Abhanga 4237
Persistent wrongdoing without fear ripens into real suffering that isolates a person and darkens his family, and even accepting help from such a person can pull you down with him.
The verse
आचरे दोष न धरी धाक । परीपाक दुःखाचा ॥१॥
चांडाळ तो दुराचारी । अंगीकारी कोण त्या ॥ध्रु.॥
नव्हे संतान वोस घर । अंधकार कुळासी ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे त्याचें दान । घेतां पतन दुःखासी ॥३॥
Literal translation
Āchare dōṣa na dharī dhāka — performs dōṣa without fear; parīpāka duḥkhāñcā — parīpāka of duḥkha. Chāṇḍāḷa tō durāchārī — that durāchārī chāṇḍāḷa; amgīkārī kōṇa tyā — who accepts him. Navhe samtāna vōsa ghara — no offspring, empty house; amdhakāra kuḷāsī — andhakāra on kuḷa. Tukā mhaṇe tyāñce dāna — Tukā says: taking his dāna; ghetām patana duḥkhāsī — brings patana, duḥkha.
What it means
A 3-verse anti-durāchārī warning. Sin-without-fear ripens-into-duḥkha; durāchārī finds no acceptance; empty-house, andhakāra-on-kuḷa; taking-his-dāna brings-downfall.
For someone today
Tukārām's warning: don't-take-dāna from a-durāchārī — his-pātaka-attaches.
Where this applies
- When you are considering accepting money, favors, or gifts from someone of known bad character
- When you notice a person doing wrong repeatedly without any fear of consequences
- When you weigh how the company you keep might shape your own reputation and fate
- When you feel tempted to overlook someone's persistent bad conduct because of what they offer you