Abhanga 3450
Nothing in existence is inherently more pure or impure than anything else, the difference lies only in the openness of the one receiving it.
The verse
शुद्धाशुद्ध निवडे कैसें । चर्म मास भिन्न नाहीं ॥१॥
कांहीं अधिक नाहीं उणें । कवण्या गुणें देवासी ॥ध्रु.॥
उदक भिन्न असे काईं । वाहाळ बावी सरिता नईं ॥२॥
सूर्य तेजें निवडी काय । रश्मी रसा सकळा खाय ॥३॥
वर्णां भिन्न दुधा नाहीं । सकळा गाई सारखें ॥४॥
करितां भिन्न नाहीं माती । मडक्या गति भिन्न नांवें ॥५॥
वर्त्ते एकविध अग्नि । नाहीं मनीं शुद्धाशुद्ध ॥६॥
तुका म्हणे पात्र चाड । किंवा विसें अमृत गोड ॥७॥
Literal translation
Śuddhāśuddha nivaḍe kaise — how is pure-impure distinguished; charma māsa bhinna nāhī — skin-flesh not-different. Kāmhī adhika nāhī uṇe — nothing more, nothing less; kavaṇyā guṇe Devāsī — by which guṇa, of Deva. Udaka bhinna ase kāīm — is water different; vāhāḷa bāvī saritā naīm — stream, well, river, lake. Sūrya teje nivaḍī kāya — does sun's teja discriminate; raśmī rasā sakaḷā khāya — the ray eats all rasa. Varṇām bhinna dudhā nāhī — no varṇa-difference in milk; sakaḷā gāī sārakhe — all cows alike. Karitām bhinna nāhī mātī — no bhinna in clay; maḍakyā gati bhinna nāve — only different-gati-name in pot. Vartte ekavidha agni — fire acts ekavidha; nāhī manī śuddhāśuddha — no pure-impure in mana. Tukā mhaṇe pātra chāḍa — Tukā says: pātra needs chāḍa; kimvā vise amrta gōḍa — or poison-amrta equally sweet.
What it means
A canonical 7-verse non-dual-purity text using 6 unity-of-essence images: skin-flesh / water-in-streams / sun-tej / milk-from-cows / clay-in-pots / fire. Closing: the pātra (vessel/eagerness) makes the distinction — without-eagerness, poison-and-amrta are equally-sweet (indistinguishable).
For someone today
Tukārām's non-dual-purity: essence-doesn't-discriminate; only-the-vessel does.
Where this applies
- Canonical non-dual-purity text (6 images)
- Anti-ritual-purity foundational
- Companion to 3113 (sōmvaḷe-sāche), 3112 (bhūmi-all-pure)