संत साहित्य
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संत साहित्य · Tukārām · Abhanga 1421 of 4582

Abhanga 1421

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.

When you'd declare bhakti as your entire stake — our entire capital is Viṭhṭhal alone; body-speech-mind-bhāva spent by jīva; dyed by saint-color

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

English: 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 ēkalāour entire (avaghēm) bhāṇḍavala (= capital / stock-in-trade); — here — is Viṭhṭhala — 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 vēcalōmby kāya (body), vācā (speech), mana (mind), bhāva (feeling) — here — by jīva (life) — I have vēcalōm (= 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'ulēmI know — nothing — furtherdujēm (= second / other); — by tatva-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 rangalōmTuka says — by samta-sanga; — by this ranga (color / hue) — I have been rangalōm (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

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