Faith, hold the latecomer equal
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
ऐकिली कीिर्त्त संतांच्या वदनीं । तरि हें ठाकोनि आलों स्थळ ॥1॥
मागिला पुढिला करावें सारिखें । पालटों पारिखें नये देवा ॥ध्रु.॥
आह्मासी विश्वास नामाचा आधार । तुटतां हे थार उरी नाहीं ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे येथें नसावें चि दुजें । विनंती पंढरिराजें परिसावी हे ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Having heard the saints' glory from their own mouths, I came to this sacred place. Treat the first and last comers alike; do not change, O God, for the outsider. My faith rests on the support of the Name; if that is severed, I have no other refuge. Says Tuka, let nothing second abide here. May the King of Pandhari hear this prayer.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
I heard Your glory from the mouths of the saints, and so I came and reached this holy place. Treat the first and the last the same; do not change Your face for the outsider, God. My faith rests on the support of the Name; if that support is cut, I have no refuge left. Tuka says: let there be nothing second here. May the King of Pandhari hear this prayer.
What it means
Tukaram came to Pandhari on the strength of what the saints told him about Vitthal, and now he asks that the welcome match the promise. His plea is for fairness: that God treat the latecomer and the outsider exactly as He treats the long-established devotee, never wearing a colder face for the newcomer. Everything he has is staked on the Name; if that single support is severed he has no second refuge, so he begs that no second thing, no rival or division, be allowed to stand between them. The poem ends as a formal petition laid before the King of Pandhari, asking only for an undivided, evenhanded grace.
Faith and Trust
The boldness of faith, steadfastness, and the security of trusting in God.
More in this theme →