Abhanga 1421
Notice what you have truly staked your whole life on, and let the company you keep color you the way dye soaks into cloth.
The verse
आम्हां अवघें भांडवल । येथें विठ्ठल एकला ॥१॥ कायावाचामनोभावें । येथें जीवें वेचलों ॥ध्रु.॥ परतें कांहीं नेणें दुजें । तत्वबीजें पाउलें ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे संतसंगें । येणें रंगें रंगलों ॥३॥
Literal translation
Our entire bhāṇḍavala — here — is Viṭhṭhala alone. By kāyā-vācā-manō-bhāva — here — by jīva — I have vēcalōm. I know nothing further (as) other — by tatva-bīja the paths. Tuka says: by samta-sanga — by this ranga — I have been dyed.
मराठी: आम्हां — अवघें — भांडवल; — येथें — विठ्ठल — एकला. कायावाचा-मनो-भावें; — येथें — जीवें — वेचलों. परतें — कांहीं — नेणें — दुजें; — तत्व-बीजें — पाउलें. Tukā म्हणे — संत-संगें; — येणें — रंगें — रंगलों.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| आम्हां अवघें भांडवल | "to/for us — entire (avaghēm) — bhāṇḍavala (= capital / stock-in-trade)" |
| येथें विठ्ठल एकला | "here — Viṭhṭhala — alone (ēkalā)" |
| कायावाचामनोभावें | "by kāya-vācā-mana-bhāva (body, speech, mind, bhāva)" |
| येथें जीवें वेचलों | "here — by jīva (life) — I have spent (vēcalōm)" |
| परतें कांहीं नेणें दुजें | "further (paratēm) — I know nothing (kāhīm nēṇē) — dujēm (= second / other)" |
| तत्वबीजें पाउलें | "by tatva-bīja (= seed-of-truth) — paths (pā'ulēm)" |
| तुका म्हणे संतसंगें | "Tuka says — by samta-sanga (saint-association)" |
| येणें रंगें रंगलों | "by this ranga (color / hue) — I have been rangalōm (dyed)" |
What it means
Our-entire-capital-is-Viṭhṭhala abhang. The opening commercial-image: āmhām avaghēm bhāṇḍavala — yēthēm Viṭhṭhala ēkalā — our entire (avaghēm)bhāṇḍavala(= capital / stock-in-trade); —here— isViṭhṭhala— alone. The merchant-image (Tuka was a vāṇī = merchant): our entire trading-capital is just Viṭhṭhala. (One of the strongest formulations of Hari-as-sole-asset; pairs with 1394's vyāpāra-tuṭīcā nāvaḍē — no loss-trade.)
The total-investment: kāyā-vācā-manō-bhāvēm — yēthēm jīvēm vēcalōm — bykāya(body),vācā(speech),mana(mind),bhāva(feeling) —here— byjīva(life) — I havevēcalōm(= spent / expended). The four-fold offering plus the jīva itself — all spent. (Compare 1415's pūrṇāhuti jīvēm — final-oblation by jīva.)
The exclusivity: paratēm kāhīm nēṇē dujēm — tatva-bījēm pā'ulēm — I know — nothing —further—dujēm(= second / other); — bytatva-bīja— (these) paths (pā'ulēm). Beyond this, I know no second / other thing. The tatva-bīja (= the seed-of-truth, = Hari's name / form) is the path. (The tatva-bīja-pā'ulēm — paths-traced-by-the-truth-seed — distinctive Tukaram-formulation.)
The closing: Tukā mhaṇē samta-sangēm — yēṇēm rangēm rangalōm — Tuka says — bysamta-sanga; — by thisranga(color / hue) — I have beenrangalōm(dyed). The saint-color-dyeing image: by samta-sanga, the bhakta has been colored with this ranga (the Hari-color). (Compare 1393's rangīm-miḷaliyā-ranga-lāgē — when colors are mixed, color sticks.)
[T]
For someone today
For today: our entire capital is Viṭhṭhala alone; I've spent it all — body, speech, mind, bhāva, jīva; I know nothing else — the seed-of-truth marks the path; saint-association has dyed me this color.
Where this applies
- When you realize you have poured your savings, time, and energy into something and wonder if it was worth it
- When you meet people whose company quietly changes how you think and act, for the better
- When you feel scattered between many pursuits and want to know what you actually value most
- When you look back at a relationship or community that shaped who you became