Abhanga 2381
The verse
नाम घेतां न लगे मोल । नाममंत्र नाहीं खोल ॥१॥ दों अक्षरांचें काम । उच्चारावें राम राम ॥ध्रु.॥ नाहीं वर्णाधमयाती । नामीं अवघीं चि सरतीं ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे नाम । चैतन्य निजधाम ॥३॥
Literal translation
English: ★ Taking the Name no-price — Name-mantra not-deep ★. ★ Two-letters' work — utter Rāma Rāma ★. ★★ No caste-religion-jāti — all included in the Name ★★. Tuka says: Name — chaitanya's own dhāma.
What it means
★★ THE FREE 2-LETTER NAME-MANTRA + NO-CASTE-IN-NAME ABHANG ★★. One of the most-egalitarian bhakti-poems in the corpus.
★ THE FREE-NAME ★: nāma ghētām na lagē mōla — nāma-mantra nāhīm khōla — ★ taking the Name no-price — Name-mantra not-deep ★. ★ Taking-the-Name has-no-price; the-Name-mantra is-not-deep (= esoteric, requiring-Brahmin-initiation). ★
★ THE TWO-LETTER MANTRA ★: dōm akṣarāñchē kāma — uchchārāvē Rāma Rāma — ★ two-letters' work — utter Rāma Rāma ★. ★ Just-two-letters' work — utter "Rāma Rāma". ★ A direct-critique of-elaborate Vedic-mantra-systems that-require-priest-initiation and-Sanskrit-knowledge.
★★ THE FAMOUS NO-CASTE-IN-NAME LINE ★★: nāhīm varṇā-dhama-yātī — nāmīm avaghī chi saratī — ★★ no caste-religion-jāti — all included in the Name ★★. Varṇa = caste. Dharma = religion-stage. Jāti = birth-group. ★★ No-caste, no-religion-stage, no-jāti (= no-birth-distinction) — all-are-included in-the-Name. ★★ One of Tukārām's most-quoted egalitarian-bhakti-formulas: the-Name transcends-all-social-divisions.
The closing — Name-as-chaitanya-dhāma: Tukā mhaṇē nāma — chaitanya-nija-dhāma — Tuka says: Name — chaitanya's own dhāma. The Name is-the-very-abode-of-pure-consciousness.
[T]
For someone today
For today: ★ Name has no-price ★; just two letters — Rāma Rāma; ★★ no caste, no religion, no jāti — all included in the Name ★★; Name is chaitanya's own dhāma.
Where this applies
- Free-Name-no-deep-mantra.* Nāma-ghētām-na-lagē-mōla-mantra-nāhīm-khōla.
- Two-letters'-work-Rāma-Rāma. Dōm-akṣarāñchē-kāma-Rāma-Rāma.
- ★★ No-caste-no-religion-no-jāti-all-included-in-Name ★★. ★★ Varṇā-dhama-yātī-nāmīm-avaghī-saratī ★★.
- Name-as-chaitanya-dhāma.* Chaitanya-nija-dhāma.