Abhanga 3739
True completeness means having every good quality fully, not just some, and only something genuinely whole deserves praise without any qualification.
The verse
सकलगुणें संपन्न । एक देवाचें लक्षण ॥१॥
वरकड कोठें कांहीं । एक आहे एक नाहीं ॥ध्रु.॥
षड्गुण ऐश्वर्य संपन्न । एक भगवंतीं जाण ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे जेंजें बोला । तेंतें साजे या विठ्ठला ॥३॥
Literal translation
Sakaḷaguṇe sampanna — endowed-with-all-qualities; eka devāñce lakṣaṇa — (this is) the sole mark of Deva. Varakaḍa kōṭhe kāmhī — (among) the others, somewhere; eka āhe eka nāhī — one is, one is not. Ṣaḍguṇa aiśvarya sampanna — ṣaḍ-guṇa-aiśvarya sampanna; eka Bhagavantīm jāṇa — (are) in the one Bhagavanta — know. Tukā mhaṇe jemjem bōlā — Tukā says: whatever is said; temtem sāje yā Viṭhṭhalā — that-that suits this Viṭhṭhala.
What it means
A short 3-verse Deva-alone-is-sakaḷa-guṇa-sampanna claim by Tukārām.
The argument: Endowed-with-all-qualities is-the-sole-mark of-Deva; others-have-some-but-not-all. The 6-guṇa-aiśvarya is in-the-one-Bhagavanta. Whatever-is-said suits-this-Viṭhṭhala.
The ṣaḍ-guṇa (six-divine-qualities — typically: jñāna, śakti, baḷa, aiśvarya, vīrya, tejas) are theologically-defined-as belonging-fully-only-to-Bhagavanta. Tukārām applies-this to-Viṭhṭhal.
The closing jemjem bōlā temtem sāje yā Viṭhṭhalā — whatever-is-said suits-Viṭṭhal — is striking: Viṭṭhal as the universal-subject of-all-praise.
For someone today
Tukārām's claim that only God is complete. Endowed with every quality — this is the sole mark of Deva. Among the others, somewhere — one quality is present, another is missing. The six-fold divine glory is found in the one Bhagavanta alone. Whatever is said in praise — it all fits this Viṭhṭhala. The verse permits the canonical bhakti claim: no matter what praise you offer, it truly fits Viṭhṭhala.
मराठी: देवच सर्वगुणसंपन्न असतो, हा तुकारामांचा दावा. सर्व गुणांनी संपन्न असणे — हेच देवाचे एकमेव लक्षण आहे. इतरांमध्ये कुठेतरी एखादा गुण असतो, तर एखादा नसतोच. सहा प्रकारचे ऐश्वर्य केवळ त्या एका भगवंतातच पूर्णपणे आढळते. जे जे काही स्तुतीत बोलले जाईल, ते ते सर्व या विठ्ठलाला शोभून दिसते. या ओवीत भक्तीचा हा ठाम दावा आहे — कोणतीही स्तुती केली तरी ती विठ्ठलाला अगदी साजेशीच ठरते.
Where this applies
- When you're evaluating someone's character and notice they're strong in some ways but genuinely lacking in others
- When you realize true excellence means being whole, not just impressive in one narrow area
- When you find yourself praising something and every word you use somehow still feels true and deserved
- When you're tempted to call someone perfect but honestly have to admit they still fall short somewhere