Devotion, Vitthal the only wealth
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
आह्मां विष्णुदासां हें चि भांडवल । अवघा विठ्ठल धन वित्त ॥1॥
वाणी नाहीं घ्यावें आपुलिया हातें । करोनियां चित्तें समाधान ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे द्रव्य मेळविलें मागें । हें तों कोणासंगें आलें नाहीं ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
For us, the servants of Vishnu, Vitthal is our sole capital, our wealth and substance. We should not barter away what is ours; let the mind rest in contentment. Says Tuka, whatever riches were amassed in the past have not accompanied anyone in the end.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
For us, the servants of Vishnu, this is our whole capital: Vitthal alone is our wealth and our riches. Do not trade it away. Take it with your own hand and let the mind rest content. Tuka says: whatever riches were gathered before, none of it went with anyone in the end.
What it means
Tukaram names the only fortune a devotee truly owns. For the servants of Vishnu, Vitthal Himself is the whole stock of wealth, not a means to something else but the thing itself. He warns against bartering it away for lesser gains; instead one should take hold of it directly and let the mind settle into contentment with that alone. The closing line cuts against all worldly hoarding: every fortune ever amassed stays behind at death and accompanies no one, so the Name is the single wealth worth holding.
Devotion to Vitthal
Poems of praise, invocation, and intimate address to Lord Vitthal at Pandharpur.
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