Longing, why can I not reach Pandhari
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
कां माझे पंढरी न देखती डोळे । काय हें न कळे पाप यांचें ॥1॥
पाय पंथें कां हे न चलती वाट । कोण हें अदृष्ट कर्म बळी ॥ध्रु.॥
कां हें पायांवरी न पडे मस्तक । क्षेम कां हस्तक न पवती ॥2॥
कां या इंिद्रयांची न पुरे वासना । पवित्र होईना जिव्हा कीर्ती ॥3॥
तुका ह्मणे कई जाऊनि मोटळें । पडेन हा लोळें महाद्वारीं ॥4॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Why do my eyes not see Pandhari? What sin of mine conceals it? Why do my feet not walk that sacred path? What unseen karma overpowers me? Why does my head not fall at those feet? Why do my hands not reach out in greeting? Why is the longing of my senses not fulfilled? Why does my tongue not become pure with praise? Says Tuka, when will I go and cast myself prostrate at the great gate?
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Why do my eyes not see Pandhari? What sin of mine hides it from them? Why do my feet not walk that sacred road? What unseen karma is so strong against me? Why does my head not fall at those feet? Why do my hands not reach out in greeting? Why is the longing of my senses not fulfilled? Why does my tongue not grow pure with his praise? Tuka says: when will I go, and fall down rolling at the great gate?
What it means
Tukaram pours out a litany of questions, each blaming his own hidden sin and karma for the gulf between him and Pandharpur. He inventories every part of himself that is being kept from God: eyes that cannot see the town, feet that cannot walk the road, head that cannot bow at the feet, hands that cannot greet, senses unfulfilled, tongue not yet purified by praise. The repeated why turns the longing into self-examination rather than complaint against God, locating the obstacle in his own unripeness. The final line gathers it into one ache, the day he will throw himself down and roll in the dust at the great gate of the temple.
Longing and Separation
Cries from the dark night of the soul: remonstrances, complaints, and desperate yearning.
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