Prayer, plea from the wilderness of Maya
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
पंढरीस जाते निरोप आइका । वैकुंठनायका क्षम सांगा ॥1॥
अनाथांचा नाथ हें तुझें वचन । धांवें नको दीन गांजों देऊं ॥ध्रु.॥
ग्रासिलें भुजंगें सर्पें महाकाळें । न दिसे हें जाळें उगवतां॥2॥
कामक्रोधसुनीं श्वापदीं बहुतीं । वेढलों आवताअ मायेचिये॥3॥
मृदजलनदी बुडविना तरी । आणूनियां वरी तळा नेते ॥4॥
तुका ह्मणे तुवां धरिलें उदास । तरि पाहों वास कवणाची॥5॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
I am going to Pandhari; hear my message. Tell the Lord of Vaikuntha that I seek His refuge. 'Protector of the helpless' is Your own promise; run to us, do not let the pitiable be tormented. The great serpent of time has swallowed us; this net is invisible even at dawn. Dogs of lust and anger, wild beasts of many kinds, have encircled us in the wilderness of Maya. The waters of this muddy river do not drown outright but keep pulling us under and pushing us up. Says Tuka, if You have chosen to remain indifferent, then whose refuge shall we seek?.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
I am going to Pandhari. Hear my message. Tell the Lord of Vaikuntha that I seek his refuge. You called yourself the protector of the helpless; that is your own promise. So run to us. Do not let the wretched be tormented. The great serpent of time has swallowed us, and this net cannot be seen even at dawn. Dogs of lust and anger, many wild beasts, have circled us in the forest of Maya. The waters of this muddy river do not drown me outright; they keep pulling me under and pushing me up. Tuka says: if you have chosen to stay indifferent, then whose shelter shall we seek?
What it means
Tukaram sends a message ahead to Pandhari and holds God to his own word. Narayana has called himself the protector of the helpless, so Tukaram presses that promise: run, do not let the wretched suffer. He paints the danger in stark images: time as a serpent that has already swallowed him, lust and anger as dogs and beasts hunting him through the forest of Maya, and worldly life as a muddy river that will not even let him drown cleanly but keeps tossing him. The closing line is the whole stake: if God turns away, there is no other refuge to run to. The prayer leans its entire weight on God being who he says he is.
Prayers
Direct appeals to God: for protection, guidance, strength, and mercy.
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