Abhanga 2651
The verse offers two mortality-clear teachings:
The verse
द्रव्याचिया कोटी । नये गांडीची लंगोटी ॥१॥
अंती बोळवणेसाटीं । पांडुरंग धरा कंठीं ॥ध्रु.॥
लोभाची लोभिकें । यांचें सन्निधान फिकें ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे हितें । जग नव्हो पडो रितें ॥३॥
Literal translation
Crores (kōṭī) of wealth — does not become the loincloth-for-the-buttocks (at the end). For the final bōḷavaṇa (farewell, send-off) — hold Pāṇḍuranga in the throat. The greedy of the greedy — their sannidhāna (presence, nearness-of-master) is phikē (pale, tasteless, faded). Tukā says: by self-benefit — let the world not fall empty.
What it means
A bracing mortality-clear verse. The opening line has entered Maharashtra proverb-tradition: dravyāñchiyā kōṭī — nayē gāṇḍīchī langōṭī — crores of wealth — does not (purchase even) the buttock's loincloth (at the end). Gāṇḍī (the buttocks, the body's lowest region) and langōṭī (loincloth) — the very smallest covering. The brutal point: at the moment of death, the corpse needs only the smallest cloth, and crores of wealth do not buy that cloth — because at death the wealth simply does not travel with you. The vivid image makes mortality-economics unforgettable.
The dhrūpada offers the alternative: antī bōḷavaṇē-sāṭīm — Pāṇḍuranga dharā kaṇṭhīm — for the final farewell — hold Pāṇḍuranga in the throat. Antī bōḷavaṇa (the final send-off) is the death-moment send-off. Pāṇḍuranga dharā kaṇṭhīm — hold Pāṇḍuranga in the throat — the final-breath practice of having the Name on the throat at the moment of departure. This is the Vārkarī goal for the antī-bōḷavaṇa moment.
The second verse: lōbhāñchī lōbhikē — sannidhāna phikē — the greedy of the greedy — their sannidhāna (presence-of-the-master-near) is pale (phikē = pale, faded, tasteless). The lōbhī (greedy person) lives in the sannidhāna of money — but it is phikē — without color, without life. Even when the greedy-person has the money, the presence-they-are-in is dull.
The close: Tukā mhaṇē hitē — jaga navhō paḍō ritē — Tukā says: by self-benefit — let the world not fall empty. Hitē (by-self-benefit, by-self-interest) — let the world not fall ritē (empty) because of pursued self-benefit. The line is a warning: the pursuit of self-benefit empties the world of what makes it worth being in.
For someone today
The verse offers two mortality-clear teachings:
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At the antī-bōḷavaṇa (final farewell): Crores of wealth do not purchase even the loincloth for the corpse. The only thing that goes with you is what is kaṇṭhīm — in the throat — at the final-breath. Pāṇḍuranga (or whatever your central love) is what you hold in the throat at that moment. Practice now what you want to be in the throat then.
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About the phikē-sannidhāna of greed: even when the greedy-person possesses the money, the presence they live in is pale-tasteless. Wealth as company is dull-color; the real-sannidhāna (presence) is elsewhere.
The closing line is a strong warning: don't let the world fall empty for your benefit. Self-interest pursued at the cost of the world's vitality is a net-loss even for the self.
Where this applies
- Mortality-clear reframing of wealth-accumulation
- The Pāṇḍuranga-in-the-throat final-breath bhakti-practice
- Recognizing the phikē-paleness of greedy company
- The world-not-fall-empty ethical concern