Prayer, hold me to your own pledge
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
वेडें वांकडें गाईन । परि मी तुझा चि ह्मणवीन॥1॥
मज तारीं दिनानाथा । ब्रीदें साच करीं आता ॥ध्रु.॥
केल्या अपराधांच्या राशीं । ह्मणऊनि आलों तुजपाशीं ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे मज तारीं । सांडीं ब्रीद नाहींतरी ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
I may sing crookedly and out of tune, but I shall still call myself Yours. Save me, O Lord of the meek. Make Your pledge come true right now. I have come to You carrying heaps of my offenses. Says Tuka, save me, or else abandon Your own pledge.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
I sing badly, crooked and out of tune. Still, I will call myself yours. Save me, lord of the helpless. Make your pledge come true, now. I have come to you carrying heaps of the wrongs I have done. Tuka says: save me. Or else, give up your own name as savior.
What it means
Tukaram comes with no merit, only a clumsy, off-key song, yet still claims to belong to God. He leans entirely on God's own reputation as the lord of the helpless and demands that this pledge be made good right now. He does not hide his faults; he brings the whole pile of them as the very reason he needs saving. The closing line is the daring move: save me, or else surrender your own title, since a savior who lets such a sinner sink is no longer worthy of the name. He binds God to act by God's own promise.
Prayers
Direct appeals to God: for protection, guidance, strength, and mercy.
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