Prayer, hold me with no gap
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
कां गा धर्म केला । असोन सत्तेचा आपुला ॥1॥
उभाउभीं पाय जोडीं । आतां फांकों नेदीं घडी ॥ध्रु.॥
नको सोडूं ठाव । आतां घेऊं नेदीं वाव ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे इच्छा । तैसा करीन सरिसा ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
O God, why did You ordain dharma as law over me, when Your own authority was already total? I stand here, face to face, hands joined. Do not let me be parted from You even for a moment. Do not abandon this place; do not give me a gap, not even the room to stray. Says Tuka, whatever Your wish, I will act in exact measure with it.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
O God, why did you set dharma as a law over me, when your own power was already complete? I stand here, face to face, hands joined. Do not let me be parted from you for even a moment. Do not leave this place. Do not give me even the room to stray. Tuka says: whatever you wish, I will do, in exact measure with it.
What it means
Tukaram half-protests and half-pleads: if God's authority over him is already total, why lay down dharma as a separate rule he must keep? Standing with joined hands, he asks not for guidance but for nearness so close that no moment and no gap is left for him to wander. He wants God to occupy the very space where straying could happen, so that drifting becomes impossible. His surrender is complete in the final line, where he hands over his own will entirely, promising to act exactly in step with God's wish.
Prayers
Direct appeals to God: for protection, guidance, strength, and mercy.
More in this theme →