Praise, the Lord of childhood deeds
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
काग बग रिठा मारिले बाळपणीं । अवघी दैत्यखाणी बुडविली ॥1॥
तो मज दावा तो मज दावा । नंदनंदन जीवा आवडे तो ॥ध्रु.॥
गोवर्धन गिरी उचलिला करीं । गोकुळ भीतरी राखियेलें ॥2॥
बघुनि भौमासुरा आणिल्या गोपांगना । राज्य उग्रसेना मथुरेचें ॥3॥
पांडव जोहरीं राखिले कुसरी । विवराभीतरीं चालविले॥4॥
तुका ह्मणे हा भक्तांचा कृपाळ । दुष्टजना काळ नारायण ॥5॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
In childhood He killed Kaga, Baka, and the demon Ritha, and drowned the entire race of demons. Show me that one, show me that one: the son of Nanda whom my jiva adores. He lifted Mount Govardhan on His hand and sheltered all of Gokula within it. He slew Bhaumasura and brought back the captive women; He restored the kingdom of Mathura to Ugrasena. He guided the Pandavas through every peril and led them safely through hidden passages. Says Tuka, He is merciful to devotees and is Death itself to the wicked. That is Narayana.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
In childhood He killed Kaga, Baka, and the demon Ritha, and drowned the whole brood of demons. Show me that one, show me that one: the son of Nanda whom my soul loves. He lifted Mount Govardhan on His hand and kept all of Gokula safe under it. He killed Bhaumasura and brought back the captured women; He gave the kingdom of Mathura back to Ugrasena. He guided the Pandavas through every danger and led them safely through hidden passages. Tuka says: He is merciful to His devotees and is death itself to the wicked. That is Narayana.
What it means
This is a song of Krishna's deeds, sung as longing to see the one the soul loves. Tukaram lists the rescues from the Krishna stories: the demons of childhood killed, Govardhan raised to shelter Gokula, Bhaumasura slain and his captives freed, the throne returned to Ugrasena, the Pandavas led safely through every trap. The repeated cry to be shown the son of Nanda turns the catalogue of power into a lover's plea: the same Krishna who shielded all of these, let me only see Him. The closing line names the rule running through every story: mercy to those who love Him, death to the wicked. That, says Tukaram, is Narayana.
Krishna Leela
Poems celebrating Krishna's birth, childhood, and divine play.
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