Abhanga 578
Take little but pure, trust it to grow on its own like a seed, and let your own heart be witness instead of chasing the approval of others.
The verse
थोडें परी निरें । अविट तें घ्यावें खरें ॥१॥ घ्यावें जेणें नये तुटी । बीज वाढे बीजा पोटीं ॥ध्रु.॥ चित्त ठेवीं ग्वाही । आणिकांशीं चाड नाहीं ॥२॥ आपलें तें हित फार । तुका म्हणे खरें सार ॥३॥
Literal translation
Little — nīrē — avīṭa — take kharē. Take — no tuṭi — bīja — bīja-pōṭa. Citta — gvāhī — others — no cāḍa. Own hita much — kharē sāra.
मराठी: थोडें परी निरें — अविट तें घ्यावें खरें. घ्यावें जेणें नये तुटी — बीज वाढे बीजा पोटीं. चित्त ठेवीं ग्वाही — आणिकांशीं चाड नाहीं. तुकाराम म्हणतां — आपलें तें हित फार — खरें सार.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| थोडें परी निरें | "little — nīrē (pure)" |
| अविट तें घ्यावें खरें | "avīṭa — take kharē" |
| घ्यावें जेणें नये तुटी | "take — no tuṭi" |
| बीज वाढे बीजा पोटीं | "bīja — bīja-pōṭa" |
| चित्त ठेवीं ग्वाही | "citta — gvāhī" |
| आणिकांशीं चाड नाहीं | "for others — no cāḍa" |
| आपलें तें हित फार | "own hita — much" |
| तुका म्हणे खरें सार | "kharē sāra" |
What it means
A take-little-but-pure-and-avīṭa abhang. Discrimination-and-essence register. Three claims:
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थोडें परी निरें — अविट तें घ्यावें खरें — घ्यावें जेणें नये तुटी — बीज वाढे बीजा पोटीं — little — nīrē — avīṭa — take kharē — take — no tuṭi — bīja — bīja-pōṭa. The opening-take-rule: a little, butnīrē(pure / unmixed); avīṭa (un-staling, never-becoming-stale) — take that as kharē (real);take what causes no tuṭi (loss / interruption);the bīja (seed) grows in the bīja-pōṭa (seed-belly = within-its-own-essence).Take-the-seed-grows-from-within; take-the-pure-the-non-stale. (Thebīja-vāḍhē-bījā-pōṭīm image: a seed contains its own growth-potential; you take a true-seed and it grows from-within.)
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चित्त ठेवीं ग्वाही — आणिकांशीं चाड नाहीं — citta — gvāhī — others — no cāḍa. The citta-as-witness-claim: keep thecittaasgvāhī(witness, testimony); for others — nocāḍa(regard, interest, eagerness). Citta-self-witnesses-not-others. Don't-look-to-others-for-validation.
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आपलें तें हित फार — तुका म्हणे खरें सार — own hita much — kharē sāra. The closing-essence-claim: one's ownhita(good) is much; Tuka says: that is thekharē sāra(real essence). One's-own-hita-is-the-real-essence. Self-hita-priority.
[T]
For someone today
Tukaram tells you to take only a little, but make sure what you take is pure and never goes stale, rather than piling up plenty of something mixed and worthless. What you take in this way should never run dry, because it works like a seed that carries its own power to grow hidden inside it. Let your own heart be the witness to your life, not the opinions of other people, because you don't need their approval. Your own true good is worth far more than anything you might chase in others, and that, Tukaram says, is the real essence of the matter.
मराठी: तुकाराम सांगतात, थोडं घ्या, पण जे घ्याल ते शुद्ध आणि कधीही न शिळं होणारं असावं, भरपूर मिसळ आणि निरुपयोगी गोष्टी साठवण्यापेक्षा हे बरं. असं घेतलेलं कधी संपत नाही, कारण त्यात बीजासारखी स्वतःची वाढण्याची शक्ती लपलेली असते. आपलं मन हेच आपल्या आयुष्याचं साक्षीदार असू द्या, इतरांच्या मतांवर अवलंबून राहू नका, कारण त्यांच्या मान्यतेची गरज नाही. आपलं खरं हित इतरांच्या मागे धावण्यापेक्षा खूप मोलाचं आहे, आणि तुकाराम म्हणतात, हाच खरा सार आहे.
Where this applies
- Little but nīrē-avīṭa. Quality-rule.
- Seed grows within. Internal-growth.
- Citta as witness. Self-validation.
- Own hita — real sāra. Self-priority.