The Name, the chain that frees
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
कंठ नामसिका । आतां किळकाळासी धका ॥1॥
रोखा माना कीं सिका माना । रोखा सिका तत्समाना ॥ध्रु.॥
रोखा न मना सिका न मना । जतन करा नाककाना ॥2॥
सिका न मनी रावण । त्याचें केलें निसंतान ॥3॥
सिका मानी हळाहळ । जालें सर्वांगीं शीतळ ॥4॥
तुका ह्मणे नाम सिका । पटीं बैसलों निजसुखा॥5॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Let the Name be the chain upon your throat; then Death itself is pushed aside. Accept this bond or refuse it; the bond and the cash are equal in value. If you refuse the bond and refuse the instruction, then guard your nose and ears. Ravana refused the teaching, and his entire lineage was destroyed. Shiva accepted the lethal poison, and his entire body became cool and blissful. Says Tuka, learn the Name, and sit in the seat of inner peace.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Let the Name be the chain on your throat; then Death is pushed back. Accept the bond or accept the order: the bond and the cash are equal. If you refuse the bond and refuse the order, then guard your nose and ears. Ravana refused the teaching, and his whole line was wiped out. Shiva accepted the deadly poison, and his whole body went cool. Tuka says: learn the Name, and sit in the seat of your own peace.
What it means
Tukaram offers the Name as a willing chain: wear it on your throat and even death is held off. He frames it as a debtor's choice, a bond or a written order, and says the promise and the coin are worth the same, so there is no loss in accepting. To refuse is dangerous; he points to two opposite fates. Ravana rejected the teaching and his whole dynasty was destroyed; Shiva swallowed the world's poison and it turned cool and blissful in him. The lesson he draws is simple: take the Name in, and you sit down in your own native peace.
The Power of the Name
The supremacy of nama-smarana: God's name as the highest practice.
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