Abhanga 2973
True worth, like musk's fragrance or a blade's temper, comes from inner quality and not outward appearance or caste, so anyone who holds the divine Name on their lips is blessed.
The verse
कस्तूरीचें रूप अति हीनवर । माजी असे सार मोल तया ॥१॥
आणीक ही तैसीं चंदनाचीं झाडें । परिमळें वाढे मोल तयां ॥ध्रु.॥
काय रूपें असे परीस चांगला । धातु केली मोला वाढ तेणें ॥२॥
फिरंगी आटितां नये बारा रुके । गुणें मोलें विकें सहस्रवरी ॥३॥
तुका म्हणे नाहीं जातीसवें काम । ज्याचे मुखीं नाम तो चि धन्य ॥४॥
Literal translation
Kastūrīñce rūpa atī hīnavara — therūpa(form) ofkastūrī(musk) is veryhīnavara(low-grade in appearance); māji ase sāra mōla tayā — but inside (it) is thesāra-mōla(essential-value). Āṇīka hī taisīm chandanāñcīm jhāḍe — likewise also thechandana(sandal) trees; parimaḷe vāḍhe mōla tayām — byparimaḷa(fragrance), theirmōla(value) grows. Kāya rūpe ase pārisa chāngalā — what (beautiful)rūpadoespārisa(philosopher's-stone) have?; dhātu kelī mōlā vāḍha teṇe — (yet) it grows themōlaofdhātu(metals). Firangī āṭitām nye bārā ruke — whenfirangī(fine-steel-blade) isāṭitām(melted), (it brings) not (even) 12ruke(small-coins); guṇe mōle vike sahasra-varī — but by (its)guṇa, it sells for asahasra(thousand)-fold. Tukā says: nāhī jātīsave kāma — there is no business withjāti; jyāñce mukhī nāma tō chi dhanya — (he) in whose mouth is the Name, that one alone isdhanya(blessed).
What it means
A striking 5-verse inner-quality-over-outer-jāti image-verse. The four-fold-image-set demonstrates that outer-appearance is irrelevant; inner-quality is decisive. Then the conclusion: no-jāti-matters; only-Nāma-in-mouth.
Four-fold-images: 1. Kastūrī (musk) — low-grade in appearance (musk-bag is a small-ugly-thing); but the sāra (essence) inside has-the-real-value 2. Chandana (sandalwood) — the tree is just-a-tree; the fragrance makes-it-valuable 3. Pāris (philosopher's-stone) — no-beautiful-form; but turns-metals-to-gold (grows their mōla) 4. Firangī (fine-steel-blade) — if-melted-down, only-12-small-coins; but as-a-finished-quality-blade, sells-for-thousands
Conclusion: no business with jāti — only Nāma-in-mouth makes-one dhanya. The radical-bhakti-democratization-claim: as outer-form-is-irrelevant-for-musk-and-sandal-and-pāris-and-blade, so jāti-is-irrelevant-for-the-bhakta — only-Nāma matters.
Note: this is the positive bhakti-democratization claim that pairs-with-and-tempers the 2971 caste-pejorative-rhetoric. Tukārām's-actual-position on caste is no-jāti-matters; only-Nāma.
For someone today
This is one of the clearest images in the corpus of inner quality mattering over outer appearance. The musk itself looks very plain and low-grade, but its true value lies inside it. In the same way, a sandalwood tree is just a tree — it's the fragrance that makes it precious. What beautiful shape does the philosopher's stone have? None — yet it turns ordinary metal into gold. If you melt down a fine steel blade, it's worth barely twelve small coins, but as a finished blade its quality lets it sell for a thousand times more. There is no business with caste here — whoever holds the Name in their mouth, that person alone is truly blessed. Four images — musk, sandalwood, the philosopher's stone, and the steel blade — all show the same thing: something can look low or plain on the outside and still be precious within. The point lands squarely on caste: outward appearance means nothing, and only the Name on your lips determines your worth.
मराठी: हा अभंग बाह्य रूपापेक्षा आंतरिक गुणवत्तेला महत्त्व देणाऱ्या सर्वात ठळक प्रतिमांपैकी एक आहे. कस्तुरी दिसायला अगदी सामान्य आणि हलक्या दर्जाची वाटते, पण तिचे खरे मोल आतच असते. त्याचप्रमाणे चंदनाचे झाड हे नुसते एक झाड असते — त्याच्या सुगंधामुळेच त्याला मोल येते. परीसाला तरी कुठले सुंदर रूप असते? तरीही तो धातूला सोने बनवतो. फिरंगी तलवार वितळवली तर बारा रुक्यांचीही किंमत मिळणार नाही, पण तयार तलवार म्हणून तिच्या गुणामुळे ती हजारपटीने विकली जाते. इथे जातीचा काही संबंध नाही — ज्याच्या मुखात नाम आहे, तोच खरा धन्य आहे. कस्तुरी, चंदन, परीस आणि तलवार — या चार प्रतिमा एकच सांगतात — बाहेरून काही साधे किंवा हलके दिसले तरी आतून ते मौल्यवान असू शकते. आणि याचा रोख थेट जातीवर आहे — बाह्य रूपाला काही अर्थ नाही, फक्त मुखातील नामच माणसाचे मोल ठरवते.
Where this applies
- When you judge someone, or yourself, by appearance, background, or social status rather than character.
- When you feel your humble origins make you less worthy of respect or a spiritual life.
- When you want a clear image to remember that true worth is measured by inner quality, not outward packaging.
- When you are deciding who truly belongs in a community built on faith.