Abhanga 2916
Tukaram argues that just as one grain of salt transforms an ocean, he is the small but essential piece without which Narayana feels incomplete, so being cared for proves his worth.
The verse
काय लवण कळिकेविण । एके क्षीण सागरा ॥१॥
मां हे येवढी अडचण । नारायणीं मजविण ॥ध्रु.॥
कुबेरा अटाहासे जोडी । काय कवडी कारणें ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे काचमणि । कोण गणी भांडारी ॥३॥
Literal translation
Kāya lavaṇa kaḷike-viṇa — what (is)lavaṇa(salt) without thekaḷikā(grain, particle, spark)?; eke kṣīṇa sāgarā — by even one — thesāgara(ocean) iskṣīṇa(made-salty). Mām he yevhaḍī aḍchaṇa — my only difficulty (is) this much; Nārāyaṇī majaviṇa — that Nārāyaṇa (is) without me. Kuberā aṭāhāse jōḍī — Kubera(god of wealth), with great effort,jōḍī(joins, gathers); kāya kavaḍī kāraṇe — (does he do it) for the sake of (just) akavaḍī(cowrie-shell)? Tukā says: kācha-maṇi — (a)kācha-maṇi(glass-bead); kōṇa gaṇī bhāṇḍārī — who counts (it) in thebhāṇḍāra(treasury)?
What it means
A short striking I-am-the-essential-grain claim verse. Kāya lavaṇa kaḷike-viṇa — eke kṣīṇa sāgarā — what is salt without the spark — one transforms the ocean. The image: salt is made-of-grains; without-the-grains there is no-salt; and one-grain transforms the entire-ocean.
Mām he yevhaḍī aḍchaṇa — Nārāyaṇī majaviṇa — my only difficulty is this — Nārāyaṇa is without me. The radical self-claim: the only-problem in the universe is thatNārāyaṇais without-me (= the bhakta is missing from-Nārāyaṇa's-side). The implication: I-the-bhakta am like-the-grain-of-salt; without-me, Nārāyaṇa is-incomplete.
Kuberā aṭāhāse jōḍī — kāya kavaḍī kāraṇe — Kubera strives much — but for a cowrie? The reasoning-image: Kubera (rich god) wouldn't-strive for a-mere-cowrie. So if-Nārāyaṇa is striving-to-find-(or-keep)-me, I must-be valuable-not-cowrie-low.
The close: Tukā mhaṇe kācha-maṇi — kōṇa gaṇī bhāṇḍārī — glass-bead — who counts (it) in the treasury? The opposite-image: if I were a worthless glass-bead, no-one would-count-me in the treasury. (But Nārāyaṇa does-count-me; therefore I'm not worthless.)
The combined-claim: the bhakta is the essential-grain-without-which the-Lord-is-incomplete. This is a playful-radical-self-valuing — usually-Tukārām self-deprecates; here he claims essential-ness.
For someone today
Tukaram makes a bold claim about his own worth here: just as a single grain of salt can flavor an entire ocean, he insists he is the one small thing without which Narayana feels incomplete. He reasons that a wealthy god like Kubera would never strive hard just for a worthless cowrie shell, and a glass bead is never counted among treasures, so if the Lord bothers with him at all, he must matter. It is a striking reminder that in devotion, feeling small does not mean feeling worthless. Sometimes love itself is the proof of your value, even when you cannot see it yourself.
मराठी: तुकाराम इथे स्वतःच्या मोलाबद्दल एक धाडसी दावा करतात: जसा मिठाचा एक कण संपूर्ण समुद्राला खारट बनवतो, तसाच मी तो छोटासा घटक आहे ज्याच्याशिवाय नारायण अपुरा वाटतो. ते म्हणतात, कुबेरासारखा श्रीमंत देव एका कवडीसाठी एवढे कष्ट घेणार नाही, आणि काचेचा मणी कधी खजिन्यात मोजला जात नाही, म्हणून देव माझी दखल घेतो याचाच अर्थ मी मौल्यवान आहे. भक्तीत स्वतःला छोटे वाटणे म्हणजे स्वतःला कवडीमोल समजणे नव्हे, हे या अभंगातून शिकायला मिळते. कधी कधी प्रेमच तुमच्या मोलाचा पुरावा असतो, जरी ते तुम्हाला स्वतःला दिसत नसले तरी.
Where this applies
- When you feel too small or insignificant to matter to someone you love or admire
- When you doubt your own worth despite someone important continuing to care about you
- When you need a reminder that being noticed by someone valuable means you carry value too
- When you want to affirm your own place in a relationship instead of only staying humble and self-effacing