Prayer, only Pandhari and the Name
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
वास पंढरीचा जन्म सदा देई । आणीक दुजें मागणें तुज नाहीं ॥1॥
कृपा देई दान हरि मज कृपा देई दान । नासीं त्रिमिर दाखवीं चरण ।
आर्त पुरवावें भेटी देऊन । नको उपेक्षूं आलिया शरण ॥ध्रु.॥
नाम अखंड हृदयीं राहो वाणी । न पडो विसर क्षण ज्यागृतिं स्वप्नीं ।
संतसमागम ऐसा दे लावुनि । आणीक दुजें कांहीं नेणें तुजवांचूनि ॥2॥
पंथपुरिंचा रविसुत पुरे आतां । आड करावा भवसिंधु ऐसा नव्हता ।
नाहीं आडताळा त्रैलाक्यामाजी सरता । विनवी तुकयाबंधु चरणीं ठेवूनि माथा ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Grant me birth in Pandhari always; I ask nothing else of You. Grant me grace, O Hari, grant me the gift of mercy. Dispel the darkness and show me Your feet. Fulfill my longing by granting Your meeting; do not disregard one who has come in surrender. Let the Name remain unbroken in my heart and on my tongue; let me not forget it for a single moment, waking or dreaming. Grant me the company of saints, and besides them I know nothing but You. Enough of the road to Yama's city; this ocean of worldly existence was never meant to stand in the way. Across the three worlds there is no other refuge. Says Tukya-bandhu, with head bowed at Your feet, I make this prayer.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Grant me birth in Pandhari, always. I ask nothing else of you. Give me grace, O Hari; give me the gift of mercy. Burn away the darkness and show me your feet. Fill my longing; come and meet me. Do not turn away one who has come in surrender. Let the Name stay unbroken in my heart and on my tongue. Let me not forget it for a single moment, awake or in dream. Give me the company of the saints. Apart from you I know nothing else. Enough now of the road to Yama's city; this ocean of the world was never meant to block my way. In all three worlds there is no other refuge. Tukya-bandhu prays this, with his head laid at your feet.
What it means
This is a prayer that asks for almost nothing the world prizes. Tukya-bandhu wants only one birthplace, Pandhari, and one possession, the Name held without a break in heart and on tongue. The grace he begs for is to have the inner darkness burned away and the Lord's feet shown, and to be kept in the company of saints. He sets aside the dread of death's road and the whole ocean of worldly existence as no real obstacle, because once God is the refuge there is no other refuge to seek across the three worlds. The poem narrows desire down to God alone and lets everything else fall away.
Prayers
Direct appeals to God: for protection, guidance, strength, and mercy.
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