Abhanga 2602
Such treasure for the fortunate — the company of sants. Pāṇḍuranga is the wealth at home — unbreakable, not running out. Gain without the world's people — the sky packed into a heel. Tukā: Viṣṇu-dāsas have no other longing.
The verse
भाग्यवंता ऐशी जोडी । परवडी संतांची ॥१॥
धन घरीं पांडुरंग । अभंग जें सरेना ॥ध्रु.॥
जनाविरहित हा लाभ । टांचें नभ सांटवणें ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे विष्णुदासां । नाहीं आशा दुसरी ॥३॥
Literal translation
To the fortunate, such a pair — the paravaḍī (excellent fortune, fitness) of the sants. The wealth at home is Pāṇḍuranga — unbreakable, that does not run out. This is gain without the people-of-the-world — the sky packed into the heel. Tukā says: for the Viṣṇu-dāsas there is no other longing.
What it means
The verse names the Vārkarī wealth-concept in four images:
- Bhāgyavantām aiśī jōḍī — paravaḍī santāñchī — for the fortunate, such a pair (or joining) — the paravaḍī of sants. Paravaḍī is excellence, fitness, the choicest portion. The first wealth is sant-sangati — the company of saints.
- Dhana gharīm Pāṇḍuranga — abhanga jēm sarēnā — the wealth at home is Pāṇḍuranga, the unbreakable that does not run out. Abhanga doubles cleverly — the Tukārām-poem-form is called abhanga (unbroken) — and here it names the kind of wealth that is abhanga: cannot be exhausted, cannot be stolen, cannot be devalued.
- Janāvirahita hā lābha — ṭāñchēm nabha sāṭavaṇē — this gain is without the world's people — the sky packed into the heel. The ṭāñchēm nabha sāṭavaṇē image is wonderful: packing the sky into the space of a heel. The Lord is the sky; he fits into the smallest hidden-private space. This is a private-gain image — wealth held without audience.
- Tukā mhaṇē Viṣṇu-dāsām — nāhī āśā dusarī — for Viṣṇu-dāsas there is no other longing. The wealth is so total that no other ambition remains.
For someone today
The wealth in your house that matters is the one that does not need an audience and cannot run out. Tukārām names two: sant-sangati (the company of those whose lives have been transformed by the same direction you are heading), and Pāṇḍuranga in the home. The radical line in the verse is janāvirahita hā lābha — gain without the world's people — wealth that does not get its meaning from being shown. Hold something this way for one day, and you taste ṭāñchēm nabha sāṭavaṇē — the sky packed into a heel.
Where this applies
- Audit of what counts as real wealth in your household
- A private practice that does not need to be witnessed to keep its value
- The Vārkarī family-tradition that keeps Pāṇḍuranga at home across generations
- Friendships with people on the same direction — sant-sangati in modern register