age has finally borne fruit in direct experience. God stays beyond full reach and yet still lets himself be seen by those who love him. Tukaram promises that reading these verses with sincere reverence brings real fulfillment of the heart's longing, and he ends the whole Gatha with one simple, direct command: behold Pandurang.
मराठी: ही तुकाराम गाथेतील अगदी शेवटची ओवी आहे, संपूर्ण ग्रंथाच्या शेवटी दिलेला आशीर्वाद. तुकाराम सांगतात की ज्याची कीर्ती चारी वेद गातात, तो परमेश्वर याच ठिकाणी प्रत्यक्ष विठोबाच्या रूपाने प्रकट झाला आहे, आणि युगानुयुगांची साधना अखेर प्रत्यक्ष अनुभवात फळाला आली आहे. देव स्वतः अलिप्त राहूनही आपल्या भक्तांना दर्शन देतो. या ओव्या श्रद्धेने आणि आदराने वाचल्या तर मनातील इच्छा नक्की पूर्ण होते, असे सांगत तुकाराम संपूर्ण गाथेचा शेवट एका साध्या आज्ञेने करतात - पांडुरंगाला पाहा.
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