Abhanga 2854
THE canonical householder-dharma text. Earning wealth by fair-dealings — spend with detached-thought — he alone attains excellent-destiny — will enjoy excellent next-birth. (Being) helper-of-others, not knowing slander; others' women always sisters-mothers. Compassion-for-beings, cow-cattle-protection, water for thirsty in forest. Peaceful-form, not anyone's ill, increases elders' greatness. This alone is the householder's-fruit — parama-pada by the strength of vairāgya.
The verse
जोडोनियां धन उत्तम वेव्हारें । उदास विचारें वेच करी ॥१॥
उत्तम चि गती तो एक पावेल । उत्तम भोगील जीव खाणी ॥ध्रु.॥
परउपकारी नेणें परनिंदा । परस्त्रिया सदा बहिणी माया ॥२॥
भूतदया गाईंपशूचें पालन । तान्हेल्या जीवन वनामाजी ॥३॥
शांतिरूपें नव्हे कोणाचा वाईंट । वाढवी महत्व वडिलांचें ॥४॥
तुका म्हणे हें चि आश्रमाचें फळ । परमपद बळ वैराग्याचें ॥५॥
Literal translation
Jōḍōnīyām dhana uttama vevhāre — joining (earning) dhana (wealth) by uttama (excellent, fair) vevhāra (dealings, business); udāsa vichāre vecha karī — with udāsa (detached) vichāra (thought), do vecha (spending). Uttama chi gati tō ēka pāvel — he alone (will) attain uttama-gati (excellent-destiny); uttama bhōgīl jīva-khāṇī — he will enjoy excellent jīva-khāṇī (birth, life-source). Para-upakāri neṇe para-nindā — (being) para-upakāri (helper-of-others), not knowing para-nindā (slander-of-others); para-striyā sadā bahiṇī māyā — para-striyā (others' women) always (regarded as) bahiṇī (sister) (and) māyā (mother). Bhūta-dayā gāī-paśūñce pālana — (having) bhūta-dayā (compassion-for-beings), the protection of cows-and-cattle; tānhelyā jīvana vanāmājī — (giving) jīvana (water, life) to the thirsty in the forest. Śānti-rūpe navhe kōṇāñcā vāīṭ — (being) śānti-rūpa (peaceful-form), not anyone's vāīṭa (ill, harm-doer); vāḍhavī mahatva vaḍilāñce — increases the mahatva (greatness) of vaḍila (elders). Tukā says: he chi āśramāñce phala — this alone is the fruit of the (householder)-āśrama; parama-pada baḷa vairāgyāñce — parama-pada (supreme state) by the baḷa (strength) of *vairāgya.
What it means
A canonical 5-verse Tukārām householder-dharma text. THE most-systematic householder-ethics formulation in the Tukārām corpus.
Verse 1 (economic-discipline): Jōḍōnīyām dhana uttama vevhāre — udāsa vichāre vecha karī — earn wealth by fair-dealings; spend with detached-thought. The dual-discipline of earning-and-spending: uttama-vehavāra in earning, udāsa-vichāra in spending.
Dhrūpada (result): Uttama chi gati tō ēka pāvel — uttama bhōgīl jīva-khāṇī — he alone attains uttama-gati; enjoys excellent (next-)birth. The destiny-claim.
Verse 2 (relational-ethics): Para-upakāri neṇe para-nindā — para-striyā sadā bahiṇī māyā — helper-of-others, not knowing slander-of-others; others' women always sisters and mothers. Three relational-rules: (1) help-others; (2) no-slander; (3) regard-others'-women-as-sisters-and-mothers.
Verse 3 (ecological-and-charity): Bhūta-dayā, gāī-paśūñce pālana — tānhelyā jīvana vanāmājī — compassion-for-beings, cow-and-cattle protection; water for the thirsty in the forest. Three more rules: (1) bhūta-dayā; (2) animal-protection (especially cow); (3) water-charity in remote-areas.
Verse 4 (character): Śānti-rūpe navhe kōṇāñcā vāīṭ — vāḍhavī mahatva vaḍilāñce — peaceful-form, not anyone's harm-doer; increases the greatness of elders. Two more: (1) peaceful, non-harm-doing; (2) honoring-and-glorifying elders.
Close: Tukā mhaṇe he chi āśramāñce phala — parama-pada baḷa vairāgyāñce — Tukā: this alone is the āśrama's-fruit — parama-pada by the strength of vairāgya. The end-goal-claim: all-these-householder-disciplines, performed-in-vairāgya-strength, yield parama-pada (supreme-state). The grhastha-āśrama (householder-stage) is presented as a complete-path-to-parama-pada — not a lower-stage.
This is one of THE most-quoted Tukārām texts on householder-dharma. The 10 disciplines: (1) fair-earning, (2) detached-spending, (3) helping-others, (4) no-slander, (5) others'-women-as-sisters-mothers, (6) bhūta-dayā, (7) cow-protection, (8) water-charity, (9) peaceful-character, (10) honoring-elders — and the warrant: parama-pada by balā-of-vairāgya.
For someone today
THE canonical householder-dharma text. Earning wealth by fair-dealings — spend with detached-thought — he alone attains excellent-destiny — will enjoy excellent next-birth. (Being) helper-of-others, not knowing slander; others' women always sisters-mothers. Compassion-for-beings, cow-cattle-protection, water for thirsty in forest. Peaceful-form, not anyone's ill, increases elders' greatness. This alone is the householder's-fruit — parama-pada by the strength of vairāgya.
Ten-fold-discipline for the bhakta-householder. The verse can be recited as daily-vrata. The radical-claim: the grhastha-āśrama, performed-with-vairāgya-strength, yields parama-pada (supreme-state) — there is no need-to-abandon-household for liberation. This is the foundational-Vārkarī-doctrine of bhakti-in-householder-life.
Where this applies
- THE canonical Tukārām householder-dharma formulation
- Daily-recitation as householder-vrata
- Recognizing the uttama-vehavāra + udāsa-vichāra dual-discipline
- Parama-pada by balā-of-vairāgya — the householder's end-goal claim
- The 10-fold-discipline as the bhakta-householder's daily-rule