Abhanga 996
The truly blessed are compassionate at heart, and their kind words match a heart free of hidden malice, not just a pleasant surface.
The verse
धन्य ते संसारीं । दयावंत जे अंतरीं ॥१॥ येथें उपकारासाठीं । आले घर ज्यां वैकुंठीं ॥ध्रु.॥ लटिकें वचन । नाहीं देहीं उदासीन ॥२॥ मधुरा वाणी ओटीं । तुका म्हणे वाव पोटीं ॥३॥
Literal translation
Dhanya — samsāra — dayāvanta — antara. Here — upakāra — came — ghara — Vaikuṇṭha. Laṭikēm vacana — none — dēha — udāsīna. Madhurā vāṇī — ōṭha — Tuka says: vāva — pōṭa.
मराठी: धन्य ते — संसारीं — अंतरीं दयावंत. येथें — उपकारा-साठीं — आले घर — ज्यांचें वैकुंठीं. लटिकें वचन नाहीं — देहीं उदासीन नाहीं. Tuka म्हणे: मधुरा वाणी ओटीं — वाव पोटीं.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| धन्य ते संसारीं | "dhanya — samsāra" |
| दयावंत जे अंतरीं | "dayāvanta — antara" |
| येथें उपकारासाठीं | "here — upakāra" |
| आले घर ज्यां वैकुंठीं | "came — ghara — Vaikuṇṭha" |
| लटिकें वचन | "laṭikēm vacana" |
| नाहीं देहीं उदासीन | "dēha — udāsīna" |
| मधुरा वाणी ओटीं | "madhurā vāṇī — ōṭha" |
| वाव पोटीं | "vāva — pōṭa" |
What it means
A blessed-in-samsāra-dayāvanta-of-heart-here-for-upakāra-came-to-house-from-Vaikuṇṭha-no-false-speech-not-indifferent-in-body-sweet-speech-on-lips-empty-belly abhang. Sweet-speech-empty-belly register. Four claims about the dayāvanta-saint:
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धन्य-संसारीं — दयावंत-अंतरीं. Blessed-in-samsāra-dayāvanta-of-heart-claim. Blessed are those in samsāra; who aredayāvanta(compassionate, full-of-dayā) in theantara(interior).
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उपकारा-साठीं — Vaikuṇṭha-घर. Here-for-upakāra-came-to-house-from-Vaikuṇṭha-claim. Here, for-the-sake-ofupakāra(helping-others, doing-good), they have come to aghara(house); those whose (real)gharais inVaikuṇṭha. (The saint takes birth in samsāra not for themselves but for upakāra; their real home is in Vaikuṇṭha.)
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लटिकें-वचन-नाहीं — देहीं-उदासीन-नाहीं. No-false-speech-not-indifferent-in-body-claim. Nolaṭikēm(false, deceptive)vacana;not udāsīna (indifferent, detached-in-the-bad-sense — meaning not-engaged-with-others) in the dēha. (Two negations: not deceitful in word, not callous in body.)
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Tuka: मधुर-वाणी-ओठ — वाव-पोट. Sweet-speech-on-lips-empty-belly-claim. Sweetvāṇī on the ōṭha (lips); Tuka says:vāva(empty, void —of-malice, with-no-hidden-bitterness) in thepōṭa(belly). (The classic consistency-in-and-out claim: what is sweet on the lips matches an empty-of-malice belly — there is no double-speak, no bitterness inside while sweetness outside.)
[T]
For someone today
Tukaram says the truly blessed people in this world are those with compassion at their core. Such people live among us for the sake of helping others, even though their real home is elsewhere. They never speak falsely and are never callous toward others in how they act. Their sweet words match what's inside them, there's no hidden bitterness behind the kindness.
मराठी: तुकाराम म्हणतात की या जगात खरोखर धन्य तेच आहेत ज्यांच्या अंतःकरणात दया आहे. असे लोक इतरांचे भले करण्यासाठीच इथे राहतात, जरी त्यांचे खरे घर दुसरीकडे असले तरी. ते कधीही खोटे बोलत नाहीत आणि वागण्यात कधी उदासीन किंवा निष्ठुर नसतात. त्यांचे गोड शब्द त्यांच्या मनाशी जुळतात, गोडव्यामागे कुठलाही लपलेला कडवटपणा नसतो.
Where this applies
- When you meet someone who seems to genuinely care with no ulterior motive
- When you're deciding whether your kind words match what you actually feel inside
- When you're tempted to be indifferent or dismissive toward someone in need
- When you want a simple way to recognize real compassion versus performed kindness