Prayer, shelter me as a child
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
एकांतांचे सुख देई मज देवा । आघात या जीवा चुकवूनि ॥1॥
ध्यानीं रूप वाचे नाम निरंतर । आपुला विसर पडों नेदीं ॥ध्रु.॥
मायबाळा भेटी सुखाची आवडी । तैशी मज गोडी देई देवा ॥2॥
कीर्ती ऐकोनियां जालों शरणांगत । दासाचें तूं हित करितोसी ॥3॥
तुका ह्मणे मी तों दीन पापराशी । घालावें पाठीशी मायबापा ॥4॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
O God, grant me the joy of solitude and spare this jiva from calamity. Let Your form dwell in my meditation and Your name flow ceaselessly on my tongue; do not let me forget You. As a mother delights in meeting her child, grant me that same sweetness, O Lord. Hearing of Your glory I have come to surrender, for You always care for the welfare of Your servants. Says Tuka, I am lowly and a heap of sin; shelter me, O Mother and Father.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
O God, give me the joy of being alone with you, and turn the blows of life away from this jiva. Let your form stay in my meditation and your name on my tongue without a break; do not let me forget you. As a mother is glad to meet her child, give me that same sweetness, O God. I heard of your glory and came to surrender; you always do good for your servant. Tuka says: I am lowly, a heap of sin; hide me behind your back, my Mother, my Father.
What it means
This is a beggar's prayer that asks for nearness, not rescue from hardship as such. Tukaram wants the joy of solitude with God and an unbroken memory of him, form held in meditation, name on the tongue, so that forgetting becomes impossible. The image of a mother meeting her child names the sweetness he is after: not awe, but the ease of belonging. He grounds his hope on God's own reputation for caring for his servants, which is why he dares to surrender. Calling himself a heap of sin, he asks to be hidden behind God's back, the place a small child runs to.
Prayers
Direct appeals to God: for protection, guidance, strength, and mercy.
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