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Brick, the:
this has been used as a proper noun because it refers to "the Brick" on which
the image of Vitthal at Pandharpur stands and is an integral part of the
iconography of Vitthal; the Marathi word for brick is "veet", and some
folk-etymologists would derive the word Vitthal itself from it; the mythological
significance of "the Brick" , is the following story: Pundalik, a resident of
Pandharpur and a devotee of Vishnu-Vitthal was visited by God Himself, who had
heard of Pundalik's total dedication; Pundalik was so absorbed in his own work
that he threw a brick that was handy in the direction of his divine visitor,
asking him to stand; after that, Pundalik forgot all about God whom he had kept
waiting, while he remained absorbed in his own work; God would not leave without
Pundalik's permission; he has remained standing on the brick ever since;
twenty-eight eons are said to have elapsed since Pundalik asked God to wait on
the brick; this is how God is found in Pandharpur where his devotees can visit
Him; "the Brick" may mean Vitthal Himself in Tukaram's poetry; Tukaram worships
Vitthal's feet, which are placed on "the Brick", in humility; because God stands
on it "the Brick" itself is sacred. "the Brick" is also the "base" or
"foundation" of God in this world, and as such it is a symbol of Bhakti itself,
which is the foundation of the Whole Being or Brahman for the Bhakta; "the
Brick" is also a symbol of God's patient, obedient, and respectful attitude
towards a true Bhakta,epitomized by the story of Pundalik; the Varkari
Bhakta-poets consider Pundalik as the arch-Bhakta and founder of the sacred site
and image at Pandharpur.
Chandal:
another term designating a low-caste, a Shudra; originally, a mixed caste of
illegitimate progeny of Shudra male and Brahmin female parents; as such,
bastards born of prohibited intercaste liasons; a derogatory term used for the
lowest born, for the unscrupulous, the sinful, the wicked, the corrupt, and the
criminal-minded.
Colour:
the colour of Vishnu is dark blue, the colour of the sky itself, which is the
colour of his avatara, Krishna; Krishna literally means "the dark one" or even
"the black one"; sometimes, in poetry, the colour of Krishna is compared to "a
dark blue rain cloud", a monsoonal association with its evocative effect on the
Indian mind and its pastoral significance for herdsmen; Krishna was a herdsman,
too; the colour of the image of Vitthal is black; the dhotar or loin-garment of
Vitthal is yellow silk; the name Pandurang, used for Vithoba or Vitthal was
first used in 1270 according to Deleury: its origin is obscure; but Pandurang is
close to the Sanskrit word "pandura", which means "yellowish-white" or "fawn-coloured";
in both Sanskrit and Marathi, "anga" means body, Another significance of colour
needs to be pointed out in the context of Tukaram's visual imagery, especially
when he is describing his experience of beatitude: when Tukaram meditates on
Vitthal's form, the image becomes a formless expanse of luminous blue that turns
into an intense incandescence; but when he describes the effect of his
initiation into the state of beatitude induced by his Guru Babaji, Tukaram
describes a state of ecstasy in which he begins to see luminous ripples in five
colours: red, yellow, blue, white, and black: these colours vibrate, pulsate,
and keep changing from one into the other in a rhythmic manner.
One more thing to remember is that in
Marathi the verb "rangane" which means "to be coloured" also refers to the
experience of being absorbed in any activity in such a way that one's very
appearance is "coloured" by it; this applies to devotion, worship, the act of
singing and dancing, the act of chanting the names of God, and in Tukaram's
case, the act of creating poetry or "speaking" in that special sense; in all
these, "one is coloured by what one thinks of and does" or "one's very being is
coloured by one's awareness"; any performance that becomes increasingly exciting
or absorbing is described in Marathi, literally, as something "that is becoming
more and more colourful" or "is gaining colour"; "getting coloured by Bhakti-
rasa" is another typical expression.
Dehu:
Tukaram's native village; this is situated on the banks of the river Indrayani;
it is part of the earliest or one of the earliest-known agricultural belts in
Maharashtra, it is accessible by rail from Bombay or Pune via the Dehu Road
Railway Station; by road, it is just an hour's drive from Pune; Tukaram's
ancestral house with its shrine is still here and his descendants live there; it
also has another temple of Vithoba and several smaller shrines; "the pool" in
the river Indrayani where Tukaram's manuscripts were sunk and then miraculously
restored is one of the landmarks; another landmark is the place at which
Vishnu's chariot of light is believed to have descended to lift Tukaram bodily
off to heaven; Dehu, along with Pandharpur and Alandi, is one of the three
sacred places Varkari pilgrims regularly visit; the Bhamachandra hill, where
Tukaram meditated for fifteen days and received enlightenment, is also near Dehu
and so is the Bhandara Hill where Tukaram wrote his poems; the landscape and the
people Tukaram has described belong to Dehu, which still retains recognizable
traces of its features as they must have been in Tukaram's time.
