Refuge, champion of the helpless
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
आडलिया जना होसी सहाकारी । अंधिळयाकरीं काठी तूं चि ॥1॥
आडिले गांजिले पीडिले संसारीं । त्यांचा तूं कैवारी नारायणा ॥ध्रु.॥
प्रल्हाद महासंकटीं रिक्षला । तुह्मी अपंगिला नानापरी ॥2॥
आपुलें चि अंग तुह्मी वोडविलें । त्याचें निवारलें महा दुःख ॥3॥
तुका ह्मणे तुझे कृपे पार नाहीं । माझे विठाबाई जननीये ॥4॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
You come to the aid of those in distress, O Narayana. You are the very staff in the hand of the blind. Those who are obstructed, oppressed, and tormented by worldly existence, You are their champion. You rescued Prahlad from the greatest peril, though he was tortured in countless ways. You put forth Your own body and removed his immense suffering. Says Tuka, the extent of Your grace knows no limit, O my mother Vithabai.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
You come to help those who are stuck. You are the staff in the blind man's hand. Those who are blocked, crushed, and tormented in this world, you are their champion, Narayana. You saved Prahlad in his great danger; you protected him in many ways. You put forward your own body, and his great sorrow was taken away. Tuka says: there is no limit to your grace, O my mother Vithabai.
What it means
Tukaram is leaning his whole weight on God as the one who stands up for the powerless. He names exactly who Narayana comes for: the stuck, the blocked, the crushed, the tormented, the people the world has no use for. Prahlad is his proof: a child tortured in every way, and God shielded him and even put forward his own body to take the suffering off him. From this he draws the conclusion that God's grace has no measurable edge, and he ends by calling God his mother, Vithabai, which is the most intimate name for that protecting tenderness.
The Nature of God
Explorations of God's character, power, grace, and relationship to the world.
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