Prayer, asking the way to the feet
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
काय ऐसा सांगा । धर्म मज पांडुरंगा ॥1॥
तुझे पायीं पावें ऐसा । जेणें उगवे हा फांसा ॥ध्रु.॥
करीं कृपादान । तैसें बोलवीं वचन ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे देवा । माझें हृदय वसवा ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Tell me, O Panduranga, what dharma will bring me to Your feet and release me from this noose? Grant me the gift of grace; inspire the right words in my mouth. Says Tuka, O God, come and dwell in my heart.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Tell me, Panduranga, what is the dharma for me? Show me the one that brings me to your feet, the one that undoes this noose. Grant me the gift of your grace; put the right words in my mouth. Tuka says: O God, come and live in my heart.
What it means
Tukaram does not assume he knows the path; he asks God to tell him which dharma actually leads to the feet. He names his condition as a noose, a bind he cannot loosen by himself, so the way out has to be given, not earned. That is why he asks for grace and even for the right words, admitting he cannot pray well on his own power. The final plea is the simplest and the largest: not a teaching about God but God himself, come to dwell in the heart.
Prayers
Direct appeals to God: for protection, guidance, strength, and mercy.
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