Prayer, the Name and love
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
कंठीं राहो नाम । अंगीं भरोनियां प्रेम ॥1॥
ऐसें द्यावें कांहीं दान । आलों पतित शरण ॥ध्रु.॥
संतांचिये पायीं । वेळोवेळां ठेवीं डोई ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे तरें । भवसिंधु एका सरें॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Let the Name remain in my throat, and let my whole being be filled with love. Grant me at least this much, for I have come to You in surrender, a wrongdoer at Your door. Let me bow again and again at the feet of the saints. Says Tuka, let me cross this ocean of existence in one swift stroke.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Let the Name stay in my throat, and let my whole being be filled with love. Grant me at least this much, for I have come to your door in surrender, a wrongdoer. Let me bow again and again at the feet of the saints. Tuka says: let me cross this ocean of the world in one swift stroke.
What it means
A short, humble petition. Tukaram asks for only two things, the Name always on his lips and a heart full of love, and he asks them as a confessed wrongdoer throwing himself on God's mercy. He adds a third that he treats as the same gift: the chance to bow over and over at the feet of the saints, his surest road to God. The closing wish is bold against the humble opening: with the Name and that love, let the whole ocean of worldly existence be crossed in a single stroke. Little is asked, and everything is expected of it.
Prayers
Direct appeals to God: for protection, guidance, strength, and mercy.
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