संत साहित्य · Tukārām · Abhanga 3958 of 4582

Abhanga 3958

Tukaram says you truly dwell wherever your longing is, and only words spoken from real longing carry real worth.

When your mind keeps returning to someone or something even while you are elsewhere.

When you notice something nearby feels distant because your heart is not really in it.

When you speak from genuine longing rather than empty habit and notice the difference in weight.

The verse

ज्याची जया आस । तयाजवळी त्या वास ॥१॥ येर जवळी तें दुरी । धेनु वत्स सांडी घरीं ॥ध्रु.॥ गोडी प्रियापाशीं । सुख उपजे येरासी ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे बोल । घडे तयाठायीं मोल ॥३॥

Literal translation

Jyāchī jayā āsa — tayājavaḷī tyā vāsa — whoever's longing is for whom — there is that one's dwelling. Yera javaḷī tem duri — dhenu vatsa sāṇḍī gharīm — the rest near (is) far; the cow abandons house for calf. Gōḍī priyāpāśīm — sukha upajē yerāsī — sweetness near the beloved; joy arises for that-one. Tukā mhaṇe bola — ghaḍe tayāṭhāyīm mōla — Tukā says: the word's worth happens at that place.

What it means

A 3-verse love-locates-presence text. Where-the-longing-is — there-the-dwelling-is; even-near-without-longing is-far; cow-runs-home-to-calf; sweetness-only-near-the-beloved; the-word-gets-its-worth at-that-place-of-longing.

For someone today

Tukaram observes that wherever your longing goes, that is where you actually live, no matter how physically close something else might be. He uses the image of a cow who leaves the comfort of her shed and runs toward her calf, showing that real sweetness and joy only arise near what you truly love. He closes by saying that even words only carry weight when they are spoken from that place of genuine longing.

मराठी: तुकाराम सांगतात की तुमची ओढ जिथे असते, तिथेच तुम्ही खरोखर राहता, मग शारीरिकदृष्ट्या कितीही जवळ काही असो. गाय आपल्या गोठ्याचा आरामसुद्धा सोडून वासराकडे धावत जाते, या प्रतिमेतून ते दाखवतात की खरा गोडवा आणि आनंद फक्त तिथेच निर्माण होतो जिथे खरे प्रेम असते. शेवटी ते म्हणतात की शब्दालाही खरे वजन तेव्हाच येते जेव्हा तो अस्सल ओढीतून बोलला जातो.

Where this applies

When you notice your mind keeps drifting toward someone or something even though you are physically elsewhere
When you are trying to understand why nearby things feel distant and far things feel close, based on where your heart actually is
When you want to locate what you truly love by paying attention to what you long for, not just what is convenient
When your words feel hollow because they are not coming from real longing or care