The Name, the discus shields the servant
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
पडतां जड भारी । दासीं आठवावा हरी ॥1॥
मग तो होऊं नेदी सीण । आड घाली सुदर्शन ॥ध्रु.॥
नामाच्या चिंतनें । बारा वाटा पळती विघ्नें ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे प्राण । करा देवासी अर्पण ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
When the burden becomes heavy, servants should remember Hari. Then He will not let weariness prevail; He places the Sudarshana discus as a shield before them. By the contemplation of the Name, obstacles flee in twelve directions. Says Tuka, offer your very life to God.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
When the burden falls heavy, let the servants remember Hari. Then He will not let weariness win; He sets the Sudarshana discus across the way as a shield. By dwelling on the Name, obstacles flee in twelve directions. Tuka says: offer your very life to God.
What it means
Tukaram tells the devotee what to do when trouble grows too heavy to bear: simply remember Hari. He promises that God does not leave His servant to be worn down; He places His own weapon, the Sudarshana discus, between the devotee and the danger. Holding the Name in the mind scatters obstacles in every direction. The closing line turns it into a full surrender: offer your life itself to God. The remembering is not a small charm but the giving over of everything to the one who then guards it.
The Power of the Name
The supremacy of nama-smarana: God's name as the highest practice.
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