Longing, none can match You
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
नव्हे तुह्मां सरी । येवढें कारण मुरारी ॥1॥
मग जैसा तैसा काळ । दाट सारावा पातळ ॥ध्रु.॥
स्वामींचें तें सांडें । पुत्र होतां काळतोंडें ॥2॥
शब्दा नाहीं रुची । मग कोठें तुका वेची॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
No one can match You, O Murari; that much is certain. Then, whatever time remains, dense or thin, must simply be endured. Even the master's legacy is abandoned when the son turns wicked. When words lose their savor, Says Tuka, where should I spend them?.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
No one is your equal, O Murari; that much is sure. So whatever time is left, thick or thin, must just be pushed through. Even the master's inheritance is thrown away when the son turns wicked. Tuka says: when words lose their taste, where should I spend them?
What it means
Tukaram acknowledges God's supremacy and yet voices a tired resignation. He grants that none can match Murari, but the time still left to him, whether dense or thin, now feels like something merely to be endured. The image of a wicked son squandering his father's legacy names the fear that what God has given is being wasted. The verse ends on the loss of savor: when even words have gone flat, the poet no longer knows where to pour them, and the longing shows through the weariness.
Longing and Separation
Cries from the dark night of the soul: remonstrances, complaints, and desperate yearning.
More in this theme →