Prayer, the fallen one's surrender
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
पतित मी पापी शरण आलों तुज । राखें माझी लाज पांडुरंगा ॥1॥
तारियेले भक्त न कळे तुझा अंत । थोर मी पतित पांडुरंगा ॥ध्रु.॥
द्रौपदी बहिणी वैरीं गांजियेली । आपणाऐसी केली पांडुरंगा ॥2॥
प्रल्हादाकारणें स्तंभीं अवतार । माझा कां विसर पांडुरंगा ॥3॥
सुदामा ब्राह्मण दारिद्रें पीडिला । आपणाऐसा केला पांडुरंगा ॥4॥
तुका ह्मणे तुज शरण निजभावें । पाप निदानळावें पांडुरंगा ॥5॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
I am fallen and sinful, yet I have come to surrender to You. Protect my honor, O Panduranga. You have saved many devotees; the end of Your mercy cannot be fathomed. I am the greatest of wrongdoers, O Panduranga. When Draupadi, Your sister, was tormented by enemies, You made her Your equal, O Panduranga. For Prahlad's sake You emerged from the pillar; have You then forgotten me, O Panduranga? When the brahmin Sudama was crushed by poverty, You raised him to Your own station, O Panduranga. Says Tuka, I have surrendered to You with my whole being; destroy my sins, O Panduranga.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
I am fallen, I am a sinner, and I have come to surrender to You. Guard my honor, Panduranga. You have saved so many; the limit of Your mercy cannot be found. I am the greatest of the fallen, Panduranga. When Draupadi, Your sister, was tormented by enemies, You made her Your own equal, Panduranga. For Prahlad You came out of the pillar. Then why forget me, Panduranga? When the brahmin Sudama was crushed by poverty, You raised him to Your own station, Panduranga. Tuka says: I have surrendered to You with my whole heart. Destroy my sins, Panduranga.
What it means
Tukaram comes empty-handed, calling himself the worst of sinners, and stakes everything on God's record of rescue. He recites the proofs: Draupadi shielded and honored, Prahlad saved when God burst from the pillar, the destitute Sudama lifted to God's own level. Each story is an argument: a mercy this wide cannot stop at me. So his prayer turns the praise into a claim, asking God to guard his honor and burn away his sins. The whole strength of the plea is that he brings no merit, only complete surrender and the memory of what God has done before.
Prayers
Direct appeals to God: for protection, guidance, strength, and mercy.
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