Warning, death measures your days
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
आयुष्य मोजावया बैसला मापारी । तूं कां रे वेव्हारी संसाराचा ॥1॥
नेईल ओढोनि ठाउकें नसतां । न राहे दुिश्चता हरिविण ॥ध्रु.॥
कठीण हें दुःख यम जाचतील । कोण सोडवील तया ठायीं ॥2॥
राहतील दुरी सज्जन सोयरीं । आठवीं श्रीहरी लवलाहीं ॥3॥
तुका ह्मणे किती करिसी लंडायी । होईल भंडाई पुढें थोर ॥4॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Death sits measuring out your lifespan; why then do you remain so busy with worldly trade? He will drag you away when you least expect it; without Hari, anxiety cannot be stilled. Terrible is the suffering when Yama torments you; who will save you in that place? Your good relatives and friends will all stand at a distance; remember Hari quickly. Says Tuka, how long will you go on in careless indulgence? A great reckoning awaits you ahead.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
The measurer has sat down to count out your lifespan. Why are you still so busy with the trade of this world? He will drag you off when you do not expect it; without Hari the anxious mind will not be stilled. Hard is this suffering; Yama will torment you. Who will save you in that place? Your good kin and friends will all stand far off. Remember Shri Hari quickly. Tuka says: how long will you go on in careless indulgence? A great reckoning waits for you ahead.
What it means
Tukaram pictures death as a clerk already seated, measuring out the days of your life while you stay absorbed in worldly business. The seizure comes without warning, and only Hari can quiet the anxiety that the world cannot. At Yama's place the suffering is severe and no relative or friend stands close enough to help; they all keep their distance. So the urgent instruction is to remember Shri Hari now, without delay. The closing question and warning are aimed at the listener's own slackness: a great reckoning lies ahead, so how long will you keep indulging in carelessness?
Appeals and Exhortations
Direct calls to action: wake up, seek God, do not waste this human birth.
More in this theme →