Oos Donga Pari Rasa Nohe Donga — Sant Chokhamela Abhanga
Sant Chokhamela's abhanga: the sugarcane is crooked yet its juice is straight, as with the bow and the river. Birth never bends the heart's devotion.
Verses
The sugarcane stalk may be crooked and bent, but its sweet juice is never crooked. Why are you deluded and deceived by mere external color and form?
Verse 1
The archer's bow is curved and bent, but the arrow flies straight and true to its mark. Why are you deluded by mere external appearance?
Verse 2
The river takes countless twists and winding turns, but its life-giving water is never crooked; it remains purely nourishing and sweet. Why are you deluded by external form?
Verse 3
Chokha's physical body or social birth may be deemed deformed or lowly by the world, but his inner devotion and loving faith in God is stainless, pure, and straight. Why are you deluded by mere external color, birth, and appearance?
Verse 4
Worship Guidelines & Chanting Benefits (Phalashruti)
Daily or auspicious lunar days (Ekadashi, Purnima, Pradosham)
Brahma Muhurta (4:00 AM – 6:00 AM) or Evening Dusk (Sandhya)
Ghee lamp (Deepa), Incense (Dhoopa), Fresh flowers & Water offering
- Peace of mind, spiritual upliftment, and harmonious energy in the home
Background
Sant Chokhamela (14th century) was one of India's earliest and greatest saint-poets from the oppressed Mahar community. Though orthodox priests barred him from entering the inner sanctum of the Pandharpur temple, legend recounts that Lord Vitthala Himself, moved by his devotion, would visit Chokhamela's hut across the Chandrabhaga river and personally share a meal with him there. When he died in a wall collapse at Mangalwedha, Sant Namdev recovered his bones, which were found audibly vibrating with the sacred chant 'Vitthal, Vitthal'. Chokhamela's samadhi shrine sits right at the foot of the temple steps in Pandharpur, forever greeting every pilgrim before they enter. The abhanga is printed as no. 5 in the Saptarshi Prakashan edition of the Sant Chokhamela Gatha (Mangalwedha, 2014).
About this Text
Composed by: Sant Chokhamela
Did You Know?
The Chanting Bones
When Chokhamela died under a collapsed wall in Mangalwedha, Sant Namdev identified his remains because each bone miraculously hummed the name 'Vitthal, Vitthal'.
Samadhi at the Temple Steps
To this day, pilgrims visiting the Pandharpur Vitthal Temple traditionally bow first before Sant Chokhamela's samadhi at the bottom step of the main gate.
Universal Spiritual Truth
The sugarcane metaphor has entered mainstream Marathi culture as the definitive idiom that inner character trumps outward social station.
Vitthal
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