The Name, Yama warns his messengers
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
यम सांगे दूतां तुह्मां नाहीं तेथें सत्ता । जेथें होय कथा सदा घोष नामाचा ॥1॥
नका जाऊं तया गांवां नामधारकाच्या शिवां । सुदर्शन येवा घरटी फिरे भोंवती ॥ध्रु.॥
चक्र गदा घेउनी हरि उभा असे त्यांचे द्वारीं । लक्ष्मी कामारी रििद्धसिद्धीसहित ॥2॥
ते बिळयाशिरोमणी हरिभक्त ये मेदिनी । तुका ह्मणे कानीं यम सांगे दूतांचे ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Yama tells his messengers: You have no authority where the Name is chanted in continuous devotion. Do not go near the boundaries of those who bear the Name. The Sudarshana discus whirls around their homes like a sentinel. Hari stands at their door with discus and mace, accompanied by Lakshmi and all mystic powers. They are the bravest heroes of this earth, the devotees of Hari. Says Tuka, Yama himself counsels his messengers to stay away.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Yama tells his messengers: you have no power there, where the story is told and the Name is always sounding. Do not go near the homes of those who bear the Name. The Sudarshana discus circles their houses, going around them on guard. Hari stands at their door with discus and mace, with Lakshmi and all the powers beside him. They are the bravest of all on this earth, the devotees of Hari. Tuka says: Yama himself says this in the ears of his messengers.
What it means
Tukaram dramatizes death's own helplessness before devotion. Yama, the lord of death, instructs his messengers that they hold no authority where God's story is told and the Name sounds without ceasing, and he warns them to stay clear of the homes of those who keep the Name. The reason is guarded plainly: the Sudarshana discus patrols their houses, and Hari himself stands at the door, armed and attended by Lakshmi and every mystic power. Such devotees are the true heroes of the earth, and the point is told from death's own mouth, so that the protection of the Name needs no other witness than Yama himself.
The Power of the Name
The supremacy of nama-smarana: God's name as the highest practice.
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