Devotion, the standing God of Pandhari
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
न बैससी खालीं । सम उभा च पाउलीं ॥1॥
ऐसे जाले बहुत दिस । जालीं युगें अठ्ठाविस ॥ध्रु.॥
नाहीं भाग सीण । अराणूक एक क्षण ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे किती । मापें केलीं देती घेती॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
You never sit down; You stand evenly on that brick. It has been this way for ages, for twenty-eight yugas. There is no fatigue or weariness, not a moment of rest. Says Tuka, how many measures have You given and received in that time?.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
You never sit down; you stand level on that brick, both feet even. It has been this way a long time now, for twenty-eight yugas. No tiredness, no weariness, not one moment of rest. Tuka says: how many measures have you given and taken in all that time?
What it means
This is Vitthal standing on the brick at Pandhari, feet set evenly, never sitting through twenty-eight yugas of waiting. Tukaram marvels that this posture has held across ages with no fatigue and no pause. The standing God is the patient God, endlessly available, endlessly at his post. Then comes the merchant image again: across all those ages, how many measures has he weighed out and taken in? The wonder and the gentle accusation run together, the eternal stander who keeps the books of every soul.
Devotion to Vitthal
Poems of praise, invocation, and intimate address to Lord Vitthal at Pandharpur.
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