Trust in Krishna, fear that dares not be spoken
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
नेणों वेळा काळ । धालों तुझ्यानें सकळ ॥१॥
नाहीं नाहीं रे कान्होबा भय आम्हापाशीं । वळूनि पुरविसी गाई पोटा खावया ॥ध्रु.॥
तुजपाशीं भये । हें तों बोलों परी नये ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे बोल । आम्हा अनुभवें फोल ॥३॥
विटूदांडू - अभंग १
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
We know neither time nor occasion; through you we are satisfied in every way. There is no fear at all with us, O Krishna. You round up the cows and fill our bellies with everything to eat. To say we are afraid of you, that is true, but it would not be right to speak of it openly. Says Tuka, our experience has shown that your words proved hollow.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
We know neither the hour nor the time; through you we are satisfied in every way. There is no fear at all with us, Krishna; you round up the cows and fill our bellies with food. To say we fear you, that is true, but it would not be right to speak it openly. Tuka says: by our own experience your words proved hollow.
What it means
The cowherds tell Krishna that in his company they lose all sense of time and want for nothing; he tends the cattle and feeds them, so no fear remains. Then comes a tender, teasing admission: there is one fear they hold about him, but it is not the kind that can be spoken aloud. The closing line lands the play, his warnings or threats came to nothing in their actual experience, so they have learned not to be afraid of him. Beneath the affectionate banter is the deeper claim that nearness to God dissolves fear and need alike.
Krishna Leela
Poems celebrating Krishna's birth, childhood, and divine play.
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