Prayer, claiming God's duty to the fallen
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
आतां नको चुकों आपुल्या उचिता । उदारा या कांता रखुमाईच्या ॥1॥
आचरावे दोष हें आह्मां विहित । तारावे पतित तुमचें तें ॥ध्रु.॥
आह्मी तों आपुलें केलेसें जतन । घडो तुह्मांकून घडेल ते ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे विठो चतुराच्या राया । आहे ते कासया मोडों देसी ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Do not let me now miss what is rightfully due, O generous Lord, husband of Rukmini. It is our nature to commit faults; it is Your duty to purify the fallen. I have done my part and kept watch; let whatever can come from You now come. Says Tuka, O Vitthal, king of the wise, why would You let what already stands be torn down?.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Now do not miss what is owed to me, generous Lord, husband of Rukmini. To commit faults is our nature. To save the fallen is your work. I have kept my own part, and watched over it. Now let whatever can come from you come. Tuka says: Vitthal, king of the wise, why would you let what already stands be torn down?
What it means
Tukaram presses a claim on God by dividing the labor between them. Sinning is simply what creatures like him do; rescuing sinners is simply what the saving Lord does, so each is only being true to its nature. He says he has held up his end and kept watch, and now leaves the outcome entirely to God. The closing line turns shrewd: he reminds Vitthal that he is already standing, already God's, and asks why the wise Lord would let his own finished work be undone now.
Prayers
Direct appeals to God: for protection, guidance, strength, and mercy.
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