Abhanga 3814
Whoever sincerely holds the Name of God has no caste distinction left, just as iron becomes gold, rainwater becomes the Ganga, and every kind of wood becomes one flame.
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
Tukaram gives one of his boldest teachings here: whoever carries the Name of God has no caste distinction left, whatever their birth. He offers a string of vivid images to make the point unmistakable. Iron of every grade, whether weapon or lump, all becomes the same gold when touched by the alchemist's stone. Rainwater from every direction becomes simply the Ganga once it joins the river, with no separate identity left. In a great flood, everyone riding the rescue boat crosses safely together, regardless of who they were before boarding. Every kind of wood, once it goes into a sacred fire, becomes one indistinguishable flame — no one can pick out rotten wood from fine sandalwood anymore. In the same way, he says, once someone truly holds the Name of God, their old identity effectively dies, and what's recovered instead is the deepest, most original memory of the soul, arriving not through struggle but naturally, simply through devotion.
मराठी: तुकाराम इथे त्यांची सर्वात धाडसी शिकवण देतात: जो कोणी देवाचे नाम धारण करतो, त्याला जन्माने कोणतीही जात उरत नाही. हा मुद्दा स्पष्ट करण्यासाठी ते अनेक ठळक प्रतिमा देतात. कोणत्याही दर्जाचे लोखंड, मग ते शस्त्र असो वा नुसता गोळा, परिसाच्या स्पर्शाने तेच सोने बनते. कोणत्याही दिशेने पडलेले पावसाचे पाणी गंगेत मिसळल्यावर केवळ गंगाच बनते, त्याची वेगळी ओळख उरत नाही. मोठ्या पुरात, तारक नावेत बसलेले सगळे लोक, आधी कोणीही असोत, एकत्रच सुरक्षित पार होतात. कोणत्याही प्रकारचे लाकूड यज्ञाच्या अग्नीत टाकले की एकसारखीच ज्वाला बनते — त्यातून कुजके लाकूड आणि उत्तम चंदन वेगळे ओळखता येत नाही. त्याचप्रमाणे, ते म्हणतात, जो खरोखर देवाचे नाम धारण करतो, त्याची जुनी ओळख जणू संपते, आणि त्याऐवजी आत्म्याची सर्वात मूळ, खोल स्मृती परत मिळते — ती संघर्षाने नव्हे, तर सहज, भक्तीतूनच मिळते.
Where this applies
- When you judge someone or are judged by birth, background, or social status rather than character
- When you doubt whether devotion is truly open to everyone regardless of who they are
- When you see people from very different backgrounds united by a shared sincere practice
- When you want to let go of an old identity built on status and find something more essential underneath