The Name, a fast color that never fades
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
रंगलें या रंगें पालट न घरी । खेवलें अंतरीं पालटेना॥1॥
सावळें निखळ कृष्णनाम ठसे । अंगसंगें कैसे शोभा देती ॥ध्रु.॥
पवित्र जालें तें न लिंपे विटाळा । नैदी बैसों मला आडवरी ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे काळें काळें केलें तोंड । प्रकाश अभंड देखोनियां ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Dyed in this color, it never fades; what has been absorbed within does not change. The dark, pure name of Krishna leaves its mark, and its luster adorns all who carry it. What has become sacred is untouched by pollution; it does not allow any stain to settle. Says Tuka, the face has been blackened with the dark beauty of Krishna, and seeing that unbroken radiance, there is only light.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Dyed in this color, it never fades. What has soaked into the heart does not change. The dark, pure name of Krishna sets its stamp, and its beauty shines on all who wear it. What has become sacred cannot be stained; it lets no defilement settle on it. Tuka says: my face is blackened, blackened with that dark beauty, and seeing the unbroken radiance, there is only light.
What it means
Tukaram uses the image of dyeing cloth: once the heart is steeped in the dark name of Krishna, the color is fast, it will never wash out or fade. That sacred mark cannot be polluted; no defilement can settle on what the Name has made holy. The seeming paradox of the close is deliberate: his face is blackened with the dark hue of Krishna, yet that very darkness is unbroken radiance, pure light. The dark stain of the Name is not a blemish but a beauty that shines.
The Power of the Name
The supremacy of nama-smarana: God's name as the highest practice.
More in this theme →