Abhanga 86
English: You befriend the mighty — they don't come to use at the end.
The verse
मैत्र केले महा बळी । कामा न येती अंतकाळीं ॥१॥ आधीं घे रे रामनाम । सामा भरीं हा उत्तम ॥ध्रु.॥ नाहीं तरी यम । दांत खातो करकरा ॥२॥ धन मेळविलें कोडी । काळ घेतल्या न सोडी ॥३॥ कामा न ये हा परिवार । सैन्य लोक बहु फार ॥४॥ तंववरि मिरविसी बळ । जंव आला नाहीं काळ ॥५॥ तुका म्हणे बापा । चुकवीं चौर्याशींच्या खेपा ॥६॥
Literal translation
English: You befriend the mighty — they don't come to use at the end. Take Rama's Name in advance; fill your provisions — that is best. Otherwise Yama gnashes his teeth. Wealth gathered in crores — once Time has grasped, it does not release. The retinue — vast army of people — does not come to use. You parade your strength only while Time has not yet come. Tuka says: O father, skip the eighty-four-lakh rounds.
मराठी: महा-बळींशी मैत्री — अंतकाळी कामा येत नाही. आधी राम-नाम घे; सामा भर — हाच उत्तम. नाहीतर यम कराकरा दात खातो. कोटी-कोटी धन जमवलं — काळ धरला तर सोडत नाही. परिवार, मोठं सैन्य — कामा येत नाही. तू बळ मिरवतोस — जोपर्यंत काळ आलेला नाही. तुकाराम म्हणतात — बापा, चौऱ्याशींच्या खेपा चुकव.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| मैत्र केले महा बळी | "made friendship with the mighty" |
| कामा न येती अंतकाळीं | "they don't come to use at death-time" |
| आधीं घे रे रामनाम | "take the Name of Rama in advance" |
| सामा भरीं हा उत्तम | "fill (your) provisions — this is best" |
| यम दांत खातो करकरा | "Yama gnashes his teeth" |
| धन मेळविलें कोडी | "wealth gathered in crores" |
| काळ घेतल्या न सोडी | "Time, once it grasps, does not release" |
| परिवार | "household / retinue" |
| तंववरि मिरविसी बळ, जंव आला नाहीं काळ | "you parade your strength while Time hasn't yet come" |
| चुकवीं चौर्याशींच्या खेपा | "skip the eighty-four (lakh species') rounds" |
What it means
A mortality-and-provisions abhang. Tukaram is in mercantile-image register: the bhakta needs provisions for the journey, and the right provision is the Name. Friendship-with-the-mighty, wealth, retinue — these are all visible securities that turn out to be useless at the threshold. The closing — चौऱ्याशींच्या खेपा — the rounds of 84 (lakh species) — refers to the Indian belief in 84 lakh life-forms through which the soul cycles; the bhakta's goal is to skip these rounds. [T]
For someone today
Modern security-thinking is mostly investment in 0086's three categories: power-friendships, wealth, retinue. Tukaram's claim is unsentimental: at the threshold (the death-moment, the crisis-moment, the moment things actually matter), these securities don't function. The provision that does function is what was put in advance: the Name, the practice, the relation-to-the-deity. आधीं घे रे रामनाम — take the Name in advance. The advance is the operative word — by the time the threshold comes, there is no time to assemble.
मराठी: आधुनिक security-विचार बहुधा ०००८६ च्या तीन categories मध्ये गुंतवणूक: power-friendships, wealth, retinue. तुकारामांचा अनुदार दावा: उंबरठ्यावर (मरण-क्षण, संकट-क्षण, खरोखर महत्त्वाचा क्षण) — या securities चालत नाहीत. जो provision चालतो तो आधी ठेवलेला: नाम, साधना, देवाशी नातं. आधीं घे रे रामनाम. आधी हाच operative शब्द — उंबरठा आला की assemble करायला वेळ नाही.
Where this applies
- Investing in power-friendships for security. Useless at the end.
- Wealth as protection. Time doesn't release once it grasps.
- Postponing the Name. आधी is operative.