Abhanga 2788
A useful substance-analogy. In the rich-man's house, wealth itself does the service; business sits-while-being; in forest or cave, those-with-it have it easy; paying the price, nothing is hidden. The bhakti-application: when you have the substance of bhakti, the work happens by itself. The diagnostic: do I have to do all the work, or does the substance work-with-me? If you have to do all the work, the dhana may be missing — you are not yet a dhanavanta.
The verse
धनवंता घरीं । करी धन चि चाकरी ॥१॥
होय बैसल्या व्यापार । न लगे सांडावें चि घर ॥ध्रु.॥
रानीं वनीं दीपीं । असतीं तीं होतीं सोपीं ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे मोल । देतां कांहीं नव्हे खोल ॥३॥
Literal translation
Dhanavantā gharī — in the rich-man's house; karī dhana chi chākarī — wealth itself does thechākarī(service-work). Hōya baisalyā vyāpāra — the business happens while sitting (without traveling); na lage sāṇḍāve chi ghara — no need to abandon the house. Rānī vanī dīpī — in forest, in jungle, in cave (dīpa = cave-island?); asatī tī hōtī sōpī — those-with-it have itsōpī(easy, simple). Tukā says: mōla dētām — kāmhī navhē khōla — paying themōla(price) — nothing iskhōla(deep, hidden).
What it means
A short substance-analogy verse. Dhanavantā gharī — karī dhana chi chākarī — in the rich-man's house, wealth itself does the service. The image: the dhanavanta (rich-man) doesn't have to do work — his dhana (wealth) itself does the chākarī (service). Wealth attracts servants-and-workers; wealth manufactures-itself further.
The dhrūpada: hōya baisalyā vyāpāra — na lage sāṇḍāve chi ghara — business sits-while-being; no need to abandon the house. The rich-man's vyāpāra (business) happens while-he-sits; he doesn't need to sāṇḍāve ghara (abandon-the-house, travel-extensively).
The second verse: rānī vanī dīpī — asatī tī hōtī sōpī — in forest, jungle, cave — those-with-it have it easy. Even in rugged-places, those-with-the-substance have it easy. The substance accompanies one everywhere.
The close: mōla dētām — kāmhī navhē khōla — paying the price — nothing is deep/hidden. When one pays the mōla (price), nothing-stays-hidden. The substance buys-clarity.
Bhakti-application: the dhana (wealth) being-described is presumably bhakti-wealth or Hari-bhakti. With-bhakti, work-happens-by-itself; no need to abandon-the-householder-life; in any place (forest or village), it is easy; paying-the-price (of bhakti-discipline) makes-everything-clear.
For someone today
A useful substance-analogy. In the rich-man's house, wealth itself does the service; business sits-while-being; in forest or cave, those-with-it have it easy; paying the price, nothing is hidden. The bhakti-application: when you have the substance of bhakti, the work happens by itself. The diagnostic: do I have to do all the work, or does the substance work-with-me? If you have to do all the work, the dhana may be missing — you are not yet a dhanavanta.
मराठी: एक उपयुक्त सारतत्त्वाची उपमा. श्रीमंताच्या घरी धनच सेवा करतं; व्यापार बसल्या जागी होतो; रानात किंवा गुहेत, ज्यांच्याकडे ते आहे त्यांना ते सोपं वाटतं; किंमत दिली की काही लपून राहत नाही. भक्तीशी जोडून पाहायचं तर — जेव्हा भक्तीचं खरं धन तुझ्याकडे असतं, तेव्हा काम आपोआप होतं. निदान-प्रश्न असा — मलाच सगळं काम करावं लागतंय, की ते धनच माझ्यासोबत काम करतंय? जर तुला सगळं काम स्वतः करावं लागत असेल, तर कदाचित ते धनच तुझ्याकडे नाही — तू अजून खरा धनवंत झाला नाहीस.
Where this applies
- When your spiritual practice still feels like constant, exhausting effort rather than something that carries you
- When you feel that you cannot find peace unless you leave your home or ordinary life behind
- When you envy someone who seems at ease wherever they go, even in difficult or remote circumstances
- When you wonder whether you have truly paid the price of sincere practice or are still just going through motions