संत साहित्य · Tukārām · Abhanga 899 of 4582

Abhanga 899

True fruit of spiritual effort shows itself as humility, like a branch bending low under a genuine harvest, not as pride.

When the toil over letters bore fruit — and you have to recognize this register

When holds the bottom-of-all, leaving no residue of jīva — and you accept this image

When what fruits bends with the load; the genuine harvest comes then — and you allow this image

The verse

अक्षरांचा श्रम केला । फळा आला तेणें तो ॥१॥ अवघियाचा तळ धरी । जीवा उरी नुरउनी ॥ध्रु.॥ फळलें तें लवे भारें । पीक खरें आलें तई ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे देवा । पुढें भाव सारावा ॥३॥

Literal translation

Akṣara — śrama — phaḷa. Avaghiyā — taḷa. Jīva — urī — leaving-none. Phaḷalē — lavē — bhāra. Pīka — kharē. Tuka says: Dēva — bhāva — sārāvā.

मराठी: अक्षरांचा श्रम केला — तेणं तो फळा आला. अवघियाचा तळ धरी — जीवा उरी न-उरूनि. फळलें ते भारानं लवे — पीक खरें तई आलें. Tuka म्हणे: देवा — पुढें भाव सारावा.

Word-by-word gloss

Marathi	Meaning
अक्षरांचा श्रम केला	"akṣara — śrama"
फळा आला तेणें तो	"phaḷa — by-that"
अवघियाचा तळ धरी	"all — taḷa"
जीवा उरी नुरउनी	"jīva — urī — leaving-none"
फळलें तें लवे भारें	"fruited — lavē — bhāra"
पीक खरें आलें तई	"pīka — kharē"
देवा पुढें भाव सारावा	"Dēva — bhāva — sārāvā"

What it means

A toil-over-letters-bore-fruit-holds-bottom-of-all-no-residue-of-jīva-fruited-bends-with-load-genuine-harvest-Dēva-let-bhāva-move-onward abhang. Fruited-bends-genuine-harvest register. Three claims:

अक्षरांचा-श्रम — फळा-आला — अवघियाचा-तळ-धरी — जीवा-उरी-न-उरूनि. Toil-bore-fruit-holds-bottom-of-all-claim. Theśramaoverakṣaras was done — and borephaḷaby-that; he holds thetaḷaofavaghiyā— leaving nourīofjīva. Toil-on-letters-bore-fruit; he-holds-the-bottom. (The avaghiyā taḷa dharī — jīvā urī nuruṇī image: holds-the-bottom-of-all (= the deepest-foundation), leaving-no-residue-of-jīva (= no-jīva-left-out, or no-jīva-left-over).)
फळलें-लवे-भारें — पीक-खरें. Fruited-bends-with-load-claim. What hasphaḷalēbends withbhāra; thepīkacomeskharēthen. Genuinely-fruited-tree-bends; harvest-is-real. (Iconic-image: a tree that has truly fruited bends-with-the-load. Test of authenticity.)
Tuka: Dēvā — भाव-पुढें-सारावा. Move-bhāva-onward-claim. Tuka says: ODēva— let thebhāvabesārāvā (moved-onward).Move-the-bhāva-forward. (Closing-petition: now that the toil has-fruited and the bhakta has-bent — let thebhāvabemoved-forward to its next-stage.)

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For someone today

When you put real effort into your practice, that labor does eventually bear fruit, and it goes deep, leaving nothing out. But Tukaram gives you a simple way to test whether the fruit is genuine: a tree that has truly fruited bends low under the weight of its own harvest. If your progress makes you feel puffed up and superior instead of humbled, it has not really ripened yet. Real growth shows itself as a bowing down, not a standing taller. Tukaram closes by asking God to keep that devotion moving forward, deeper into the heart.

मराठी: जेव्हा तुम्ही तुमच्या साधनेत खरा परिश्रम करता, तेव्हा तो श्रम शेवटी फळाला येतो, आणि तो खोलवर पोहोचतो, काहीही सुटत नाही. पण तुकाराम एक साधी कसोटी देतात: जो वृक्ष खरोखर फळाला आला आहे, तो आपल्याच फळांच्या भारानं खाली वाकतो. जर तुमच्या प्रगतीमुळे तुम्हाला गर्व वाटत असेल, अहंकार वाटत असेल, तर ते फळ अजून खरे पिकलेले नाही. खरी वाढ नम्रतेत दिसते, ताठ उभे राहण्यात नाही. तुकाराम शेवटी देवाकडे मागणी करतात की हा भाव असाच पुढे पुढे न्यावा.

Where this applies

Toil-fruited. Result.
Bends-with-fruit. Authenticity-test.
Move-onward. Petition.