Vow of devotion, pressing forward
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
आतां देह अवसान । हें जतन तोंवरी ॥1॥
गाऊं नाचों गदारोळें । जिंकों बळें संसार ॥ध्रु.॥
या चि जीऊं अभिमानें। सेवाधनें बळकट ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे न सरें मागें । होईन लागें आगळा ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Until this body reaches its end, this devotion is my safekeeping. Let us sing and dance with fervent uproar and conquer this worldly existence. Let us live by this pride alone: strong in the wealth of service. Says Tuka, I shall not retreat. I shall press forward and surpass all limits.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Until this body reaches its end, I will guard this devotion. We will sing. We will dance with a great noise. We will conquer this worldly life by force. Let us live by this pride alone, made strong by the wealth of service. Tuka says: I will not fall back. I will press on and go beyond every limit.
What it means
Tukaram makes devotion a lifelong vow: he will keep it safe until his body dies. He casts singing and dancing as a kind of war, a loud assault that conquers worldly life rather than retreating from it. The one pride he allows himself is the pride of service, and he calls service his wealth, the thing that makes him strong. The poem's drive is forward and excessive on purpose: he refuses to retreat and means to surpass all limits, because in love there is no measured middle.
Devotion to Vitthal
Poems of praise, invocation, and intimate address to Lord Vitthal at Pandharpur.
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