Prayer, an offering to the river-mother
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
परिसें वो माते माझी विनवणी । मस्तक चरणीं ठेवीतसें ॥1॥
भागीरथी महादोष निवारणी । सकळां स्वामिणी तीर्थांचिये ॥ध्रु.॥
जीतां भुक्ति मोक्ष मरणें तुझ्या तिरीं । अहिक्यपरत्री सुखरूप ॥2॥
तुका विष्णुदास संतांचें पोसनें । वागपुष्प तेणें पाठविलें ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Hear my humble prayer, O Mother. I place my head at your feet. O Bhagirathi, remover of the greatest sins, queen of all sacred waters. In life you grant both worldly joy and liberation; dying upon your banks brings happiness here and hereafter. Tuka, servant of Vishnu, nourished by the saints, sends this offering of words as a garland of flowers.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Hear my prayer, O Mother. I lay my head at your feet. O Bhagirathi, you wash away the greatest sins; you are the queen of all holy waters. While I live you give both worldly joy and release; to die on your bank is happiness here and hereafter. Tuka, servant of Vishnu, fed by the saints, sends this; he sends a garland of words.
What it means
This is a prayer to the river Ganga, called Bhagirathi, offered as Tukaram's pilgrimage moved toward Varanasi. He bows his head at her feet and praises her as the destroyer of even the greatest sins and the queen among all sacred waters. He names what she gives: enjoyment and liberation to the living, and to those who die on her bank, peace in this world and the next. He has no flowers to lay before her, so he calls his own poem the offering, a garland made of words, sent by one who lives as a servant of Vishnu and is sustained by the company of saints.
Prayers
Direct appeals to God: for protection, guidance, strength, and mercy.
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