Abhanga 1332

Tukaram calls his bankruptcy, famine, and public shame good, because the regret they caused is what fixed his mind permanently on God.

The verse

Literal translation

What it means

THE FAMOUS BARĒṀ JĀLĒṀ ABHANG — closes the vairāgya-prakāra set ॥३॥.

This is among the most-quoted Tukaram-compositions in the warkari tradition. The structure is liturgical: each line begins barēm jālēm (good it is / good it happened) — celebrating the very losses that drove him to bhakti.

The list of blessings-disguised-as-losses:

1. Divāḷē nighālē — bankruptcy came out (the moneylending business collapsed in the famine)
2. Duṣkāḷē pīḍā kēlī — the famine gave pīḍā (1629-30 Maharashtrian famine)
3. Jagīm pāvalōm apamāna — got apamāna in the world (creditors and former associates turned against him)
4. Gēlē dhana ḍhōrē gurē — dhana, ḍhōrē, gurē went (lost wealth and cattle)
5. Nāhīm dharilī lōka-lāja — didn't hold lōka-lāja (didn't let public shame deter the new path)
6. Lēkarēm bā'ila upēkṣilīm — neglected children-and-wife (left aside the householder duties)

Each bare item is named good — because anutāpē tujhē rāhilē cintana — jālā hā vamana samsāra — by anutāpa, your cintana stayed; this samsāra became vomit. Anutāpa (the after-burning, the searing-regret) is what kept his cintana on Hari. Without the losses, no anutāpa; without anutāpa, no cintana; without cintana, no bhakti. The losses manufactured the bhakti.

The vamana (vomit) image is precise: samsāra is not just left-behind — it's vomited-out, expelled with revulsion (vīṭa). What's vomited cannot be re-eaten. The losses made samsāra into vomit, ensuring it stayed out.

The closing — barēm vrata ēkādaśī — kēlēm upavāsīm jāgaraṇa — good — Ekādaśī-vrata — kept fasting and jāgaraṇa. The single positive practice that emerged: bi-monthly Ekādaśī fasts and night-vigils.

The marker ॥३॥ closes the 3-abhang vairāgya-prakāra set (1330-1331-1332). Together, these three abhangs are the primary-source autobiography of Tukaram, given in response to the saints' question.

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For someone today

For today: give thanks for the very losses that brought you to bhakti — bankruptcy, famine, public disgrace, lost cattle, abandoned shame; without anutāpa, no cintana; samsāra had to become vomit.

Where this applies

• When you look back at a painful bankruptcy or job loss and realize it changed your priorities for the better
• When public embarrassment or the loss of others' respect pushed you to stop performing for people
• When you find yourself unable to return to an old lifestyle because you have genuinely outgrown it
• When one simple, steady practice, like a weekly fast or ritual, has carried you through a hard stretch

Related verses

• Abhanga 4581 — Tukaram closes his songs by confessing his own unworthiness and boldness, offering everyth
• Abhanga 4532 — The Lord embraces everyone without asking their status, and the devotion of his devotees p
• Abhanga 4568 — God bears his devotees' burdens on his own head and stands guard over them, so their heart
• Abhanga 1330 — For today: vairāgya happens through losses (parents, wife, dhana, māna); through sustained