Joy at the avatar, sins carried away
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
कृष्ण गोकुळीं जन्मला । दुष्टां चळकांप सुटला ॥१॥
होतां कृष्णाचा अवतार । आनंद करिती घरोघर ॥ध्रु.॥
प्रेम नाम वाचें गाती । सदा आनंदें नाचती ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे हरती दोष । आनंदानें करिती घोष ॥३॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Krishna was born in Gokul, and a trembling terror seized the wicked. With the advent of Krishna, joy arose in every household. They sing His blessed name with love and dance in constant bliss. Says Tuka, their sins are carried away as they celebrate with joyful cries.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Krishna was born in Gokul, and the wicked were seized with trembling fear. When Krishna came down as the avatar, joy rose in house after house. They sing his name of love with their mouths; they dance in endless bliss. Tuka says: their sins are carried away as they cry out in joy.
What it means
Tukaram sets two responses side by side at the birth of Krishna: terror in the wicked, joy in every household. The trembling is not random cruelty; the coming of the divine simply unsettles whatever is built on harm. For the rest, the response is singing and dancing, the name spoken aloud with love. The last line names the stake plainly: it is this joyful, vocal celebration of the Name that carries sins away, not penance or fear. The poem holds out praise itself as the cleansing.
Krishna Leela
Poems celebrating Krishna's birth, childhood, and divine play.
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