Abhanga 3190
A fall or sacrifice only has value if your bond is true, so do not live small, and draw freely on the limitless treasury of the Name.
The verse
पाडावी ते बरी । गांठी धुरेसवें खरी ॥१॥
नये मरों लंडीपणें । काय बापुडें तें जिणें ॥ध्रु.॥
लुटावें भांडार । तरी जया नाहीं पार ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे नांवें । कीर्ती आगळीनें ज्यावें ॥३॥
Literal translation
Pāḍāvī tē barī — gāṇṭhī dhurēsavēm kharī — the pāḍa is good — (if) the gāṇṭhī is true with the dhurā. Nayē marōm laṇḍī-paṇē — kāya bāpuḍem tem jiṇēm — do not die in laṇḍī-paṇa — what (is) that pitiful life. Luṭāvem bhāṇḍāra — tarī jayā nāhīm pāra — loot the treasury — (the one) which has no pāra. Tukā mhaṇe nāmvēm — kīrtī āgaḷīnēm jyāvē — Tukā says: by Name — live with kīrti foremost.
What it means
A 4-verse heroism-text using Maratha warrior-vocabulary: gāṇṭhī-dhurā = the loyalty-knot between a soldier and his commander; laṇḍī-paṇa = the cowardice that flees; bhāṇḍāra-lūṭa = looting the enemy's treasury. Tukārām re-codes all three for bhakti: die only if your knot to Deva is true; the only treasury worth looting is the limitless Name-treasury; live so that kīrti — the bhakti-renown — goes ahead of you.
For someone today
If you must risk life or fortune, do it only in a true cause. Don't die small. The only inexhaustible treasure is freely available — loot it. Live so that your name (in the bhakti-sense, your reputation for being Deva-marked) walks ahead of you.
Where this applies
- When you are deciding whether a risk or sacrifice is worth taking and want to check if your commitment is genuine
- When you feel tempted to hold back out of fear and settle for a small, timid life
- When you hesitate to fully draw on something freely available to you, like prayer or the practice of the Name
- When you want your daily actions to build a reputation that reflects real devotion rather than empty appearance