Prayer, the plea of the unworthy
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
जे दोष घडले न फिटे करितां कांहीं । सरते तुझ्या पायीं जाले तैसे ॥1॥
माझा कां हो करूं नये अंगीकार । जालेती निष्ठ पांडुरंगा ॥ध्रु.॥
यातिहीन नये ऐकों ज्यां वेद । तयां दिलें पद वैकुंठींचें ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे कां रे एकाचा आभार । घेसी माथां भार वाहोनियां ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
The sins that have been committed cannot be erased by any means, yet at Your feet they are simply dissolved. Why then will You not accept me, O Panduranga? Are You truly so heartless? Even those of humble station who were denied the Vedas: You have granted them a seat in Vaikuntha. Says Tuka, why do You bear the burden of obligation to only one, carrying it upon Your head?.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
The sins I have done cannot be wiped out by any effort of mine. Yet at your feet they simply dissolve away. So why will you not accept me, Panduranga? Have you grown so hard? Even the lowborn, who were not allowed to hear the Vedas, you gave a seat in Vaikuntha. Tuka says: why carry the weight of obligation to just one, bearing that load on your head?
What it means
Tukaram argues from God's own track record. His sins are beyond anything he could erase himself, but at God's feet they melt, so the power to save him plainly exists. He presses the question of why, then, he is left out, and even charges God with hardness. His proof is that God has lifted the lowborn, those barred from the Vedas, straight into Vaikuntha. The closing turn is shrewd and tender at once: he asks why God would shoulder the burden of saving only one or a few when the same mercy could carry him too.
Prayers
Direct appeals to God: for protection, guidance, strength, and mercy.
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