Krishna, the children fed and joyful
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
धालें मग पोट । केला गड्यांनी बोभाट ॥१॥
ये रे ये रे नारायणा । बोलों अबोलण्या खुणा ॥ध्रु.॥
खांद्यावरी भार । तीं शिणती बहु फार ॥२॥
तुकयाच्या दातारें । नेलीं सुखी केलीं पोरें ॥३॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Their bellies are full, and now the friends raise a joyful clamor. Come, come, O Narayana, let us speak in signs beyond all words. They carry burdens on their shoulders and have grown weary beyond measure. Tuka's generous Lord has taken the children and filled them with joy.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Their bellies are full now, and the friends raise a joyful clamor. Come, come, O Narayana; let us speak in signs, without words. They carry burdens on their shoulders, and they are worn out, very worn out. Tuka says: Tuka's generous Lord has taken the children and made them glad.
What it means
The cowherd children have eaten their fill and break into happy noise, calling Narayana to join them in a wordless language of signs, the intimacy that needs no speech. There is a tender notice of their tiredness, the burdens on their small shoulders, the weariness of the day. The last line resolves it all: Tuka's open-handed Lord gathers up the worn-out children and fills them with joy. As an inner reading, those who give themselves to God, however small and tired, are taken up and made glad by his generosity, which asks no words, only nearness.
Krishna Leela
Poems celebrating Krishna's birth, childhood, and divine play.
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