Krishna's voice, the child boasting of God's gift
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
हा गे माझे हातीं । पाहा कवळ सांगाती ॥१॥
देवें दिला खातों भाग । कराल तर करा लाग ॥ध्रु.॥
धालें ऐसें पोट । वरी करूनियां बोट ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे घरीं । मग कैं जी या परी ॥३॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Look here, mother, see this morsel in my hand and this companion beside me. God himself gave me this share; do what you will about it. My belly is so full that I can point to it and show you. Says Tuka, at home, when will I ever receive such abundance as this?
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Look here, mother. See this morsel in my hand, and this friend beside me. God himself gave me this share. Do what you like about it. My belly is so full I can point to it and show you. Tuka says: at home, when would I ever get plenty like this?
What it means
Tukaram speaks in the voice of the herd-boy Krishna come back from the fields, showing his mother what he has. The food in his hand is not stolen or earned; he says God himself gave it, so let her make of that what she will. The full belly he points to is proof. The closing line carries the real point: out there in the open, in company, sharing the common meal, there is an abundance that home alone never gives. For Tukaram the field of the saints and the shared portion is where one is truly fed.
Krishna Leela
Poems celebrating Krishna's birth, childhood, and divine play.
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