Prayer, laying down the burden
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
वदवावी वाणी माझी कृपावंता । वागपुष्प संतां समर्पीशी ॥1॥
सर्वसंकटाचा तुह्मां परिहार । घालावा म्यां भार पांडुरंगा ॥ध्रु.॥
एकसरें चिंता ठेवूनियां पायीं । जालों उतराई होतों तेणें ॥2॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
O gracious One, make my tongue speak and offer these word-flowers to the saints. All my difficulties are resolved by placing the burden upon You, O Panduranga. Having laid all my cares at once at Your feet, I have become free of what weighed me down.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Make my tongue speak, O gracious one; offer these flowers of words to the saints. You are the one who removes every trouble; let me lay the whole weight on you, Panduranga. Setting all my care at once at your feet, I have paid my debt; by this I am made free.
What it means
Tukaram asks for the very words he is speaking, naming his speech as God's gift and his praise as flowers offered to the saints. Then he does the thing the prayer is for: he puts his whole load of trouble on Panduranga, who is the one who clears every difficulty. The relief comes not from solving the troubles but from handing them over. Once the care is set down at the feet, the account is settled and the weight is gone.
Prayers
Direct appeals to God: for protection, guidance, strength, and mercy.
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