Devotion, the worth of remembrance
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
तीथाअची अपेक्षा स्थळीं वाढे धर्म । जाणावें तें वर्म बहु पुण्य ॥1॥
बहु बरी ऐसी भाविकांची जोडी । काळ नाहीं घडी जात वांयां ॥ध्रु.॥
करूनी चिंतन करवावें आणिकां । तो या जाला लोकां नाव जगीं ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे ऐसे परउपकारी । त्यांच्या पायांवरी डोई माझी ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
At sacred places, the desire for merit increases; know this to be the secret of great virtue. Blessed indeed is the fortune of the devout; not a single moment of theirs goes to waste. One who contemplates and inspires others to do so earns a name that echoes across the world. Says Tuka, my head is upon the feet of such selfless benefactors.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
At holy places the longing for merit grows. Know this secret: there is great virtue in it. The company of the faithful is good indeed; for them not a single moment is wasted. One who remembers God, and leads others to remember too, earns a name across the world. Tuka says: such people live for the good of others. My head rests upon their feet.
What it means
Tukaram is praising the inward worth of pilgrimage and good company, not the outward show. The pull toward merit at a sacred place is itself a sign pointing to something deeper: that no moment among the faithful is ever wasted. The real saint is the one who not only remembers God but draws others into that remembrance, and so leaves a name that carries through the world. Tukaram ends by bowing his own head at the feet of these people who live for the good of others, making their service, not their fame, the thing he honors.
Devotion to Vitthal
Poems of praise, invocation, and intimate address to Lord Vitthal at Pandharpur.
More in this theme →