Abhanga 3385
Words can be treasure, weapon, life itself, and worship all at once, so how you use them reveals what you truly value.
The verse
आम्हां घरीं धन शब्दाचीं रत्नें । शब्दाचीं शस्त्रें यत्न करूं ॥१॥
शब्द चि आमुच्या जीवाचें जीवन । शब्दें वांटूं धन जनलोकां ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे पाहा शब्द चि हा देव । शब्दें चि गौरव पूजा करूं ॥३॥
Literal translation
Āmhām gharīm dhana śabdāñchīm ratne — śabdāñchīm śastre yatna karūm — in our house wealth (is) gems-of-words — with the weapons-of-words we make effort. Śabda-chi āmuchyā jīvāche jīvana — śabde vāmṭūm dhana jana-lokām — words alone are our jīva's jīvana — with words we distribute wealth to the people. Tukā mhaṇe pāhā śabda-chi hā Deva — śabde-chi gaurava pūjā karūm — Tukā says: see — words themselves are this Deva — with words we offer honor and pūjā.
What it means
THE Tukārām canonical self-declaration of poetic-vocation. Words are: (1) ratne — gems = wealth; (2) śastre — weapons = effort/defense; (3) jīvana of jīva — life itself; (4) means-of-distribution; and finally (5) Deva himself — the object of honor and pūjā. Five identifications of śabda in three verses — the famous śabda-chi-deva declaration. Anchor for understanding Tukārām's authorial-self-consciousness.
For someone today
For one who lives by words, words must be: wealth (give them generously), weapons (defend the true with them), life itself, redistribution to others, and the divine itself. Sloppy speech betrays all five.
Where this applies
- When you realize the words you speak carelessly could be the thing you should be treating as most precious
- When you use writing or speech as your way of giving something real to others
- When you find yourself defending truth or fighting for something using only your words
- When you notice that what you say out loud reveals what you actually worship or value most