Devotion, the inherited claim
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
हे माझी मिराशी । ठाव तुझ्या पायांपाशीं ॥1॥
याचा धरीन अभिमान । करीन आपुलें जतन ॥ध्रु.॥
देऊनियां जीव। बळी साधिला हा ठाव ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे देवा । जुन्हाट हे माझी सेवा ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
This is my inheritance: a place at your feet. I will guard this claim with pride and protect it with my life. I gave my very life to secure this spot. Says Tuka, O God, this service of yours is my ancient, rightful possession.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
This is my inheritance: a place at your feet. I will hold this claim with pride and guard it as my own. I gave my very life and so won this place. Tuka says: O God, this service of yours is my old, rightful possession.
What it means
Tukaram speaks of devotion not as a favor begged but as a right he already holds. He calls the place at God's feet his inheritance, something passed down and his by birthright, and he means to defend it the way a man defends ancestral land. The price was not money but his own life, given over to secure the spot. By calling the service ancient, he claims a bond older than this lifetime. The whole tone is possessive in the best sense: he will not let anything dislodge him from the one place that is truly his.
Devotion to Vitthal
Poems of praise, invocation, and intimate address to Lord Vitthal at Pandharpur.
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