The final hour, taken to Vaikuntha
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
आह्मी जातों तुह्मी कृपा असों द्यावी । सकळा सांगावी विनंती माझी ॥1॥
वाडवेळ जाला उभा पांडुरंग । वैकुंठा श्रीरंग बोलावितो ॥2॥
अंतकाळीं विठो आह्मांसी पावला । कुडीसहित जाला गुप्त तुका ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
I am going now; may your grace remain with all. Please convey my humble request to everyone. It is the hour of departure; Panduranga stands waiting. Shrirang calls from Vaikuntha. Says Tuka, at the final hour Vitthal came for us; Tuka, body and all, became invisible.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
I am going now. May your grace stay with all. Please carry my request to everyone. The time has come; Panduranga stands waiting. Shrirang is calling from Vaikuntha. Tuka says: at the last hour Vitthal came for us. Tuka, body and all, became hidden.
What it means
This is Tukaram's leave-taking at the end of his life. He sends a parting blessing and asks that his request be carried to all his fellow devotees. The summons has come: Panduranga is standing ready, and Shrirang, the Lord, is calling him home to Vaikuntha. The poem makes the central claim plainly: at the final hour Vitthal himself came for him, and Tuka vanished with his body and all, leaving nothing behind to bury or mourn.
Autobiography
Tukaram's own account of his life, struggles, awakening, and mission.
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