Prayer, against lust and anger
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
नयो वाचे अनुचित वाणी । नसो मनीं कुडी बुिद्ध॥1॥
ऐसें मागा अरे जना । नारायणा विनवूनि ॥ध्रु.॥
कामक्रोधां पडो चिरा । ऐसा बरा सायास ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे नानाछंदें । या विनोदें न पडावें ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
May improper speech never come to my tongue. May crooked thinking never dwell in my mind. Pray to Narayana thus, O people. May lust and anger be shattered; let that be your endeavor. Says Tuka, do not fall into the various diversions and amusements of this world.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Let no improper word come to my tongue. Let no crooked thought live in my mind. Ask for this, O people, praying to Narayana. Let lust and anger be cracked apart; make that your good labor. Tuka says: do not fall into the many fads and amusements of this world.
What it means
Tukaram offers a plain prayer and tells others to make it their own. He asks that no wrong speech reach his tongue and no twisted thinking lodge in his mind, and he turns to the listeners, urging them to petition Narayana for the same. The real work, he says, is to break lust and anger; that is the endeavor worth giving oneself to. He warns against being pulled into the endless distractions and amusements of the world, naming them as the trap that pulls the mind off this single aim.
Prayers
Direct appeals to God: for protection, guidance, strength, and mercy.
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