Adoration, the names of the Lord
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
पतितपावना । दिनानाथा नारायणा ॥1॥
तुझें रूप माझे मनीं । राहो नाम जपो वाणी ॥ध्रु.॥
ब्रह्मांडनायका । भक्तजनाच्या पाळका ॥2॥
जीवांचिया जीवा । तुका ह्मणे देवदेवा ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
O Purifier of the Fallen, O Lord of the lowly, O Narayana. Let your form remain in my mind. Let my tongue forever chant your Name. O Lord of the universe, O protector of your devotees. Says Tuka, O Jiva of all jivas, O God of gods.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
O Purifier of the Fallen, O Lord of the lowly, O Narayana. Let your form stay in my mind. Let my tongue chant your Name forever. O Lord of the universe, O protector of your devotees. O Jiva of all jivas, Tuka says, O God of gods.
What it means
This abhanga is almost entirely a litany of God's names, and the naming is itself the prayer. Tukaram piles up titles that describe what God does for the helpless: purifier of the fallen, lord of the lowly, protector of devotees. Between them sits the single request, that the form stay fixed in the mind and the Name never leave the tongue. By calling him the Jiva of all jivas and God of gods, Tukaram places this protector of the small at the very source of all life, so the one who stoops to the lowly is also the highest of all.
Devotion to Vitthal
Poems of praise, invocation, and intimate address to Lord Vitthal at Pandharpur.
More in this theme →