Devotion, holding God to His word
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
केला पण सांडी । ऐसियासी ह्मणती लंडी ॥1॥
आतां पाहा विचारून । समर्थासी बोले कोण ॥ध्रु.॥
आपला निवाड। आपणें चि करितां गोड ॥2॥
तुह्मीं आह्मीं देवा । बोलिला बोल सिद्धी न्यावा ॥3॥
आसे धुरे उणें । मागें सरे तुका ह्मणे॥4॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
One who makes a promise and then abandons it is called a coward. Now look carefully: who will argue with the Capable One? Making a judgment in one's own favor is always pleasant. Says Tuka, O God, You and we together must bring the spoken word to completion. Whoever falls short at the front line is pushed to the rear.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
One who makes a promise and then drops it is called a coward. Now think it over: who can argue with the Capable One? Judging a case in your own favor is always sweet. You and we together, O God, must carry the spoken word to its end. Tuka says: whoever falls short at the front is pushed to the back.
What it means
Tukaram is pressing God to honor His own promise to save His devotees. He frames it as a matter of honor: to make a pledge and abandon it is cowardice, and it is too easy to rule in your own favor. He admits no one can simply out-argue the Almighty, so he calls it a shared obligation instead, a word that God and devotee must see through together. The blunt closing image warns that the one who fails to deliver is the one shamed, turning God's reputation into the stake.
Devotion to Vitthal
Poems of praise, invocation, and intimate address to Lord Vitthal at Pandharpur.
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