Abhanga 3115
Tukaram teaches that the only wealth worth growing is one that never decreases no matter how freely it's given, which he names as Vitthal's name.
The verse
पिकवावें धन । ज्याची आस करी जन ॥१॥
पुरोनि उरे खातां देतां । नव्हे खंडन मवितां ॥ध्रु.॥
खोलीं पडे ओली बीज । तरीं च हाता लागे निज ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे धणी । विठ्ठल अक्षरें या तिन्ही ॥३॥
Literal translation
Pikavāve dhana — grow such dhana; jyāñcī āsa karī jana — which people desire. Purōnī ure khātām detām — eating and giving, (it) exceeds in-fullness; navhe khaṇḍana mavitām — no khaṇḍana on measuring. Khōlīm paḍe ōlī bīja — the bīja falls in deep-(wet) (soil); tarī cha hātā lāge nija — only-then nija comes to hand. Tukā mhaṇe dhaṇī — Tukā says: the dhaṇī; Viṭhṭhala akṣare yā tinhī — Viṭhṭhala — three letters of this.
What it means
A short 3-verse Viṭhṭhal-3-letters-wealth text by Tukārām.
The image: Grow-such-dhana that-jana-desires; even-giving-and-eating exceeds-pūra; doesn't-decrease-on-measuring. The seed-image: bīja-in-deep-wet-soil → only-then nija-comes-to-hand. The closing: the-real-dhaṇī is the-three-letters of-Viṭhṭhala.
The Viṭhṭhala-3-akṣara (VI-Ṭ-ṬHA-LA — counting the three syllables) is the canonical Vārkarī claim — Name-as-wealth that-doesn't-decrease-with-spending.
For someone today
Tukārām's teaching on the wealth of Viṭhṭhal's three letters. Grow the kind of wealth that everyone longs for. Even when you eat from it and give it away, it only grows fuller; it never diminishes when measured. The seed must fall deep into moist soil — only then does the real thing come into your hand. Tukā says: the true master is these three letters — Viṭhṭhala. The verse allows the classic claim that the Name is wealth that never runs out.
मराठी: तुकारामांची ही विठ्ठलाच्या तीन अक्षरांच्या धनाची शिकवण आहे. असे धन पिकवा, ज्याची सर्व लोक आस करतात. खाऊनही, देऊनही ते उरतेच; मोजले तरी ते कमी होत नाही. बीज खोल ओलसर मातीत पडले तरच खरे फळ हाती लागते. तुका म्हणतो: खरा धनी म्हणजे विठ्ठल या तीन अक्षरांचा. हा अभंग नाम हे कधीही न संपणारे धन आहे या पारंपरिक दाव्याला मान्यता देतो.
Where this applies
- When you're chasing wealth or success that keeps running out no matter how much you accumulate
- When you're wondering if generosity depletes you, and want to trust that some things multiply by being shared
- When you're impatient for spiritual practice to show results and need to remember that depth takes time, like a seed planted deep
- When you want a simple, repeatable practice, like naming God, that doesn't require resources or status to begin