संत साहित्य · Tukārām · Abhanga 3211 of 4582

Abhanga 3211

Once food is cooked, adding more heat is pointless, it only wastes fuel and effort. Tukaram uses this to say that beyond a certain point, more effort doesn't help, it just exhausts you. Know when a task is truly finished, guard what matters most, and act at the right time rather than overworking things that are already done.

When you keep polishing or redoing work that was already complete.

When you're worn out from pushing effort into something that no longer needs it.

When you have to decide whether now is the right time to act or to hold back.

The verse

शिजल्यावरी जाळ । वांयां जायाचें तें मूळ ॥१॥ ऐसा वारावा तो श्रम । अतिशयीं नाहीं काम ॥ध्रु.॥ सांभाळावें वर्म । उचिताच्या काळें धर्म ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे कळे । ऐसें कारणाचे वेळे ॥३॥

Literal translation

Heat-after-cooking is-vāyām. Avoid-excess-śrama; no-work-in-excess. Protect-varma; dharma-at-right-time. Tukā: known-at-the-time-of-cause.

What it means

A short 3-verse moderation-image. The heat-applied-after-cooking is-wasted; over-effort harms; do-things-at-the-right-time.

For someone today

मराठी: अन्न शिजल्यावर आणखी विस्तव घालणं व्यर्थ असतं, तो नुसता वाया जातो. तुकाराम म्हणतात, ठराविक मर्यादेनंतर आणखी कष्ट करणं उपयोगी नसतं, ते फक्त शक्ती वाया घालवतं. काम खरंच पूर्ण झालं आहे हे ओळखा, महत्त्वाचं ते जपा, आणि योग्य वेळीच कृती करा, आधीच झालेल्या गोष्टींवर अति मेहनत करू नका.

Where this applies

When you keep reworking something that was already finished and good
When you're exhausted from overdoing effort on a task that needed only a little
When you're deciding whether to push harder or let something rest
When you sense you're wasting energy trying to perfect what's already complete