Abhanga 2628
This is not the petty merchant's wares — Nārāyaṇa is forever-new. Bliss arises from listening — the real, mint-stamped coin. Gain comes hand-to-hand, more and more onward. Tukā: I don't know how much — filled and yet still remains.
The verse
नव्हे मतोळ्याचा वाण । नीच नवा नारायण ॥१॥
सुख उपजे श्रवणें । खरें टांकसाळी नाणें ॥ध्रु.॥
लाभ हातोहातीं । अधिक पुढतोंपुढती ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे नेणों किती । पुरोनि उरलें पुढती ॥३॥
Literal translation
This is not the petty merchant's wares — Nārāyaṇa is nīcha-navā (forever-new, ever-low-fresh). Bliss arises from listening — the genuine, mint-stamped coin. Gain is hand-to-hand, more and more onward. Tukā says: I don't know how much — filled and yet still remains.
What it means
A short commerce-metaphor verse. Navhē matōḷyāchā vāṇa — nīcha-navā Nārāyaṇa — not the petty merchant's wares — Nārāyaṇa is forever-new. Matōḷyā is a small-time merchant who specializes in retail. Vāṇa — wares, merchandise. Tukārām distinguishes the bhakti-commerce from the petty-merchant trade. Nīcha-navā — a striking compound meaning forever-new, freshly-arising every moment — Nārāyaṇa is never stale stock.
The dhrūpada: sukha upajē śravaṇē — kharē ṭānkasāḷī nāṇē — bliss arises from listening — the genuine mint-stamped coin. Ṭānkasāḷī nāṇē (mint-house coin, official-stamped currency) is the authenticated currency, not counterfeit. The bliss-from-śravaṇa is currency that passes everywhere, never refused, never devalued.
The second verse: lābha hātōhātīm — adhika puḍhatōm-puḍhatī — gain hand-to-hand, more and more onward. Bhakti-commerce works hand-to-hand — immediate transfer, no waiting, no credit. And the gain increases as it changes hands.
The close: nēṇōm kitī — pūrōnī uralē puḍhatī — I don't know how much — filled and yet still remains. The Vārkarī claim: the bhakti-store is so full that even after one has filled-up, there is still more.
For someone today
If your spiritual practice is feeling like petty-merchant exchange — small transactions, anxious negotiations, fear of running out — the verse offers the contrast: real bhakti-currency is mint-stamped, passed hand to hand, growing more and more with each exchange, and however full you become, more still remains. The diagnostic test is nīcha-navā — is what you receive forever-new, or is it stale stock? Real practice produces sukha-upajē-śravaṇē — bliss that arises right in the listening itself — not deferred bliss, not contingent bliss, but bliss that happens in the act.
मराठी: जर तुमची साधना छोट्या व्यापाऱ्याच्या व्यवहारासारखी वाटत असेल — छोटे छोटे व्यवहार, चिंताग्रस्त घासाघीस, संपून जाण्याची भीती — तर हा अभंग एक विरोधाभास मांडतो — खरे भक्तिचलन टांकसाळीचे शिक्के असलेले, हातोहात फिरणारे असते, प्रत्येक व्यवहारागणिक अधिकाधिक वाढणारे असते, आणि कितीही भरून घेतले तरी अजून शिल्लक उरतेच. याची कसोटी म्हणजे 'नीच-नवा' — जे मिळते ते सतत नवे आहे की शिळा माल आहे? खरी साधना 'सुख उपजे श्रवणे' निर्माण करते — ऐकतानाच जन्माला येणारे सुख — पुढे ढकललेले नाही, कशावर तरी अवलंबून नाही, तर त्या कृतीतच घडणारे सुख.
Where this applies
- When you find yourself calculating your practice like a business deal, worrying whether you are getting a fair return
- When you hear a name or story and feel genuine joy rise up in that very moment of listening
- When you hold back from devotion because you fear you will use it up or run dry
- When your practice starts to feel stale and repetitive and you want a way to tell whether it is actually alive