Two diverging paths, holding fast to the feet
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
आह्मी भाव जाणों देवा । न कळती तुझिया मावा । गणिकेचा कुढावा । पतना न्यावा दशरथ ॥1॥
तरी म्यां काय गा करावें । कोण्या रीती तुज पावें । न संगतां ठावें । तुह्मांविण न पडे॥ध्रु.॥
दोनी फाकलिया वाटा । ाोवी केला घटापटा । नव्हे धीर फांटा । आड रानें भरती ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे माझे डोळे । तुझे देखती हे चाळे । आतां येणें वेळे । चरण जीवें न सोडीं ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
O God, we know devotion, but we cannot fathom Your deceptions. A courtesan's longing could lead Dasharatha himself to ruin. Then what am I to do? By what means can I reach You? Without You, nothing is known or found. Two paths diverge, and confusion has created a great turmoil; my resolve falters, and dense forests block the way. Says Tuka, my eyes see all Your tricks; this time, I will not let go of Your feet with my very life.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
We know devotion, God, but we cannot read your illusions. A courtesan's longing could drag even Dasharatha to ruin. So what am I to do? By what road can I reach you? Nothing is known or found without you. Two paths fork before me; the confusion has stirred up great turmoil. My resolve breaks, and thick forests block the way. Tuka says: my eyes see all your tricks. This time I will not let go of your feet, not with my life.
What it means
Tukaram admits the limit of his own effort: he may know the way of devotion, but he cannot see through God's deceptions, the maya that scatters a seeker between forked roads. He confesses that desire and worldly pull are strong enough to undo even the great, so by himself he cannot find the path. Out of that helplessness he makes the only move left to him, gripping God's feet and vowing not to let go even at the cost of his life. The poem turns confusion into clinging: when the mind cannot find the road, the body holds onto God and refuses to be moved.
Longing and Separation
Cries from the dark night of the soul: remonstrances, complaints, and desperate yearning.
More in this theme →