Deva:
also "dev" in Marathi; God; also god or gods; Tukaram employs this word
in different senses; often, it is a form of address to the image of Vitthal, but
to Tukaram Vitthal not only contains the specific form in which Vishnu visited
Pandharpur and stood on "the Brick" at Pundalik's instance but also Vishnu in
all his avataras, including that of the Buddha to whom Tukaram makes a reference
in a poem not translated here; the mythology of Vishnu and the lore of Krishna
are both included in Tukaram's frame of reference; but Tukaram's God is
also the Supreme Being in a monotheistic sense, the Creator and the Ruler, not
dissimilar from the Judaeo-Christian-Islamic "Father"; but Tukaram uses all
three genders for God; at the highest level, he conceives God as a form of total
being, the Whole Being or the Cosmic Self of which the human individual is a
part; Tukaram's mysticism had both native Marathi and traditional Hindu origins
but it was also influenced "by Sufi thought, and Buddhism; the traces of these
influences are subtly diffused over his work; one has found an existentialist
current in Tukaram's thought that is constant and growing; though he obviously
began as 'a simple devotee, he evolved into a monotheistic mystic, and
finally
into a mystic who went beyond theism itself; in some poems, Tukaram has
described his whole relationship with God as a game of "make-believe" or as
"play-acting", assigning roles that are mutually reversible. In each
poem, God
has a specific image and role; there are no fixed rules or definitions that
Tukaram follows; it is worth bearing in mind that in many poems, Tukaram sees
himself as an irreverent atheist or as one making fun of an anthropomorphic idea
of God.
Ekadashi:
literally, "the eleventh (day)"; Maharashtra follows the Hindu lunar
calendar in which one half of the month is the part of the waxing moon and the
other is the phase of the waning moon; thus the month is divided into "the
bright fortnight" and "the dark fortnight"; Ekadashi is the eleventh day of the
bright fortnight of the month; the Varkaris regard this as Vitthal's day, and
fast on it; the Ekadashi days in the months of Ashadha and Kartika are the days
of the festival of Vitthal in Pandharpur and a Varkari has to make a pilgrimage
to the sacred city on these days; of the two, Ashadhi Ekadashi is the bigger
festival; hundreds of thousands of Varkaris march to Pandharpur from allover
Maharashtra to take part in the festival; many of them carry their own
rumba-like string instruments and cymbals made of brass, and chiplyas or veenas;
singing and dancing all the way to Pandharpur; they chant bhajans or witness
keel1an performances and play games or perform dances which are all "enactments
of devotion"; this is a form of a "total theatre" in a ritual event in which
everybody participates and the poetry of saints is sung from memory as a part of
the performance; Ekadashi, even in months other than Ashadha and Kartika, is a
holy day; Tukaram refers to his own performance of keel1an on every Ekadashi in
his own shrine of Vitthal in Dehu; he also makes a pointed reference in another
poem to his fasting and keeping awake when he was facing a total financial
disaster after the famine, thus serving Vitthal even in times of personal
adversity.
Eknath:
was born in 1533 and died in 1599; he lived in Paithan; he is one of the "Great
Quartet" of Vithoba's Poets-Jnanadev, Namdeo, Eknath and Tukaram; to paraphrase
Bahinabai, a younger poetess and contemporary of Tukaram, the temple of the
Varkari Bhakti movement was founded by Jnanadev, its walls were built by Namdeo,
Eknath built its pillars, and Tukaram was its spire; a prolific poet, Eknath
produced work in many genres; he also produced a carefully researched and
corrected edition of the Jnaneshwari.
Garuda:
"the devourer", "the bird of fire", or "the bird of the sun"; Vishnu's
vehicle; this could be the "chariot of fire" or "chariot of light" in which
Vishnu carried Tukaram away to Vaikuntha, his heavenly residence, according to
the Varkari tradition.
Gopala:
"cow-raiser" or "cow-protector", a name of Krishna used for Vitthal by Tukaram
in many poems; the name is also used for Krishna's boyhood playmates who were
herdsmen like him; the self that protects them; likewise, the "cows" are the
milkmaids or "gopis" with whom Krishna flirted and had clandestine affairs;
Tukaram's allegorical sequences of poems "in the manner of an
adulteress" and
"Krishna and his playmates playing hide-and-seek using black blankets" are based
on these aspects of Krishna lore.
Gopichandan:
white clay used in traditional medicine and also in rites and rituals in the
form of a paste applied to parts of the body; the Vaishnav Varkaris of
Maharashtra wear this as a mark of their cult, sect or faith especially on
ceremonial occasions or during the rites of worship.
Govinda:
literally, "cow-finder" or "cow-gatherer"; another name for Krishna; like the
name "Gopala", Tukaram uses this name too for Vitthal, making similar
allegorical use of the lore of Krishna. |
