Longing, hunger for the embrace
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
उपासा सेवटीं अन्नासवें भेटी । तैसी माझी मिठी पडो पायीं ॥1॥
पुरवीं वासना साच सर्वजाणा । आह्मां नारायणा अंकिताची ॥ध्रु.॥
बहुदिसां पुत्रामातेमध्यें भेटीं । तैसा दाटो पोटीं प्रीतिउभोड ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे धन कृपणा सोयरें । यापरि दुसरें नहो आतां ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Like the meeting of food after a long fast, let my embrace fall upon Your feet. Fulfill the longing of one who is truly Yours, O all-knowing Narayana. Like the meeting of a mother and child after long separation, let a flood of love swell in my chitta. Says Tuka, as wealth is dear to a miser, let there be no other attachment from now on.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Like meeting food at the end of a long fast, let my embrace fall on your feet. Fulfill this longing truly, O all-knowing one; I belong to you, Narayana. Like a mother and child meeting after many days apart, let a flood of love swell in my heart. Tuka says: as wealth is dear to a miser, let me hold nothing else dear from now on.
What it means
Tukaram stacks three images of hunger to convey how badly he wants to reach God. First the starving man finally given food, so his embrace should fall on God's feet with that same desperation. He grounds the request in belonging, reminding the all-knowing Lord that he is marked as God's own, so the longing is right to fulfill. The second image is a mother and long-lost child, letting love flood the chest at the reunion. The last is sharper and almost confessional: he asks to cling to God the way a miser clings to money, fixing all his greed on one object and wanting nothing else.
Longing and Separation
Cries from the dark night of the soul: remonstrances, complaints, and desperate yearning.
More in this theme →