Prayer, You alone are my kin
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
न करीं उदास । माझी पुरवावी आस ॥1॥
ऐका ऐका नारायणा । माझी परिसा विज्ञापना ॥ध्रु.॥
मायबाप बंधुजन। तूं चि सोयरा सज्जन ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे तुजविरहित । माझें कोण करी हित ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Do not leave me in despair; fulfill my hope. Listen, listen, O Narayana; hear my supplication. You are my mother, my father, my kin; You alone are my true friend and well-wisher. Says Tuka, without You, who else would care for my welfare?.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Do not leave me in despair. Fulfill my hope. Listen, listen, O Narayana. Hear my plea. Mother, father, kinsmen: You alone are my friend and my own. Tuka says: without You, who would care for my good?
What it means
Tukaram prays directly and plainly, asking God not to abandon him to hopelessness but to grant what he longs for. He calls out twice for Narayana to listen, the repetition carrying the urgency of a man with nowhere else to turn. He then collapses every human bond into one: mother, father, and kin are all God, who alone is his true relation and well-wisher. The closing question names the stake of the whole prayer: apart from God, there is simply no one who would seek his welfare.
Prayers
Direct appeals to God: for protection, guidance, strength, and mercy.
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