मराठी मूळ
सुंदर तें ध्यान उभे विटेवरी । कर कटावरी ठेवूनियां ॥१॥
तुळसीचे हार गळां कासे पीतांबर । आवडे निरंतर तें चि रूप ॥ध्रु.॥
मकरकुंडलें तळपती श्रवणीं । कंठीं कौस्तुभमणि विराजित ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे माझें हें चि सर्व सुख । पाहीन श्रीमुख आवडीनें ॥३॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Beautiful, that meditative vision: he stands upon the brick, hands placed on his hips. Garlands of tulsi around his neck, yellow silk at his waist; that form alone pleases me ceaselessly. Makara earrings flash at his ears, the Kaustubha gem shines at his throat. Tuka says, this is my entire happiness: to gaze with love upon that blessed face.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
How beautiful he is to hold in the mind. He stands on the brick, his hands upon his hips. Tulsi garlands at his neck, yellow silk at his waist. I never tire of that form. The fish-shaped earrings catch the light. The Kaustubha gem shines at his throat. Tuka says: this is my whole happiness, to gaze on that dear face with love.
What it means
This is the most loved of all Tukaram's abhangas, a still portrait of Vitthal as he stands in the temple at Pandhari. Tukaram is not describing a god in the abstract. He is looking at the actual image, feature by feature: the easy posture, hands on hips, as though the Lord has been waiting; the garlands, the silk, the earrings, the jewel. The point is in the last line. He asks the form for nothing. Simply to look at that face, with love, is already his entire happiness. The seeing is the reward.
Devotion to Vitthal
Poems of praise, invocation, and intimate address to Lord Vitthal at Pandharpur.
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