Abhanga 3170
Real character does not flip under pressure or barter. When struck, it goes deeper (not breaks). When confronted with heat, it cools rather than scorches. Look for that jāti-baḷa — in yourself and in those you trust.
The verse
न पालटे जाती जीवाचिये साटीं । बाहे तें चि पोटीं दावी वरी ॥१॥
अंतरीं सबाहीं सारिखा चि रंग । वीट आणि भंग नाहीं रसा ॥ध्रु.॥
घणाचिया घायें पोटीं शिरे हिरा । सांडूं नेणे धीरा आपुलिया ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे कढे करावी शीतळ । ऐसें जातिबळ चंदनाचें ॥३॥
Literal translation
Na pālaṭē jātī jīvāchiyē sāṭīm — the jāti (nature) of the jīva does not change in exchange; bāhē te chi pōṭīm dāvī varī — what is outside, that very (thing) shows from within above. Antarīm sabāhīm sārikhā chi ranga — inside and outside, the colour is exactly the same; vīṭa āṇi bhanga nāhīm rasā — no revulsion and no break in the rasa. Ghaṇāchiyā ghāyē pōṭīm śire hīrā — under the hammer-blow the diamond enters its core; sāṇḍūm nēṇē dhīrā āpuliyā — (it) does-not-know to abandon its own dhīra. Tukā mhaṇe kaḍhē karāvī śītaḷa — Tukā says: (it) makes the heat cool; aisē jāti-baḷa chandanāchem — such is the jāti-baḷa of chandana.
What it means
A 4-verse character-doctrine using three images: the jīva's jāti that does not bend in any trade, the diamond that under a hammer-blow drives deeper rather than splitting, and sandalwood whose innate cooling-fragrance transforms even heat. Inner ranga and outer ranga are the same; there is no bhanga (crack) in the rasa.
For someone today
Real character does not flip under pressure or barter. When struck, it goes deeper (not breaks). When confronted with heat, it cools rather than scorches. Look for that jāti-baḷa — in yourself and in those you trust.
Where this applies
- Tukārām's diamond-and-sandalwood; jāti-baḷa canonical character-metaphor
- Companion to 2973 (inner-quality-over-outer-jāti)