Abhanga 2907
Respect that comes from wealth is conditional and will vanish when the money does, so don't build your sense of worth on something so impermanent.
The verse
धनवंतालागीं । सर्वमान्यता आहे जगीं ॥१॥
माता पिता बंधु जन । सर्व मानिती वचन ॥ध्रु.॥
जव मोठा चाले धंदा । तंव बहिण म्हणे दादा ॥२॥
सदा शृंगारभूषणें । कांता लवे बहुमानें ॥३॥
तुका म्हणे धन । भाग्य अशाश्वत जाण ॥४॥
Literal translation
Dhanavantā-lāgī — for thedhanavanta(wealth-possessor); sarva-mānyatā āhe jagī — there issarva-mānyatā(universal-honor) in the world. Mātā pitā bandhu jana — mother, father, brother, people; sarva mānitī vachana — all honor (his)vachana(word, speech). Java mōṭhā chāle dhandā — as long as (the)dhandā(business) flourishes greatly; tamva bahiṇa mhaṇe dādā — until-then, (the)bahiṇa(sister) saysdādā(elder-brother, respectfully). Sadā śrngāra-bhūṣaṇe — always withśrngāra-bhūṣaṇa(decoration-and-ornaments); kāntā lave bahu-māne — thekāntā(wife) bows with greatmāna(honor). Tukā says: dhana — (O regarding)dhana; bhāgya aśāśvata jāṇa — know thatbhāgya(fortune) isaśāśvata(impermanent).
What it means
A 4-verse anti-wealth-fame critique verse. The verse-portrait is precise: the dhanavanta's respect tracks-his-business-flourishing.
Verse 1: Dhanavantā-lāgī — sarva-mānyatā āhe jagī — for the dhanavanta — universal-honor in the world. The opening observation.
Dhrūpada: Mātā pitā bandhu jana — sarva mānitī vachana — mother, father, brother, people — all honor (his) word. The respect-comes from family-and-non-family.
Verse 2: Java mōṭhā chāle dhandā — tamva bahiṇa mhaṇe dādā — while the business flourishes greatly — until-then the sister says dādā. The diagnostic: the sister's respectful-address-of-elder-brother is conditional on business flourishing. (The sister-as-conditional-respector — a sharp-cultural observation.)
Verse 3: Sadā śrngāra-bhūṣaṇe — kāntā lave bahu-māne — always with ornaments — wife bows with great honor. The wife's-respect is conditional-on continued ornament-buying.
Close: Tukā mhaṇe dhana — bhāgya aśāśvata jāṇa — dhana — know that fortune is aśāśvata (impermanent). The diagnostic-close: fortune is impermanent; therefore, all-this-respect is also impermanent.
The verse is a precise cultural-observation: in 17th-century Marathi society (as in many), the wealth-possessor receives respect from family-and-society; the respect tracks-the-wealth. Tukārām's warning: fortune is impermanent; build on something else.
For someone today
A useful critique of wealth-based respect. For the wealth-possessor — universal-honor in the world. Mother, father, brother, people — all honor his word. While the business flourishes — until-then, the sister says elder-brother (respectfully). Always with ornaments — wife bows with great honor. Know — fortune is impermanent. The verse names, with precise detail, how family respect tends to track wealth: the sister's honorific address, the wife's bowing, all conditional on the business continuing to flourish. The closing warning is that fortune itself is impermanent, so this respect will vanish along with the wealth. The discipline it teaches is not to build your sense of worth on wealth and the respect that comes with it, since both are impermanent.
मराठी: हा संपत्तीवर आधारित आदराबद्दलचा उपयुक्त टीका करणारा अभंग आहे. धनवंतासाठी — जगात सर्वमान्यता असते. माता, पिता, बंधू, लोक — सगळे त्याचे वचन मानतात. जोवर धंदा मोठा चालतो — तोवर बहीण त्याला आदराने दादा म्हणते. पत्नी नेहमी शृंगार-भूषणांसह मोठ्या मानाने वाकते. जाणून घे — भाग्य अशाश्वत आहे. हा अभंग अगदी नेमक्या तपशिलात सांगतो की कुटुंबातील आदर हा बहुधा संपत्तीबरोबरच वाढतो-कमी होतो : बहिणीचे आदरार्थी संबोधन, पत्नीचे वाकणे — हे सगळे धंदा चालू राहण्यावर अवलंबून असते. शेवटचा इशारा असा की भाग्य स्वतःच अशाश्वत आहे, त्यामुळे संपत्तीबरोबरच हा आदरही नाहीसा होईल. यातून मिळणारी शिकवण अशी की संपत्तीवर आणि त्यातून मिळणाऱ्या आदरावर स्वतःचे मोल उभारू नये, कारण दोन्ही अशाश्वत आहेत.
Where this applies
- When you notice people treating you differently after a raise or business success
- When you feel hurt that affection from others seems to rise and fall with your finances
- When you are building your sense of self-worth entirely on money or status
- When you want a reminder not to judge someone's true character by how the wealthy are treated