Pilgrimage, the road to Pandhari
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
धरितां ये पंढरीची वाट । नाहीं संकट मुक्तीचें ॥1॥
वंदूं येती देव पदें । त्या आनंदें उत्साहें ॥ध्रु.॥
नृत्यछंदें उडती रज । जे सहज चालतां ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे गरुड टके । वैष्णव निके संभ्रम ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
When you set foot on the path to Pandhari, the difficulty of liberation vanishes. The gods themselves come to bow at those feet with joy and celebration. As pilgrims walk, the dust rises like a spontaneous dance. Says Tuka, the Garuda-banner gleams, and the Vaishnavas move forward in beautiful procession.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Once you set foot on the road to Pandhari, the hardship of liberation is gone. The gods themselves come to bow at those feet, with joy and eagerness. As the pilgrims walk, the dust rises like a dance of its own. Tuka says: the Garuda-banner shines, and the Vaishnavas move on in their beautiful crowd.
What it means
Tukaram makes the pilgrimage road itself the easy door to liberation; what is hard by other means becomes effortless once you simply start walking toward Pandhari. He raises the stakes by saying the gods come down to bow at the pilgrims' path, sharing their joy. The dust kicked up by the walking feet becomes a spontaneous dance, the whole road celebrating. The closing image is the moving procession of the Vaishnavas under the Garuda-banner, a picture meant to draw the listener onto the same road.
Devotion to Vitthal
Poems of praise, invocation, and intimate address to Lord Vitthal at Pandharpur.
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