Abhanga 3900
Because a human life is rare and precious and is spent either way, Tukaram urges us to treat devotion like savings for the future and not waste a single word without the Name.
The verse
मोलाचें आयुष्य वेचुनियां जाय । पूर्वपुण्यें होय लाभ याचा ॥१॥
अनंतजन्मींचे शेवट पाहतां । नर देह हातां आला तुझ्या ॥ध्रु.॥
कराल ते जोडी येईंल कार्यासी । ध्यावें विठ्ठलासी सुखालागीं ॥२॥
सांचलिया धन होईंल ठेवणें । तैसा नारायण जोडी करा ॥३॥
करा हरिभक्ती परलोकीं ये कामा । सोडवील यमापासोनियां ॥४॥
तुका म्हणे करा आयुष्याचें मोल । नका वेचूं बोल नामेंविण ॥५॥
Literal translation
Mōlāchē-āyuṣya-passes — pūrva-puṇya-gives-lābha. End-of-ananta-janmas — nara-deha-came-to-your-hand. Jōḍī-comes-to-use — meditate-Viṭṭhal-for-sukha. Sānchaliyā-dhana-becomes-ṭhēvaṇē — earn-Nārāyaṇa-like-that. Hari-bhakti — useful-in-paraloka — releases-from-Yama. Tukā: make-mōla-of-āyuṣya — don't-spend-word-without-Name.
What it means
THE canonical 5-verse precious-life text. The valuable-life passes, being spent; its gain comes by past-puṇya. Looking at the end of countless births — this human-body has come into your hand. The earning you do will come to use — meditate on Viṭṭhal for joy. As accumulated wealth becomes a savings, so earn Nārāyaṇa. Do Hari-bhakti — it will be useful in the other-world; it will release you from Yama. Make the value of your life — don't spend a single word without the Name. The structural argument: (a) life is precious — (b) human-birth is rare — (c) treat bhakti as savings — (d) it's the only thing useful in death — (e) so don't spend a word without it. Foundational mortality + precious-life Vārkarī text. Pair with 2797 (Kāḷa-grāsāvayā-mortality-warning), 2884 (māpārī-mortality), 3823 (langōṭi-gōvarī mortality).
For someone today
Tukaram reminds us that a lifetime is precious and is spent whether we notice or not, and that being born as a human at all, after countless other births, is a rare stroke of fortune. Whatever you build with this life will actually matter later, so he says to meditate on Vitthal for real joy, treating devotion the way you would treat savings you set aside for the future. Doing this kind of devotion is what actually helps you at the end, freeing you from the fear of death. His closing challenge is direct: make your life worth something, and don't waste even a single word without turning it toward the Name.
मराठी: तुकाराम आठवण करून देतात की हे मौल्यवान आयुष्य आपण लक्षात घेतो किंवा नाही तरी खर्च होतच असते, आणि अनंत जन्मांनंतर हा मनुष्यदेह मिळणे हे खरोखर दुर्मिळ भाग्य आहे. या आयुष्यात जे कमवाल तेच पुढे उपयोगी पडेल, म्हणून खऱ्या सुखासाठी विठ्ठलाचे ध्यान करा, आणि भक्तीला भविष्यासाठी साठवलेल्या धनासारखे जपा असे ते सांगतात. अशी हरिभक्तीच शेवटच्या क्षणी खरी उपयोगी पडते आणि मृत्यूच्या भीतीतून सोडवते. त्यांचे शेवटचे आवाहन स्पष्ट आहे, आपल्या आयुष्याला अर्थ द्या, आणि नामाशिवाय एकही शब्द वाया घालवू नका.
Where this applies
- When you realize time is slipping by and you haven't yet used it for anything that truly matters
- When you feel grateful simply for having been born as a human being with the chance to grow
- When you're deciding whether to spend your energy on fleeting things or on something that lasts
- When you catch yourself talking or worrying without ever turning your mind back to what really matters