Prayer, the beggar at the door
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
ठाकलोंसें द्वारीं । उभें याचक भीकारी ॥1॥
मज भीक कांहीं देवा । प्रेमभातुकें पाठवा ॥ध्रु.॥
याचकाचा भार । नये घेऊं येरझार ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे दान । सेवा घेतल्यावांचून ॥3॥
सदाशिवावर अभंग ॥ 2 ॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
I stand at your door, a beggar and a supplicant. Give me alms, O God: send me the gift of love. A beggar should not be made to come and go in vain. Says Tuka, no gift is complete unless service has first been received.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
I have come and stand at your door, a beggar, a supplicant. Give me some alms, O God: send me the gift of love. A beggar should not be made to go back and forth in vain. Tuka says: no gift is complete unless service has first been received.
What it means
Tukaram stands at God's door in the posture of a beggar, and the only alms he asks for is love itself, premabhatuka. He pleads not to be sent away empty and made to come and go for nothing, the way a beggar dreads a fruitless trip. The closing line carries the deeper request: a true gift is not complete unless the giver first accepts the receiver's service, so Tukaram is asking not only to be given love but to be taken into God's service. This abhanga is addressed to Sadashiva, Shiva as the ever-gracious one.
Prayers
Direct appeals to God: for protection, guidance, strength, and mercy.
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