Abhanga 3814
The verse
नामधारकासी नाहीं वर्णावर्ण । लोखंड प्रमाण नाना जात ॥१॥
शस्त्र अथवा गोळे भलता प्रकार । परिसीं संस्कार सकळ ही हेम ॥ध्रु.॥
प्रजन्य वर्षतां जीवना वाहावट । तें समसकट गंगे मिळे ॥२॥
सर्व तें हें जाय गंगा चि होऊन । तैसा वर्णावर्ण नाहीं नामीं ॥३॥
महांपुरीं जैसें जातसे उदक । मध्यें तें तारक नाव जैसी ॥४॥
तये नावेसंगें ब्राम्हण तरती । केवीं ते बुडती अनामिक ॥५॥
नाना काष्ठजात पडतां हुताशनीं । ते जात होउनी एकरूप ॥६॥
तेथें निवडेना घुरे कीं चंदन । तैसा वर्णावर्ण नामीं नाहीं ॥७॥
पूर्वानुवोळख तें चि पैं मरण । जरि पावे जीवन नामामृत ॥८॥
नामामृतें जालें मुळीचें स्मरण । सहज साधन तुका म्हणे ॥९॥
Literal translation
For-Nāma-bearer-no-varṇāvarṇa — iron-various-jāti — pāris-samskāra-all-become-hema. Rain-falls-jīvana-flows — mixes-into-Gangā-everything-becomes-Gangā — so-no-varṇāvarṇa-in-Name. Mahā-pūra-water-flows — tāraka-boat-in-middle — brāhmaṇa-crosses — how-can-anāmika-drown? Various-wood-into-fire — becomes-ēka-rūpa — no-ghura-chandana-distinction — so-no-varṇāvarṇa-in-Name. Pūrvānu-vōḷakha-itself-is-maraṇa when-Nāma-amrta-jīvana-arrives. By-Nāma-amrta — muḷīchē-smaraṇa — sahaja-sādhana — Tukā.
What it means
★★ THE canonical 9-verse anti-caste-by-Name doctrine. For the Name-bearer there is no varṇa-distinction; iron of many grades — weapons or bullets of any kind — by the touchstone-process all become gold. When rain falls, the water flows; all of it together mixes into the Gangā, becoming Gangā itself — just so, no varṇa-distinction in the Name. In the great flood, the rescuing-boat is in the middle; riding it, the brāhmaṇa crosses — how can the un-named (low one) drown? Various wood-types fallen into the fire-altar become one form — there one cannot pick out rotten-wood from sandalwood — so too, no varṇa-distinction in the Name. Previous identity itself is death once the Nāma-amrta is attained. By the Nāma-amrta the root-memory is recovered — this is the spontaneous-sādhana. Five separate analogies for non-distinction: (1) iron → gold by pāris, (2) rain → Gangā, (3) tāraka-boat in flood, (4) various wood → one fire, (5) Nāma-amrta dissolves pūrvānu-vōḷakha (past identity = death). The closing sahaja-sādhana makes this the foundational anti-caste warrant for Vārkarī Nāma-doctrine.
For someone today
Tukārām: for-the-Name-bearer there's-no-caste-distinction — like-iron-becoming-gold, like-rain-becoming-Gangā, like-wood-becoming-fire.
Where this applies
- ★★ Tukārām's THE canonical no-varṇāvarṇa-for-Nāma-bearer 9-verse doctrine
- Five-fold analogy: iron-gold / rain-Gangā / boat-flood / wood-fire / Nāma-amrta-death-of-past-identity
- Pair with 2973 (inner-quality-over-jāti), 3066 (Jñāneśvara-lineage)