Abhanga 3102
A gift or promise that runs out isn't real generosity, and a mother who abandons her crying child while it still needs her forfeits the name of a great mother.
The verse
सरे ऐसें ज्याचें दान । त्याचे कोण उपकार ॥१॥
नको वाढूं ऐसें काचें । दे वो साच विठ्ठला ॥ध्रु.॥
रडत मागें सांडी पोर । ते काय थोर माउली ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे कीर्ति वाढे । धर्म गाढे ते ऐसे ॥३॥
Literal translation
Sare aise jyāñce dāna — (a dāna) which gets-exhausted; tyāñce kōṇa upakāra — what upakāra is in such. Nakō vāḍhūm aise kāche — don't grow such kāche; de vō sāch Viṭhṭhalā — give (me) sāch, Viṭhṭhalā. Raḍata māge sāṇḍī pōra — (a mother who) leaves the crying-pora behind; te kāya thōra māulī — what thōra māulī is she. Tukā mhaṇe kīrti vāḍhe — Tukā says: kīrti grows; dharma gāḍhe te aise — when dharma is gāḍhe.
What it means
A short 3-verse petition-with-mother-shaming by Tukārām.
The petition: Don't-give-exhaustible-dāna; give-real-(sāch); don't-grow-kāche-(fragile). The shaming-image: a-mother-who-leaves-a-crying-baby-behind — what-thōra-māulī is-she? The bhakta-applies-the-image-to-the-Lord: if-you-abandon-this-bhakta crying-with-need, you-cease-to-be-a-thōra-māulī.
Closing-claim: kīrti grows when-dharma is-strong — your-fame requires firm-dharma-(of-māulī).
For someone today
Tukārām's petition that shames the mother-figure into responding. A gift that runs dry — what real help is that? Don't let such fragile things grow between us; give me what is real, Viṭhṭhalā. A mother who leaves her crying child behind — what kind of great mother is she? Fame grows only when dharma stands firm. The verse allows this bhakti claim of gentle shaming: the Lord, as a mother, must live up to her duty.
मराठी: तुकारामांची ही मातेला लज्जित करणारी विनवणी आहे. जे दान संपून जाते, त्यात काय उपकार आहे? असले क्षणभंगुर देऊ नकोस; मला खरे दे, विठ्ठला. रडणाऱ्या मुलाला मागे सोडून जाणारी माता कसली मोठी माउली? धर्म घट्ट असेल तरच कीर्ती वाढते. हा अभंग हा सौम्य लज्जास्पद दावा मान्य करतो: माउलीरूपी भगवंतानेही आपले कर्तव्य पार पाडलेच पाहिजे.
Where this applies
- When someone offers you help that quietly runs dry right when you need it most
- When you promise support to someone and are tempted to walk away before they're steady
- When a leader or caregiver's reputation rests on actually showing up for people in distress
- When you're praying and it feels like your cries are going unanswered