Prayer, swept off in the flood
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
वाहवितों पुरीं । आतां उचित तें करीं ॥1॥
माझी शक्ति नारायणा । कींव भाकावी करुणा ॥ध्रु.॥
आह्मां ओढी काळ। तुझें क्षीण झालें बळ ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे गोडी । जीवा मातेचिया ओढी ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
I am being swept away in the flood; now do what is right, O Narayana. My only strength is to cry for mercy and plead with compassion. Death pulls at me, and Your power seems to have waned. Says Tuka, the longing of a mother's chitta for her child is the sweetest ache.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
I am being carried away in the flood. Now do what is right, Narayana. My only strength is to cry for mercy and beg for your pity. Death is dragging at me, and your power seems to have grown weak. Tuka says: the sweet ache is a mother's heart pulled toward her child.
What it means
Tukaram is in danger and out of resources, picturing himself swept off in a flood with death pulling at him. He has no strength of his own left to offer; all he can do is cry for mercy, so he throws the responsibility onto Narayana to do what is right. He even taunts God gently, as if God's power has weakened, to provoke the rescue. The closing image names the bond he is counting on: as a mother is pulled toward her child by a sweet, helpless ache, so he trusts God is drawn toward him.
Prayers
Direct appeals to God: for protection, guidance, strength, and mercy.
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