Abhanga 2945
You can laugh at your own outer poverty while trusting that genuine devotion gives you an inner strength that even death itself has reason to respect.
The verse
आम्ही भाग्याचे भाग्याचे । आम्हां तांबे भोपळ्याचे॥१॥
लोकां घरीं गाईं म्हैसी । आम्हां घरीं उंदीरघुसी ॥ध्रु.॥
लोकां घरीं हत्ती घोडे । आम्हां आधोडीचे जोडे ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे आम्ही सुडके । आम्हां देखोन काळ धाके ॥३॥
Literal translation
Āmhī bhāgyāñce bhāgyāñce — we (are) ofbhāgya— of-great-fortune (doubled); āmhām tāmbe bhōpaḷyāñce — ourtāmbe(copper-vessel) (is)bhōpaḷyāñce(of-gourd-made). Lōkām gharī gāī mhaisī — in people's houses, cows and buffaloes; āmhām gharī undīra-ghusī — in our house, mice (and) rats. Lōkām gharī hattī ghōḍe — in people's houses, elephants and horses; āmhām ādhōḍīche jōḍe — for us,ādhōḍīche jōḍe(rope-sandals, ragged-footwear). Tukā says: āmhī suḍake — we (are)suḍake(rag-clad, in-tatters); āmhām dekhōn kāḷa dhāke — seeing us,Kāḷa(Time, Death) is afraid.
What it means
A striking 4-verse self-ironic biographical-Tukārām simple-life verse. Companion to 2944 — together they form the Tukārām simple-life biographical cluster.
The verse uses deliberate-irony: claiming we-are-of-great-fortune while-listing-poverty-items. The irony-twist is that Tukārām claims-this-poverty is actually-the-great-fortune.
Verse 1: Āmhī bhāgyāñce bhāgyāñce — āmhām tāmbe bhōpaḷyāñce — we are of great-fortune (doubled emphatic) — our copper-vessel is of-gourd. The opening-irony: we have great-good-fortune; (and) our copper-vessel is a gourd (= we don't have real-copper, just-a-gourd).
Dhrūpada: Lōkām gharī gāī mhaisī — āmhām gharī undīra-ghusī — in people's-houses cows-buffaloes — in our-house mice-rats. The contrast: people have cattle; we have-mice-rats. (Cf. 2944 undīra-kuḷa-vāḍī.)
Verse 2: Lōkām gharī hattī ghōḍe — āmhām ādhōḍīche jōḍe — people's-houses elephants-horses — for-us rope-sandals. The contrast: people have great-mounts; we have rope-sandals. (Ādhōḍīche jōḍe — the jōḍa of ādhōḍa = rough-rope or-bark-rope.)
Close (the radical-claim): Tukā mhaṇe āmhī suḍake — āmhām dekhōn kāḷa dhāke — we are rag-clad — (but) seeing us, Kāḷa (Death/Time) is afraid. The radical-twist: despite our outer-poverty, Kāḷa-fears-us. (Compare 2855 Hari-mhaṇatām → kāḷa-yama-becomes-śaraṇa.) The bhakta's outer-poverty + inner-bhakti = Kāḷa-afraid.
This is one of THE most-self-ironic-yet-radical-claim verses in the Tukārām corpus. The self-irony establishes-rapport with-the-audience (acknowledging the poverty) while the closing-claim asserts bhakti-supremacy-over-Kāḷa. (Pairs with 2944's biographical-simple-life + 2855's Kāḷa-yama-śaraṇa.)
For someone today
With gentle self-mockery, Tukaram calls himself truly fortunate — even though his "copper vessel" is just a hollow gourd. While others keep cows and buffaloes in their homes, his house is home to mice and rats; while others ride elephants and horses, he wears nothing but rough rope sandals. He is dressed in rags, he admits with a smile — and yet, he says, even Death itself takes fright at the sight of him. The joke carries a serious point: real fortune isn't in what you own, and genuine devotion gives an inner strength that outlasts every outward lack.
मराठी: तुकाराम गमतीने स्वतःला खरोखर भाग्यवान म्हणतात — जरी त्यांचे 'तांब्याचे भांडे' प्रत्यक्षात एक पोकळ भोपळाच असले तरी. इतरांच्या घरी गाई-म्हशी असतात, तर त्यांच्या घरी उंदीर-घुशी वावरतात; इतर हत्ती-घोड्यांवर बसतात, तर तुकाराम फक्त जाडसर दोरीच्या वहाणा घालतात. ते हसतमुखाने कबूल करतात की आपण चिंध्यांमध्ये आहोत — तरीही, ते म्हणतात, आपल्याला पाहून काळालाही भीती वाटते. या विनोदामागे गंभीर अर्थ आहे: खरे भाग्य मालकीत नसते, आणि खरी भक्ती अशी आंतरिक शक्ती देते जी सर्व बाह्य उणिवांपेक्षा टिकाऊ असते.
Where this applies
- When you feel self-conscious comparing your modest life to others who seem to have more
- When you want to laugh at your own circumstances instead of feeling ashamed of them
- When you need reassurance that inner strength doesn't come from what you own