The saints, God defends his own
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
हरिजनाची कोणां न घडावी निंदा । साहात गोविंदा नाहीं त्याचें ॥1॥
रूपा येऊनियां धरी अवतार । भक्तां अभयंकर खळां कष्ट ॥ध्रु.॥
दुर्वास हा छळों आला आंबॠषी । सुदर्शन त्यासी जािळत फिरे ॥2॥
द्रौपदीच्या क्षोभें कौरवांची शांति । होऊनि श्रीपति साहे केलें ॥3॥
न साहे चि बब्रु पांडवां पारिखा । धुडाविला सखा बिळभद्र ॥4॥
तुका ह्मणे अंगीं राखिली दुगपधि । अश्वत्थामा वधी पांडवपुत्रां ॥5॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Let no one slander the devotees of Hari, for Govinda does not tolerate it. He takes form and incarnates to grant fearlessness to his devotees and to bring ruin upon the wicked. Durvasa came to torment Ambarisha, but the Sudarshana disc chased him relentlessly. When Draupadi was humiliated, Shripati himself came forth and brought the Kauravas to grief. He could not bear even a small slight shown against the Pandavas, and cast aside his friend Balarama for his partiality. Says Tuka, he bore the stain upon his own body when Ashwatthama slew the sons of the Pandavas.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Let no one slander the people of Hari, for Govinda will not bear it. He takes form and comes down to earth, fearlessness to his devotees, ruin to the wicked. Durvasa came to torment Ambarisha, and the Sudarshana disc chased him without rest. When Draupadi was shamed, Shripati himself stepped in and brought the Kauravas to grief. He could not endure even a small unfairness against the Pandavas, and turned away his own friend Balarama for taking the wrong side. Tuka says: he took the stain on his own body when Ashwatthama killed the sons of the Pandavas.
What it means
Tukaram warns against scorning those who love God, because God himself stands behind them. He gathers familiar stories to make one point: the Lord takes form again and again to shield his devotees and to break the proud. The sage Durvasa learns this when the flaming disc hunts him across the worlds for tormenting the devotee Ambarisha; Draupadi learns it when Krishna answers her humiliation by ruining the house that shamed her. He even sets aside his own brother's favor when it falls on the wrong side, and he bears the grief of the slaughtered Pandava children as if it were a wound on his own body. The caution lands on us: to despise a devotee is to take a side God will not let stand.
The Saints
The character and service of true saints: softer than butter, harder than diamond.
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