Longing, waiting for word
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
पुढें तरी चित्ता । काय येईल तें आतां ॥1॥
मज सांगोनिया धाडीं । वाट पाहातों वराडी ॥ध्रु.॥
कंठीं धरिला प्राण । पायांपाशीं आलें मन ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे चिंता । बहु वाटतसे आतां॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
What will come to mind next? Send me word. I watch the road eagerly. My life hangs in my throat; my mind has already reached Your feet. Says Tuka, great worry presses upon me now.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
What will come into your mind next? Send me word now. I keep watching the road for the travelers. My life hangs in my throat; my mind has already gone to your feet. Tuka says: a great worry presses on me now.
What it means
After the threats, the tone softens into pure waiting. Tukaram asks God what he intends and begs for some message, while he stands watching the road for the pilgrims who might bring it. His life is held in his throat, the image of someone barely breathing in suspense, and his mind has already run ahead to God's feet. All that is left is anxious watching. The poem catches the ache of a devotee who has said everything and now waits, sick with worry, for any sign of an answer.
Longing and Separation
Cries from the dark night of the soul: remonstrances, complaints, and desperate yearning.
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