Abhanga 3214
Craving itself, not its object, is what exhausts you, so carry devotion to God instead of carrying endless want.
The verse
कार्य चि कारण । तृष्णा पावविते सीण ॥१॥
काय करुनि ऐसा संग । सोसें चि तूं पांडुरंग ॥ध्रु.॥
रूपीं नाहीं गोडी । हांवें हांवें ऊर फोडी ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे पडे भारी । ऐशा वरदळाचे थोरी ॥३॥
Literal translation
Kārya is-kāraṇa; trṣṇā gives-sīṇa. What-sanga? bear-Pāṇḍuranga. No-gōḍī-in-rūpa; hāve breaks-chest. Tukā: heavy-falls of-surface-greatness.
What it means
A 3-verse text on-the-yoke-of-craving. Bear-the-Lord-himself rather-than-the-yoke-of-craving.
For someone today
Tukārām says craving itself is what wears you out, not the object you're chasing. Running after status, appearance, or approval never actually satisfies you; it just leaves your chest heaving with more wanting. Instead of carrying that endless weight, carry Viṭṭhal, carry your bhakti. It is the lighter load, because it doesn't demand you keep performing for a payoff that never comes.
मराठी: तुकाराम म्हणतात की तुम्हाला थकवते ती वस्तू नाही, तर आतली तृष्णाच आहे. प्रतिष्ठा, रूप किंवा मान्यतेच्या मागे धावल्याने कधीच समाधान मिळत नाही, उलट ऊर फुटेपर्यंत हाव वाढतच राहते. या अंतहीन ओझ्याऐवजी पांडुरंगाला, आपल्या भक्तीला उराशी बाळगा. तेच खरे हलके ओझे आहे, कारण त्यात कधीही न मिळणाऱ्या बक्षिसासाठी सतत झगडावे लागत नाही.
Where this applies
- Tukārām's trṣṇā-fatigues; bear-Pāṇḍuranga-instead claim