Abhanga 2839
A canonical prārabdha-discipline. By prārabdha alone, wealth joins. By prārabdha alone, honor grows. You do sōsa (ambitious-toil) vainly — O mind, bhaja Pandharī-rāya. By prārabdha, sukha and duḥkha. By prārabdha alone, the belly is filled. Tukā doesn't fuss. The text offers a clear discipline: (1) don't credit your-effort for material-success or-failure — prārabdha does it; (2) since effort doesn't determine, redirect-toward-bhaja; (3) don't-make-fuss about-outcomes. The verse permits the bhakta's radical equanimity-with-circumstances. Note: this is not fatalism — Tukārām is not saying don't-work; he is saying don't sōsa (ambitious-toil-pridefully) over outcomes that prārabdha decides anyway. The redirection-of-energy to bhaja is the operative-claim.
The verse
प्रारब्धें चि जोडे धन । प्रारब्धें चि वाडे मान ॥१॥
सोस करिसी वांयां । भज मना पंढरीराया ॥ध्रु.॥
प्रारब्धें चि होय सुख। प्रारब्धें चि पावे दुःख ॥२॥
प्रारब्धें चि भरे पोट । तुका करीना बोभाट ॥३॥
Literal translation
Prārabdhē chi jōḍē dhana — by prārabdha alone, dhana (wealth) joins; prārabdhē chi vāḍē māna — by prārabdha alone, māna (honor) grows. Sōsa karisī vāmyām — (you) do sōsa (toil, ambitious-effort) vainly; bhaja manā Pandharī-rāyā — O mind, bhaja (worship) Paṇḍharī-rāya. Prārabdhē chi hōya sukha — by prārabdha, sukha happens; prārabdhē chi pāve duḥkha — by prārabdha, duḥkha is pāve (met, attained). Prārabdhē chi bhare pōṭa — by prārabdha alone, the pōṭa (belly) is filled; Tukā karīnā bōbhāṭa — Tukā does-not-make bōbhāṭa (fuss, complaint, outcry).
What it means
A 4-verse canonical-prārabdha-discipline text. The four-fold-formula: prārabdhē chi __ — by prārabdha alone __. Applied to: (1) dhana (wealth), (2) māna (honor), (3) sukha (joy) and duḥkha (sorrow), (4) pōṭa (belly's-fullness).
The dhrūpada-counsel: sōsa karisī vāmyām — bhaja manā Pandharī-rāyā — you do sōsa (ambitious-toil) vainly — O mind, bhaja Pandharī-rāya. The bhakti-redirection: since effort doesn't determine outcomes (prārabdha does), don't waste-yourself in ambitious-toil — instead, bhaja-Pandharī-rāya.
The close: prārabdhē chi bhare pōṭa — Tukā karīnā bōbhāṭa — by prārabdha alone, the belly is filled — Tukā doesn't make fuss. The mature-bhakta's equanimity: I-don't-complain (about being-supported, or-not), because-prārabdha-determines-it-anyway.
For someone today
A canonical prārabdha-discipline. By prārabdha alone, wealth joins. By prārabdha alone, honor grows. You do sōsa (ambitious-toil) vainly — O mind, bhaja Pandharī-rāya. By prārabdha, sukha and duḥkha. By prārabdha alone, the belly is filled. Tukā doesn't fuss. The text offers a clear discipline: (1) don't credit your-effort for material-success or-failure — prārabdha does it; (2) since effort doesn't determine, redirect-toward-bhaja; (3) don't-make-fuss about-outcomes. The verse permits the bhakta's radical equanimity-with-circumstances. Note: this is not fatalism — Tukārām is not saying don't-work; he is saying don't sōsa (ambitious-toil-pridefully) over outcomes that prārabdha decides anyway. The redirection-of-energy to bhaja is the operative-claim.
Where this applies
- The canonical 4-verse prārabdha-discipline text
- Recognizing effort-is-vain; bhaja-instead counsel
- Tukā-doesn't-fuss — the bhakta's equanimity-with-outcomes
- Anti-ambitious-toil + redirection-to-bhakti