संत साहित्य · Tukārām · Abhanga 4053 of 4582

Abhanga 4053

Words without real substance behind them are empty husk with no flavor, while genuine substance always carries its own true sweetness.

When someone promises results without having done the work to earn them.

When you are about to trust a claim that sounds good but has no real substance behind it.

When you need to judge something by its actual quality rather than by confident talk about it.

The verse

नाहीं पाक होत उफराटे चाली । बोलिली ते केली व्हावी नीत ॥१॥ नाहीं मानूं येत वांजटाचे बोल । कोरडे च फोल चवी नाहीं ॥ध्रु.॥ तरुवरा आधीं कोठें आहे फळ । चावटा बरळ म्हणा त्यासी ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे किती ठकलीं बापुडीं । गव्हा आहे गोडी मांडे पुर्‍या ॥३॥

Literal translation

No cooking by reverse-walking; what's said should become true. Don't trust fake-one's words — dry-husk no flavor. Before-tree-where-the-fruit? — call him jibbering-fool. Tukā: how many helpless fooled — wheat has the goḍī of māṇḍe-pūri.

What it means

A 3-verse anti-fake-talk polemic. Compare 3118 (rāja-hamsa-separates-milk-water; anubhava-not-dantakathā). Real-substance has-real-flavor; the dry-husk of-fake-words has-none.

For someone today

Don't trust dry-husk talk — real wheat carries the sweet-cake flavor.

Where this applies

Tukārām's anti-fake-words; real-substance polemic
Companion to 3118 (anubhava-vs-pāṭha)

no-cooking-by-reverse-walking words-must-become-true tree-before-fruit-impossible