Exhortation, only the Lord can save
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
नको नको मना गुंतूं मायाजाळीं । काळ आला जवळी ग्रासावया ॥1॥
काळाची हे उडी पडेल बा जेव्हां । सोडविना तेव्हां मायबाप ॥ध्रु.॥
सोडवीना राजा देशींचा चौधरी । आणीक सोइरीं भलीं भलीं ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे तुला सोडवीना कोणी । एका चक्रपाणी वांचूनियां ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Do not, O mind, get entangled in the net of illusion; Death has drawn near to devour you. When Death pounces, no mother or father can save you. No king, no village chief, no relatives however dear can deliver you. Says Tuka, no one can rescue you except the Lord alone.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Do not, O mind, get tangled in the net of illusion. Death has come near to swallow you. When Death pounces, your mother and father cannot save you then. No king, no village chief, no relatives however fine can set you free. Tuka says: no one can rescue you except the Lord alone.
What it means
Tukaram speaks straight to his own mind about a fact it keeps avoiding: death is close, and the web of worldly attachment leaves it defenseless. He runs down the list of everyone we lean on for safety, parents, rulers, the local strongman, beloved kin, and shows each one powerless at the last hour. The point is not despair but redirection: since none of these can deliver you, take refuge now in the only one who can, the Lord.
Appeals and Exhortations
Direct calls to action: wake up, seek God, do not waste this human birth.
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