Abhanga 114
This abhang is the corrective to place-based spiritual investment. The deity is more present in saint-company than at any pilgrimage site. The रोकडा (cash) framing is sharp: at the saint, the deity is available now, not deferred by time and faith as at tirths. The application: prioritize finding awakened-company over visiting holy-places. The two are not equivalent. The corollary on sin: don't take any ritual or claim about sin-departure at face value; check whether the heat (the inner agitation that came with the sin) has actually gone. If not, the sin hasn't.
The verse
तिर्थी धोंडा पाणी । देव रोकडा सज्जनीं ॥१॥ मिळालिया संतसंग । समर्पितां भलें अंग ॥ध्रु.॥ तिर्थी भाव फळे । येथें आनाड तें वळे ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे पाप । गेलें गेल्या कळे ताप ॥३॥
Literal translation
At tirths — (just) stone and water; the deity is in cash among the good ones. Obtaining saint-company, offer the body well. (At) tirth — faith bears fruit (in time); here (= in saint-company) even the wild bends into shape. Tuka says: sin's departure is known only when its heat goes.
मराठी: तीर्थी धोंडा-पाणी; सज्जनांत देव रोकडा. संतसंग मिळाला तर अंग चांगलं समर्पित करा. तीर्थी भाव फळतो (कालांतराने); इथे आनाडसुद्धा वळतो. तुकाराम म्हणतात — पाप गेलं — हे ताप गेल्यावरच कळतं.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| तिर्थी धोंडा पाणी | "at tirths — (just) stone and water" |
| देव रोकडा सज्जनीं | "the deity is in cash (immediately present) among the good ones" (रोकडा = cash, ready-money — i.e., on-the-spot) |
| मिळालिया संतसंग | "obtaining saint-company" |
| समर्पितां भलें अंग | "offering one's body well" |
| तिर्थी भाव फळे | "(at) tirth — (one's) faith bears fruit (in time)" |
| येथें आनाड तें वळे | "here (in saint-company) even the wild bends into shape" |
| तुका म्हणे पाप गेलें गेल्या कळे ताप | "Tuka says: sin's departure is known only when the heat goes" |
What it means
This is one of Tukaram's most-cited abhangs in modern Marathi. The structural claim: deity is in cash (रोकडा) among the good ones; tirths only have stone-and-water. The implication is anti-hierarchical: pilgrimage-sites have less direct deity-presence than the company of awakened humans. The closing diagnostic for sin-departure is precise: पाप गेलें गेल्या कळे ताप — the going-of-sin is known by the going-of-its-heat. Heat-going is the felt-sign; without heat-departure, sin has not actually departed regardless of any ritual claim. [T] [Tradition]
For someone today
This abhang is the corrective to place-based spiritual investment. The deity is more present in saint-company than at any pilgrimage site. The रोकडा (cash) framing is sharp: at the saint, the deity is available now, not deferred by time and faith as at tirths. The application: prioritize finding awakened-company over visiting holy-places. The two are not equivalent. The corollary on sin: don't take any ritual or claim about sin-departure at face value; check whether the heat (the inner agitation that came with the sin) has actually gone. If not, the sin hasn't.
मराठी: ही ओवी place-based आध्यात्मिक गुंतवणुकीची corrective. देव संत-संगात कुठल्याही पवित्र-स्थळापेक्षा जास्त present. रोकडा framing तीक्ष्ण: संताकडे देव आत्ताच उपलब्ध — तीर्थांत मात्र ते काळाच्या आणि श्रद्धेच्या भरवशावर पुढे ढकललेलं असतं. लागू: पवित्र-जागांना भेट देण्यापेक्षा awakened-company शोधायला priority द्या. दोन्ही equivalent नाही. पापाबद्दल परिणाम: कुठल्याही ritual-दाव्याला face-value घेऊ नका; ताप (पापासोबत आलेलं आत-agitation) खरोखर गेलं का तपासा. नाही — पाप गेलंच नाही.
Where this applies
- Going to places for the deity. रोकडा among the good.
- Waiting for pilgrimage's fruit. Saint-company is faster.
- Wondering if sin departed. Heat-departure diagnostic.