Prayer, the name against death
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
रायाचें सेवक । सेवटीचें पीडी रंक ॥1॥
हा तों हिणाव कवणा । कां हो नेणां नारायणा ॥ध्रु.॥
परिसेंसी भेटी । नव्हे लोहोपणा तुटी ॥2॥
तुझें नाम कंठीं । तुक्या काळासवें भेटी॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
A king's servant ends up oppressing the poor. Whose shame is this? Do You not know, O Narayana? When iron meets the philosopher's stone, its nature as iron does not simply vanish. Says Tuka, with Your name on my lips, let me meet even Death without fear.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
A king's servant ends up grinding down the poor. Whose disgrace is this? Do you not know, Narayana? When iron touches the philosopher's stone, its old iron nature is not simply lost. Tuka says: with your name in my throat, let me meet death itself and not be afraid.
What it means
Tukaram opens with a hard observation and turns it into a plea. A king's own servant comes to oppress the helpless poor, and he asks God whose shame that really is, as if to say the master is answerable for the servant. He then sets against this the image of iron meeting the touchstone that turns it to gold, noting the change is real and not a mere hiding of the old metal. His own prayer follows the same hope: with God's name held in his throat, he wants to face even death without fear, transformed past the dread that death holds over ordinary people.
Prayers
Direct appeals to God: for protection, guidance, strength, and mercy.
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