Devotion, my life is in Your hands
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
उदार तूं हरी ऐसी कीतिन चराचरीं । अनंत हे थोरी गर्जतील पवाडे ॥1॥
मागणें तें तुज मागों जीवभाव तुज सांगों । लागों तरी लागों पायां तुमच्या दातारा ॥2॥
दिसों देसी कीविलवाणें तरी तुज चि हें उणें । तुका ह्मणे जिणें माझें तुज अधीन ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
You are generous, O Hari; this fame resounds throughout all creation. Your endless glory thunders forth in songs of praise. What I ask of You, I ask with my whole being; what I tell You, I tell from the depths of my jiva. If I am to cling to anything, let me cling to Your feet, O Benefactor. If I appear pitiable, that shortcoming is Yours, not mine. Says Tuka, my life is subject to You.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
You are generous, O Hari; that fame rings through all that moves and does not move. Your endless greatness thunders out in songs of praise. What I ask, I ask of You with my whole being; what I feel, I tell to You. If I am to cling, then let me cling to Your feet, O Giver. If I am seen wretched, that lack is Yours, not mine. Tuka says: my life is in Your keeping.
What it means
Tukaram first names God's known reputation: Hari is famed throughout all creation as generous, his glory sung everywhere. On the strength of that fame, he brings his whole heart's asking and confiding to God and resolves to cling to nothing but God's feet. Then comes the bold turn: if he still looks poor and pitiable, the failure reflects on God, not on himself, since a generous Lord should not leave his devotee in want. He closes by placing his entire life under God's control, which is both surrender and a gentle pressing of the claim that God now owns the outcome.
Devotion to Vitthal
Poems of praise, invocation, and intimate address to Lord Vitthal at Pandharpur.
More in this theme →