Abhanga 509

Devotion is a real exchange, not a one-way waste, so ask plainly for a generous response and say clearly that stinginess damages the giver as much as the one left waiting.

The verse

Literal translation

What it means

A bargaining-with-deva-don't-be-kṛpaṇa abhang. Bold-leverage-register. Four claims:

1. द्याल माळ जरी पडेन मी पायां — दंडवत वांयां कोण वेची — if You give māḷa — I will fall at feet — who spends daṇḍavata in vain? The opening-bargain: if You give themāḷa(garland = the formal acceptance, the bhakta-status); I will fall (paḍēna) at Your feet; who spendsdaṇḍavata(full-body-prostration) in vain (vāyām)? I-prostrate-only-if-You-accept. Mutual-exchange-stance.

2. आलें तें हिशोबें अवघिया प्रमाण — द्यावें तरी दान मान होतो — what has come — by hisōba — all pramāṇa — if dāna — māna becomes. The accounts-claim: what has come (= what I bring) ishisōba(accounted-for); all ispramāṇa(proof, weight); ifdāna(gift) is given — it becomesmāna(honor). Both-sides-keep-accounts; the deva's-dāna becomes the deva's-honor.

3. मोकळिया मनें घ्याल जरी सेवा — प्रसाद पाठवा लवकरी — with mōkaḷa-mana take sēvā — send prasāda quickly. The condition-and-request: if you take thesēvāwithmōkaḷa-mana(open-mind, free-mind); send theprasāda(grace)lavakarī(quickly, soon). Quick-prasāda-request. Don't-delay-the-prasāda.

4. तुका म्हणे तुम्ही जालिया कृपण — नामाची जतन मग कैची — Tuka says: if You become kṛpaṇa — how will the nāma be jatana? The closing-leverage: Tuka says: if You becomekṛpaṇa(stingy, miserly); how will thenāma(Your name) bejatana(preserved, safeguarded)? Reputation-leverage: a stingy-deva loses His-nāma's-preservation. The deva-must-be-generous-or-the-nāma-suffers.

[T]

For someone today

In this abhang Tukaram bargains boldly with God, almost cheekily: if You accept me and give me the garland of acceptance, I'll gladly fall at Your feet, but who wastes a full prostration on someone who won't accept it? Everything given between us is weighed and accounted for on both sides, and a gift freely given only adds to the giver's own honor. So if You take my service with an open heart, then send Your grace back quickly, don't make me wait. And Tukaram adds a pointed warning: if You turn stingy, it isn't just me who loses out, Your own reputation for generosity suffers too.

मराठी: या अभंगात तुकाराम देवाशी धीटपणे, जवळजवळ खोडकरपणे सौदा करतात: जर तू मला स्वीकारशील आणि स्वीकृतीची माळ देशील, तर मी आनंदाने तुझ्या पायावर लोटांगण घालेन — पण जो स्वीकारणारच नाही त्याच्यासाठी पूर्ण दंडवत कोण वाया घालवतो? आपल्यामध्ये जे काही दिलंघेतलं जातं ते दोन्ही बाजूंनी मोजलं जातं, आणि मनापासून दिलेली देणगी देणाऱ्याचाच सन्मान वाढवते. म्हणून जर तू माझी सेवा मोकळ्या मनाने स्वीकारशील, तर तुझी कृपा लवकर पाठव, मला वाट बघायला लावू नकोस. आणि तुकाराम एक थेट इशारा देतात: जर तू कंजूष झालास, तर त्यात फक्त माझंच नुकसान होणार नाही — तुझ्या उदारतेच्या नावालाही धक्का बसेल.

Where this applies

• Māḷafordaṇḍavata. Mutual-exchange.
• Hisōba both sides. Accounting-stance.
• Quick prasāda. No-delay.
• Kṛpaṇalosesnāma. Reputation-leverage.

Related verses

• Abhanga 2467 — What looks like your whole world, like a fig to the insect living inside it, is only a tin
• Abhanga 4481 — Tukaram promises that sincerely calling on the Lord's name, knowingly or unknowingly, with
• Abhanga 4482 — Tukaram teaches that no ritual equals sincerely speaking the Lord's name, that self-center
• Abhanga 4497 — Tukaram describes a life so soaked in devotion that Krishna's presence fills every ordinar