संत साहित्य
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संत साहित्य · Tukārām · Abhanga 4353 of 4582

Abhanga 4353

Bhakti is an inexhaustible treasure that has already fed the greatest sages and still remains just as full for everyone else.

When you fear that devotion or grace is scarce and might run out before it reaches you
When you feel unworthy compared to great saints who came before you
When you want reassurance that giving your love and practice to others will not leave you with less

The verse

जुनाट हें धन अंत नाहीं पार । खात आले फार सरलें नाहीं ॥१॥ नारद हा मुनि शुक सनकादिक । उरलें आमुप तुम्हां आम्हां ॥ध्रु.॥ येथूनियां धना खाती बहु जन । वाल गुंज उणें जालें नाहीं ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे धना अंत नाहीं पार । कुंटित चार वाचा तेथें ॥३॥

Literal translation

Junāṭa-dhana-no-anta-pāra — eaten-much-not-exhausted. Nārada-Śuka-Sanaka — much-left-for-us. From-here-jana-eat — no-vāla-gumja-decrease. Tukā: dhana-no-anta — vāchā-kumṭita.

What it means

A 3-verse inexhaustible-treasure text. This is an ancient treasure — no end, no shore — eaten by many but never exhausted. Nārada the sage, Śuka, Sanaka and the rest — yet much remains for you and us. Many people eat from here — but it hasn't decreased by even a small weight. Tukā says: the treasure has no end — speech is stunned and halted there. The bhakti-as-inexhaustible-dhana doctrine: even after the highest-precedents (Nārada, Śuka, Sanaka) have feasted, the inheritance remains-undiminished for all-of-us. Pair with 2629 (santa-udāra-canonical-bhajan ananta-bhāṇḍāra).

For someone today

Tukaram describes bhakti as an ancient treasure that has no bottom and no edge. Great sages like Narada, Shuka, and Sanaka have already feasted on it deeply, and yet just as much is still left over for you and me. Countless people have drawn from this wealth over time, and it has not shrunk by even the tiniest weight. Tukaram says the scale of this treasure is so vast that words simply fail and fall silent before it, so you never need to worry that devotion runs out or that there is not enough of it for you.

मराठी: तुकाराम भक्तीचं वर्णन एका पुरातन खजिन्यासारखं करतात, ज्याला तळ नाही आणि किनाराही नाही. नारद, शुक, सनक यांसारख्या महान ऋषींनी त्यातून भरपूर घेतलं आहे, तरीही तुमच्यासाठी आणि माझ्यासाठी तितकंच शिल्लक आहे. अनेक लोकांनी काळाच्या ओघात या संपत्तीतून घेतलं आहे, तरी ती जराही कमी झालेली नाही. तुकाराम म्हणतात, या खजिन्याची व्याप्ती इतकी अफाट आहे की शब्दच थांबून जातात, त्यामुळे भक्ती संपेल किंवा तुमच्यासाठी कमी पडेल अशी काळजी करण्याची गरज नाही.

Where this applies

Related verses