Abhanga 2669
To do aniñchī sēvā (others' service) with the body — gives only dry words here as fruit.
The verse
आणिकांची सेवा करावी शरीरें । तीं येथें उत्तरे कोरडीं च ॥१॥
ऐसा पांडुरंग सुलभ सोपारा । नेघे येरझारा सेवकाच्या ॥ध्रु.॥
आणिकांचे भेटी आडकाठी पडे । येथें तें न घडे वचन ही ॥२॥
आणिकांचे देणें काळीं पोट भरे । येथील न सरे कल्पांतीं ही ॥३॥
आणिकें दंडिती चुकलिया सेवा । येथें सोस हेवा नाहीं दोन्ही ॥४॥
तुका म्हणे करी आपण्यासारिखें । उद्धरी पारिखें उंच निंच ॥५॥
Literal translation
To do aniñchī sēvā (others' service) with the body — gives only dry words here as fruit. Such Pāṇḍuranga is sulabha-sōpāra (easy-simple); he does not accept the servant's yērajhārā (running-around). In others' meeting, āḍakāṭhī (obstruction-staff) falls; here not even one word fails. Others' gift fills the belly for the time (kāḷīm); what here-is does not run out even at kalpānta (cosmic-end). Others punish for missed-service; here neither sōsa (enthusiasm) nor hēvā (jealousy) — neither of them. Tukā says: he makes one āpaṇyā-sārikhē (like himself) — uplifts the pārikhē (alien, stranger), uñcha niñcha (high and low) alike.
What it means
A 5-verse structural comparison of two service-economies. Each verse names a property of anyāñchī sēvā (others' service) and contrasts it with yēthē (here, with Pāṇḍuranga).
-
Reward: others' service yields kōraḍī uttarē (dry words) as fruit; Pāṇḍuranga is sulabha-sōpāra (easy-and-simple), demands no yērajhārā (the running-around of servants).
-
Access: meeting others has āḍakāṭhī (obstruction-staffs, gatekeepers); here, na ghaḍē vachana hī — not even a word fails.
-
Duration of gift: others' gift fills the belly kāḷī (for the moment); here, na sarē kalpāntīm hī — does not run out even at kalpānta (cosmic-dissolution).
-
Punishment for missed service: others punish missed-service; here neither sōsa (enthusiasm-for-punishment) nor hēvā (jealousy) exists.
-
The transformation: karī āpaṇyā-sārikhē — uddharī pārikhē uñcha niñcha — makes one like himself — uplifts the alien, high-and-low alike. The remarkable claim: the Pāṇḍuranga-service does not just reward; it makes one like himself. And the uplifting is universal — pārikhē (the alien, the stranger) and uñcha-niñcha (the high-and-low) alike.
The whole structure builds toward the closing claim: serving Pāṇḍuranga is a different economy entirely — easy access, no running-around, no temporal-limit on the gift, no fear-of-punishment, and the result is transformation-into-his-likeness rather than mere compensation.
For someone today
The verse offers a structural audit of who you are serving. The five properties of others' service are recognizable: dry-words reward, obstructions-at-the-gate, momentary-bellyful gift, punishment for lapses, and competition (hēvā) inside the servants' rank. If your work-life or relationships have these five properties, you are in anyāñchī sēvā (others' service). The Pāṇḍuranga-service-economy is opposite at each property — and the closing result is unique: not just being-paid but being-made-like-the-master. Audit which economy you are actually in.
Where this applies
- Audit of one's daily service-economy: which of the five properties match?
- The Pāṇḍuranga-sulabha-sōpāra (easy-and-simple) access-claim
- Karī āpaṇyā-sārikhē — service-that-transforms-into-the-master's-likeness
- The universal uplifting — pārikhē uñcha niñcha (alien, high-and-low alike)