Vision of arrival, Hari comes
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
पैल आले हरि । शंख चक्र शोभे करीं ॥1॥
गरुड येतो फडत्कारें । ना भी ना भी ह्मणे त्वरे ॥ध्रु.॥
मुगुटकुंडलांच्या दीिप्त । तेजें लोपला गभिस्त ॥2॥
मेघश्यामवर्ण हरि । मूतिन डोळस साजिरी ॥3॥
चुतर्भुज वैजयंती । गळां माळ हे रुळती ॥4॥
पीतांबर झळके कैसा । उजळल्या दाही दिशा ॥5॥
तुका जालासे संतुष्ट । घरा आलें वैकुंठपीठ ॥6॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Look, Hari approaches. The conch and disc shine in his hands. Garuda comes with a great rush of wings, calling out, 'Fear not, fear not,' in haste. The blazing light of his crown and earrings eclipses the sun. Dark as a raincloud is Hari, his form beautiful and pleasing. Four-armed, the Vaijayanti garland swings upon his chest. His yellow silk gleams so bright that all ten directions are lit. Says Tuka, he is utterly fulfilled; the throne of Vaikuntha has come home.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Look, Hari is coming. The conch and the disc shine in his hands. Garuda comes rushing on beating wings, calling out in haste, fear not, fear not. The blaze of his crown and earrings puts out the sun. Dark as a raincloud is Hari, his form beautiful, his eyes lovely. Four arms, and the Vaijayanti garland swinging on his chest. His yellow silk gleams so bright that all ten directions are lit. Tuka says: he is fully content. The throne of Vaikuntha has come home.
What it means
Tukaram describes the moment of God coming for him as a great arrival, seen as a living vision. Hari rides in on Garuda, conch and disc in hand, his crown and earrings outshining the sun, his cloud-dark body in yellow silk lighting all directions. The repeated cry, fear not, fear not, names the one thing the dying soul most needs to hear. By saying that Vaikuntha, the Lord's own heaven, has come home to him, Tukaram reverses the usual picture: he does not climb to God; God brings heaven down to his door.
Autobiography
Tukaram's own account of his life, struggles, awakening, and mission.
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