Ecstasy, the Vaishnavas arrive
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
भार देखोनि वैष्णवांचे । दूत पळाले यमाचे ॥1॥
आले आले वैष्णववीर । काळ कांपती असुर ॥ध्रु.॥
गरुडटकयाच्या भारें । भूमी गर्जे जेजेकारें ॥ ।2॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Seeing the host of Vaishnavas, the messengers of Yama fled. The Vaishnava warriors have arrived; Death and the demons tremble before them. Under the weight of Garuda's banners, the earth resounds with cries of triumph.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Seeing the host of the Vaishnavas, Yama's messengers fled. They have come, they have come, the Vaishnava warriors; Death and the demons tremble. Under the weight of Garuda's banners, the earth roars with cries of victory.
What it means
Tukaram paints the gathering of devotees as an arriving army before which death itself retreats. When the host of Vaishnavas appears, the agents of Yama, the lord of death, simply run, and the demons shake. The Garuda banners and the thundering shouts of victory turn the bhakti procession into a triumph: the company of God's lovers is itself a power that the forces of dying cannot face. The verse celebrates the safety and might that belong to those who walk together in the Name.
Ecstasy and Joy
Triumphant happiness: poems written from the far side of the struggle.
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