Prayer, the small wish, the boundless giver
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
तान्हेल्याची धणी । फिटे गंगा नव्हे उणी ॥१॥
माझे मनोरथ सिद्धी । पाववावे कृपानिधी ॥ध्रु.॥
तूं तों उदाराचा राणा । माझी अल्प चि वासना ॥२॥
कृपादृष्टीं पाहें । तुका म्हणे होईं साहे ॥३॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
The thirst of the thirsty is quenched at the Ganga, and the Ganga is not diminished by it. O treasury of mercy, bring my heart's wishes to fulfillment. You are the king of the generous; my desires are but small. Says Tuka, look upon me with the eye of grace and be my support.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
The thirsty drink their fill at the Ganga, and the Ganga is not made less. O treasury of mercy, bring my heart's wishes to fulfillment. You are the king of the generous; my desires are only small. Look on me with the eye of grace. Tuka says: be my support.
What it means
Tukaram prays from the logic of God's abundance. The Ganga quenches every thirst yet loses nothing, so granting his wish costs the giver nothing at all. He addresses God as a treasury of mercy and the king of the generous, then makes himself small against that vastness: his desires are slight, easily met by such a one. The request is simple, a glance of grace and God's support. The poem is a model of humble asking that leans wholly on the giver's bounty rather than on its own worth.
Prayers
Direct appeals to God: for protection, guidance, strength, and mercy.
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