Nature of God, he runs to save his own
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
आपुलिया लाजा । धांवे भक्तांचिया काजा ॥1॥
नाम धरिलें दिनानाथ । सत्य करावया व्रत ॥ध्रु.॥
आघात निवारी। छाया पीतांबरें करी ॥2॥
उभा कर कटीं । तुका ह्मणे याजसाटीं ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
For the sake of his own honor, he runs to serve the needs of his devotees. He bears the name Dinanath, Lord of the humble, to fulfill that vow. He wards off every blow and makes shade for his own with his pitambara. Says Tuka, he stands with hands upon his waist for precisely this reason.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
For the sake of his own honor, he runs to serve the needs of his devotees. He took the name Dinanath, Lord of the humble, and he keeps that vow as true. He wards off every blow and makes shade for his own with his pitambara. Tuka says: he stands with his hands upon his waist for exactly this reason.
What it means
Tukaram reads Vitthal's saving acts as binding obligations God has placed on himself. Because he accepted the title Dinanath, Lord of the humble, his own honor is at stake, and so he runs to his devotees' aid to keep that vow true. The protection is concrete: he blocks the blows aimed at them and shelters them under his yellow garment. Even the familiar pose of Vitthal standing with hands on his hips, Tukaram says, is held for this single purpose, the readiness to defend his own.
The Nature of God
Explorations of God's character, power, grace, and relationship to the world.
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