Abhanga 2629
The sants have set up a shop — they give dāna to whoever comes. The sants are generous-generous — the infinite storehouse is filled. The asker's portion is fulfilled — the master, plus more for others, still remains. Tukā: the bag — filled by Deva — never goes empty.
The verse
घातला दुकान । देती आलियासी दान ॥१॥
संत उदार उदार । भरलें अनंत भांडार ॥ध्रु.॥
मागत्याची पुरे । धणी आणिकांसी उरे ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे पोतें । देवें भरिलें नव्हे रितें ॥३॥
Literal translation
They have set up a shop — they give dāna to those who come. The sants are udāra-udāra (generous-generous, doubly-generous); the ananta (infinite) storehouse is filled. The asker's portion is fulfilled — the master, with more for others, still remains. Tukā says: the bag — filled by Deva — does not go empty.
What it means
This is one of Tukārām's most-recited sants-as-shop-of-dāna abhangs — a canonical Vārkarī claim about how sant-sangati operates. The opening line is direct and concrete: ghātalā dukāna — dētī āliyāsī dāna — they have set up a shop — they give dāna (gift) to whoever comes. The verb dētī (they give) is the operative mode — sants do not sell, do not screen, do not test for eligibility; they give to āliyāsī — to whoever comes. The shop is open; the gift is unconditional.
The dhrūpada celebrates the inventory: santa udāra udāra — bharalē ananta bhāṇḍāra — the sants are doubly-generous; the infinite storehouse is filled. The doubling udāra-udāra is significant — generous twice over, generous in giving and generous in attitude.
The second verse names the inexhaustible-property: māgatyāchī purē — dhaṇī āṇikāmsī urē — the asker's portion is fulfilled; the master, with more for others, remains. The remarkable claim: even after an asker has been fulfilled, the master (dhaṇī = the master-shopkeeper) with more for others remains. The store does not deplete with use.
The close names the source of the inexhaustible: pōtē — Devē bharilē navhē ritē — the bag — filled by Deva — does not go empty. The bag (pōtē = sack, the giving-vessel) is constantly refilled by Deva. The sant is not running on his own finite store; the supply is from the Lord.
For someone today
When you approach a genuine sant, a wise elder, a real teacher — the verse hands you the expectation. They have set up a shop, they give dāna to comers; the asker's portion is fulfilled, and more remains for others; the bag never goes empty. Do not assume scarcity at this shop. Do not ration your asking out of fear of depleting them. The store is ananta (infinite); the supply is Devē bharilē (filled by Deva); your fill does not diminish what is available for the next person. Udāra-udāra — generous-generous.
The verse is also a model for being a giver: if your giving feels scarce, perhaps your pōtē (bag) is not being Devē bharilē — perhaps you are giving from your own finite stock. The way to give udāra-udāra is to be a conduit, not a reservoir.
Where this applies
- Approaching a sant, an elder, a teacher — with the expectation of unconditional dāna
- The bhakti-economy claim — the sant-shop's stock does not deplete with use
- Being a generous giver as a conduit, not from one's own finite store
- The canonical Vārkarī self-description of sant-sangati as open-shop