The nature of God, mad for His devotees
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
पाहा रे हें दैवत कैसें । भक्तिपिसें भाविक ॥1॥
पाचारिल्या सरिसें पावे । ऐसें सेवे बराडी ॥ध्रु.॥
शुल्क काष्ठीं गुरुगुरी । लाज हरि न धरी ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे अर्धनारी । ऐसीं धरी रूपडीं ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
See what this deity is like: He is mad with love for His devotees. The moment you call, He comes running, just like that, as if drawn by a loud cry. He rumbles along with a rough wooden beam, carrying loads. Hari bears no shame in this. Says Tuka, He even assumes the form of Ardhanarishvara, taking on such forms as these.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
See what kind of God this is: he is mad with love for those who love him. The moment you call, he comes, just like that, as if he were a servant answering a shout. He will groan under a load on a rough wooden beam. Hari feels no shame in this. Tuka says: he even takes the form of half-woman, half-man. He puts on such forms as these.
What it means
Tukaram is marvelling at a God whose greatness shows itself as lowliness toward those who love him. This deity is not distant or proud; he is besotted with his devotees and comes the instant he is called, behaving like a hired servant rather than a sovereign. He will stoop to carry burdens like a laborer, and Hari counts no such humility as beneath him. The reference to Ardhanarishvara, the half-woman half-man form, shows that he freely takes on any shape, refusing to be fixed in a single dignified image. The wonder of the poem is that divine power expresses itself as willing servitude to love.
The Nature of God
Explorations of God's character, power, grace, and relationship to the world.
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