Abhanga 3855
Āpaṇā lāge kāma vāṇyā gharīm guḷa — if (I) need jaggery for work, (I go) to vāṇī's house; tyāñce yāti kuḷa kāya kīje — what (matter) his yāti-kuḷa.
The verse
आपणा लागे काम वाण्याघरीं गुळ । त्याचे याति कुळ काय कीजे ॥१॥
उकरड्यावरी वाढली तुळसी । टाकावी ते कैसी ठायागुणें ॥ध्रु.॥
गाईंचा जो भक्ष अमंगळ खाय । तीचें दूध काय सेवूं नये ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे काय सलपटासी काज । फणसांतील बीज काढुनि घ्यावें ॥३॥
Literal translation
Āpaṇā lāge kāma vāṇyā gharīm guḷa — if (I) need jaggery for work, (I go) to vāṇī's house; tyāñce yāti kuḷa kāya kīje — what (matter) his yāti-kuḷa. Ukaraḍyāvarī vāḍhalī tuḷasī — on dunghill grows tuḷasī; ṭākāvī te kaisī ṭhāyāguṇe — should it be discarded by place-quality. Gāīmñcā jō bhakṣa amangaḷa khāya — cow eats amangaḷa food; tīñce dūdha kāya sevūm naye — should we not drink its milk. Tukā mhaṇe kāya salapaṭāsī kāja — Tukā says: what use is the peel; phaṇasāmtīla bīja kāḍhuni ghyāve — take the seed from jackfruit (by removing peel).
What it means
★★ A canonical 3-image bhakti-democratization text. The 4 illustrations: jaggery-from-grocer (don't-ask-jāti); tuḷasī-on-dunghill (don't-judge-by-place); cow-eats-amangaḷa-but-milk-pure; jackfruit-bīja-from-the-peel.
For someone today
Tukārām's canonical democratization: take the-quality, not-the-source. Each-image-shows-something-good-coming-from-an-unlikely-place; the-wise-discriminate-by-essence.
Where this applies
- ★★ Canonical bhakti-democratization-by-quality
- 4 striking-images: jaggery-from-grocer, tuḷasī-on-dunghill, cow's-milk, jackfruit-bīja
- Companion to 2973 (inner-quality-over-outer-jāti)