Prayer, the child on the mother
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
अनन्यासी ठाव एक सर्वकाजें । एकाविण दुजें नेणे चित्त ॥1॥
न पुरतां आळी देशधडी व्हावें । हें काय बरवें दिसतसे॥ध्रु.॥
लेंकराचा भार माउलीचे शिरीं । निढळ तें दुरी धरिलिया ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे किती घातली लांबणी । समर्थ होउनि केवढएासाटीं ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
The devoted one has a single refuge for all purposes; the mind knows nothing apart from the One. If the plea is not fulfilled, must one be banished and scattered? How does that look? A child's burden rests on the mother's head; how can it be pushed away? Says Tuka, how long will You delay? You are almighty; for what great matter do You postpone?
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
The one who is wholly Yours has a single refuge for everything. The mind knows nothing but the One. If my plea goes unmet, must I be cast out and scattered? Does that look right? A child's weight rests on the mother's head; how can she push it away? Tuka says: how long will You keep stretching it out? You are almighty; for what great matter do You delay?
What it means
Tukaram speaks as one who has given himself entirely to God and has no other recourse. He protests that to leave his plea unanswered would be to throw out a soul who has nowhere else to go. His central image is the helpless child whose burden naturally falls on the mother, and a mother cannot simply shove it off. He then challenges God's delay directly: an almighty Lord has no reason to postpone, so why the long wait? The longing here turns into an almost familiar complaint, the trust of a child who knows it cannot be abandoned.
Prayers
Direct appeals to God: for protection, guidance, strength, and mercy.
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