Abhanga 4321
Tukaram uses Ravana's fall to warn that trusting wealth and power as permanent is self-deception, since it can all vanish in an instant.
The verse
कवणदिस येइल कैसा । न कळे संपत्तीचा भरंवसा ॥१॥
चौदा चौकडिया लंकापति । त्याची कोण जाली गती ॥ध्रु.॥
लंकेसारिखें भुवन । त्याचें त्यासी पारखें जाण ॥२॥
तेहतीस कोटि बांदवडी । राज्य जातां न लगे घडी ॥३॥
ऐसे अहंतेनें नाडिले । तुका म्हणे वांयां गेले ॥४॥
Literal translation
Kavaṇa-disa yeil kaisā — which day will come, how; na kaḷe sampattīñcā bharamvasā — bharosā of sampattī not known. Chaudā chaukaḍiyā Lankā-pati — 14-chaukaḍī Lankā-pati; tyāñcī kōṇa jālī gatī — what was his gati. Lanke-sārikhe bhuvana — Lankā-like bhuvana; tyāñce tyāsī pārakhe jāṇa — (became) pārakhe to him. Tehatīsa kōṭi bāmdavaḍī — 33-crore captives; rājya jātām na lage ghaḍī — rājya gone in less than ghaḍī. Aise ahamtene nāḍile — such fooled by ahamtā; Tukā mhaṇe vāmyām gele — Tukā says: went in vain.
What it means
A 4-verse impermanence-meditation using Rāvaṇa-Lankā as example. Companion to 3075 (Lankā-wealth-empty-hand).
For someone today
Tukaram warns that you never know what day will bring, and that trusting in wealth as something solid and dependable is a mistake. He points to Ravana, the mighty lord of Lanka, who ruled over vast ages and possessions, and asks plainly what became of him in the end. A kingdom as grand as Lanka, with thirty-three crore attendants and captives under his command, slipped away from him in less time than it takes to blink. Tukaram's conclusion is direct: people who let pride and self-importance convince them that their power will last are fooling themselves, and it all comes to nothing in the end.
मराठी: तुकाराम महाराज इशारा देतात की उद्या काय येईल हे कोणालाच माहीत नाही, आणि संपत्तीवर स्थिर आणि विश्वासार्ह म्हणून भरवसा ठेवणे ही चूक आहे. ते रावणाचे उदाहरण देतात, लंकेचा तो प्रबळ राजा, ज्याने प्रचंड काळावर आणि संपत्तीवर राज्य केले, आणि विचारतात की शेवटी त्याचे काय झाले. लंकेसारखे भव्य राज्य, तेहतीस कोटी सेवक आणि बंदिवान असूनही, डोळ्याचे पाते लवण्याइतक्या वेळात त्याच्या हातातून निसटून गेले. तुकारामांचा निष्कर्ष स्पष्ट आहे, ज्यांना अहंकार आणि गर्व असे वाटायला लावतो की त्यांची सत्ता कायम टिकेल, ते स्वतःलाच फसवत असतात, आणि शेवटी सर्व काही व्यर्थ ठरते.
Where this applies
- Rāvaṇa-wealth-impermanence canonical — companion to 3075
- Fooled-by-ahamtā, went-in-vain