Abhanga 2909
Accepting God's Name is like accepting a king's coin - it protects you in dangerous times and cools even poison, while refusing it, as Ravana did, invites ruin.
The verse
कंठ नामसिका । आतां कळिकाळासी धका ॥१॥
रोखा माना कीं सिका माना । रोखा सिका तत्समाना ॥ध्रु.॥
रोखा न मना सिका न मना । जतन करा नाककाना ॥२॥
सिका न मनी रावण । त्याचें केलें निसंतान ॥३॥
सिका मानी हळाहळ । जालें सर्वांगीं शीतळ ॥४॥
तुका म्हणे नाम सिका । पटीं बैसलों निजसुखा ॥५॥
Literal translation
Kaṇṭha Nāma-sikā — theNāma(is) asikkā(seal, stamp, current-coin) in the throat; ātām kaḷi-kāḷāsī dhakā — now there is adhakā(push, blow) tokaḷi-kāḷa(Kali-time). Rōkhā mānā kī sikā mānā — acceptrōkhā(cash, direct-payment) or acceptsikkā(stamped-coin); rōkhā sikā tat-samānā — rōkhāandsikkāaretat-samāna(the same). Rōkhā na manā sikā na manā — (if)rōkhānot accepted,sikkānot accepted; jatana karā nāka-kānā — carefully-preserve (your) nose and ears (else they'll be cut off). Sikā na manī Rāvaṇa — Rāvaṇa didn't accept thesikkā; tyāñce kele nisamtāna — his (line) was madenisamtāna(without-progeny, ended). Sikā mānī haḷāhaḷa — thehāḷāhaḷa(poison, when Śiva drank-it) accepted thesikkā; jāle sarvāngī śītaḷa — (it) becameśītaḷa(cool, peaceful) all over (the body). Tukā says: Nāma-sikā — the Name-sikkā; paṭī baisalōm nija-sukhā — I have sat (down) in thepaṭa(royal-seat) ofnija-sukha.
What it means
A striking 5-verse Name-as-sikkā image-verse. The central-image: Nāma is a sikkā — a seal-stamp-coin — that authorizes-and-protects-the-bearer. Two technical-economic-words are used: rōkhā (cash, direct-payment) and sikkā (stamped-coin, official-currency).
Verse 1: Kaṇṭha Nāma-sikā — ātām kaḷi-kāḷāsī dhakā — Name-sikkā in throat — kaḷi-kāḷa pushed away. Having-the-Name-in-the-throat is like-having-a-sealed-coin-of-the-king — Kali-time is pushed-away.
Dhrūpada: Rōkhā mānā kī sikā mānā — rōkhā sikā tat-samānā — accept cash or coin — they are the same. (Both forms of Name-recognition work.)
Verse 2 (warning): Rōkhā na manā sikā na manā — jatana karā nāka-kānā — don't accept rōkhā or sikkā — preserve your nose and ears. The threat: if you don't accept the king's-coin (= the Name), your nose-and-ears will be cut-off (the canonical-Mughal-era punishment for-refusing-the-king's-authority).
Verse 3 (Rāvaṇa reference): Sikā na manī Rāvaṇa — tyāñce kele nisamtāna — Rāvaṇa didn't accept the sikkā — his line was ended. Reference: Rāvaṇa didn't acknowledge Rāma's-authority (didn't-accept-the-Name) — his entire-clan was ended in the Rāmāyaṇa.
Verse 4 (Hāḷāhaḷa reference): Sikā mānī haḷāhaḷa — jāle sarvāngī śītaḷa — the Hāḷāhaḷa-poison accepted the sikkā — (it) became cool all over. Reference: when Śiva drank the Hāḷāhaḷa (the world-destroying poison from the cosmic-churning), it was cooled by being-bound-by-the-Name-of-Viṣṇu (or, by-Viṣṇu's grace; or, by Śiva's drinking-it as Nīlakaṇṭha. The image suggests: poison-accepted-the-Name and-became-cool).
Close: Tukā mhaṇe nāma sikā — paṭī baisalōm nija-sukhā — the Name-sikkā — I have sat in the seat of nija-sukha. The bhakta's-claim: having the Name-coin, I have ascended the throne of own-essential-joy.
The rōkhā-sikkā economic-metaphor is rare and striking — it places Nāma in the Mughal-era currency-and-authority framework: the Lord is the King; the Name is His coin; carrying it gives you safe-passage and royal-status.
For someone today
A canonical image of the Name as a king's coin. Name (is) sikkā in throat — Kali-time pushed away. Accept rōkhā or sikkā — they are the same. Don't accept either — preserve your nose and ears. Rāvaṇa didn't accept — his line ended. Hāḷāhaḷa accepted — became cool all over. The Name-sikkā — I have sat in the seat of own-essential-joy. The verse offers a complete theology of the Name as currency: the Name is the King's own coin, and carrying it in your throat gives you safe passage; refusing it brings ruin, as it did for Rāvaṇa; accepting it transforms even poison into something cool and peaceful, as with the Hāḷāhaḷa; and Tukārām, holding this coin, has taken his seat on the throne of his own deepest joy.
मराठी: हा नाम हे राजाचे नाणे आहे असे सांगणारा प्रसिद्ध रूपकात्मक अभंग आहे. नाम कंठात सिक्का आहे — आता कलिकाळाला धक्का बसला. रोखा माना किंवा सिक्का माना — दोन्ही सारखेच आहेत. दोन्हीही न मानाल तर — नाक-कान जपून ठेवा. रावणाने सिक्का मानला नाही — त्याचे वंश निर्वंश झाले. हलाहलाने सिक्का मानला — ते सर्वांगाने शीतळ झाले. नाम-सिक्का — मी स्वतःच्या निजसुखाच्या पाटावर बसलो. हा अभंग नामाला नाणे मानणारा एक संपूर्ण सिद्धांत मांडतो : नाम हे राजाचेच नाणे आहे, आणि ते कंठात बाळगल्याने सुरक्षित मार्ग मिळतो; ते नाकारल्यास रावणासारखा विनाश होतो; ते स्वीकारल्यास हलाहलासारखे विषही शीतल, शांत होते; आणि हे नाणे बाळगून तुकाराम स्वतःच्या अंतरंगातील निजसुखाच्या सिंहासनावर बसले आहेत.
Where this applies
- The canonical Name-as-sikkā (seal/coin) image
- Recognizing the Rāvaṇa-didn't-accept-sikkā and Hāḷāhaḷa-accepted-became-cool references
- Sat-on-paṭa-of-nija-sukha — the bhakta's seat-of-joy
- Pairs with 2855 (Hari-mhaṇatām Name-mahima), 2864 (clap-hands kīrtana)
- 17th-c. Mughal-era currency-authority framework applied to Nāma