Abhanga 2639
The verse describes a particular relief — when the debt-pressure of a long-bondage has been quietly missed-out-of, and one can finally sell leisurely without haggling. The bhakti claim is that this wealth-at-home is preservable only with Nārāyaṇa as sāhā'e — the helper-against-forgetting. The post-arrival ease is genuine; the only ongoing work is jatana (preservation against drift), and even that has a helper.
The verse
आतां चुकलें बंधन गेलें विसरोनि दान । आपुले ते वाण सावकाश विकावे ॥१॥
लाभ जोडला अनंत घरीं सांपडलें वित्त । हातोहातीं थीत उरों तळ नल्हाचि ॥ध्रु.॥
होतें गोविलें विसारें माप जालें एकसरें । होतें होरें वारें तों चि लाहो साधिला॥२॥
कराया जतन तुका म्हणे निजधन । केला नारायण साहए नेदी विसंबों ॥३॥
Literal translation
Now bondage has been missed; the dāna (gift, transaction) has gone forgotten. Sell your wares leisurely. Infinite gain has joined — wealth has been found at home. Hand-to-hand, no thīta (residue, leftover) stays on the floor. What was held in collateral, the measure became at one stroke; the hōrē-vārē (haggling-over-the-bargain) — then the lāhō (gain, profit) was mastered. Tukā says: to preserve the nija-dhana (self-wealth), Nārāyaṇa is made sāhā'e (helper) — let it not be forgotten.
What it means
A commerce-image verse from the post-arrival mode. Chukalēm bandhana — gēlēm visarōnī dāna — bondage is now missed (gone-by, slipped-away) — the transaction has gone forgotten. The bhakti-claim: the obligation-bondage of having-received has been quietly dropped — no debt remains. Āpulē tē vāṇa sāvakāśa vikāvē — sell your wares leisurely. The bhakta who once-haggled-anxiously can now sell without haste, because there is no more debt-pressure.
The dhrūpada: lābha jōḍalā ananta — gharīm sāmpaḍalēm vitta — infinite gain has joined — wealth has been found at home. Gharīm (at home) — the wealth was not in the marketplace; it was at home all along. Hātōhātīm thīta urōm taḷī nalhāchi — hand-to-hand, no residue lies-flat on the floor — every grain-of-wealth gets carried up.
The second verse describes the redemption of the original-bondage: hōtēm gōvilēm visārē māpa jālēm ēkasarē — what was held as collateral-pledge, the measure became one-stroke. The whole accumulated-debt was settled in one transaction. Hōtēm hōrē-vārē tōm chi lāhō sādhilā — what had been haggling-back-and-forth — then the gain was mastered. Haggling stops once the gain is secured.
The close: karāyā jatana — Tukā mhaṇē — nija-dhana — kelā Nārāyaṇa sāhā'e — nēdī visambō — to preserve carefully — Tukā says — the self-wealth — Nārāyaṇa is made helper — does-not-let-it-be-forgotten. Nija-dhana (self-wealth) is the realized-treasure; visambō (forgetting, drifting-from-attention) is the danger. Nārāyaṇa is asked to be the sāhā'e (helper) who keeps the preservation-attention sharp.
For someone today
The verse describes a particular relief — when the debt-pressure of a long-bondage has been quietly missed-out-of, and one can finally sell leisurely without haggling. The bhakti claim is that this wealth-at-home is preservable only with Nārāyaṇa as sāhā'e — the helper-against-forgetting. The post-arrival ease is genuine; the only ongoing work is jatana (preservation against drift), and even that has a helper.
Where this applies
- Post-arrival ease where anxious-haggling has ended
- Recognizing that the wealth was at home all along
- The nija-dhana (self-wealth) preservation discipline
- Asking the Lord to be the helper-against-forgetting