The Name, a ship of free treasure
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
तारूं लागलें बंदरीं । चंद्रभागेचिये तिरीं ॥1॥
लुटा लुटा संतजन । अमुप हें रासी धन ॥ध्रु.॥
जाला हरिनामाचा तारा। सीड लागलें फरारा ॥2॥
तुका जवळी हमाल । भार चालवी विठ्ठल ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
The ship has docked at the harbor on the bank of the Chandrabhaga. Loot it, O saints, loot it! This treasure is immeasurable wealth. The star of Hari's Name has risen, and the sail is set and billowing. Says Tuka, I am the porter standing by. It is Vitthala who carries the load.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
The ship has docked at the harbor, on the bank of the Chandrabhaga. Loot it, O saints, loot it! This treasure is measureless wealth. The star of Hari's Name has risen, and the sail is set and billowing. Tuka says: I am the porter standing by. It is Vitthal who carries the load.
What it means
Tukaram turns the riverbank at Pandhari into a docked treasure-ship and calls the saints to plunder it freely, because the wealth of the Name is without limit and there is no reason to hoard or ration it. The risen star and the full sail say the conditions are perfect; the moment to take is now. In the last line he refuses any credit for himself: he is only the porter standing by the cargo, while Vitthal is the one who actually carries the weight. The point is that grace, not the devotee's strength, does the real lifting.
Worldly Metaphors
Poems using images from games, occupations, and daily life as spiritual teaching.
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