The Name, deathless because God has rescued before
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
तुज न भें मी किळकाळा । मज नामाचा जिव्हाळा॥1॥
माझा बिळया नेणसी कोण । संतां साहे नारायण ॥ध्रु.॥
शंख वधिला सागरीं । वेद घेउनि आला चारी ॥2॥
कूर्में दैत्य वधिला जेठी । हात पाय लपवी पोटीं ॥3॥
वाराहरूप धरिलें गाढें । धरा प्रतापें धरिली दाढे ॥4॥
हिरण्यकश्यप विदारिला । भक्त प्रल्हाद रिक्षला ॥5॥
वामन जाला दिनानाथ । बळी पाताळीं घातला दैत्य॥6॥
छेदुनियां सहस्र भुजा । कामधेनु आणिली वोजा ॥7॥
शिळा प्रतापें सागरीं तारी । स्थापी बिभीषण रावण मारी ॥8॥
मारोनियां कंसराव । पिता सोडविला वसुदेव ॥9॥
पांचाळीसी गांजितां वैरी । वस्त्रें आपण जाला हरी ॥10॥
गजेंद्र स्मरे राम राम। त्यासी पाववी वैकुंठधाम ॥11॥
तुका ह्मणे हरिरूप जाले । पुन्हा जन्मा नाहीं आले ॥12॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
I do not fear you, O Death. The Name is my very lifeblood. You do not know who my protector is: Narayana stands with the saints. He slew the demon Shankhasura in the ocean and brought back the four Vedas. As the tortoise He slew the great demon, hiding His hands and feet within His shell. In the mighty boar form He lifted the earth upon His tusks. He tore apart Hiranyakashipu and delivered the devotee Prahlad. As Vamana He became the Lord of the lowly, sending the demon Bali to the nether world. He severed a thousand arms and brought back the wish-fulfilling cow. He made stones float across the sea, installed Vibhishana, and slew Ravana. He killed King Kamsa and freed His father Vasudeva. When enemies tormented Draupadi, Hari Himself became her endless garment. When the elephant Gajendra cried out to Rama, the Lord carried him to Vaikuntha. Says Tuka, all who took on Hari's form were freed and never born again.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
I do not fear you, Death. The Name is my lifeblood. You do not know who my protector is: Narayana stands with the saints. He slew the demon Shankha in the ocean and brought back the four Vedas. As the tortoise he slew the great demon, hiding his hands and feet within his shell. In the mighty boar form he lifted the earth on his tusks. He tore apart Hiranyakashipu and saved the devotee Prahlad. As Vamana he became the Lord of the lowly and sent the demon Bali down to the nether world. He cut off the thousand arms and brought back the wish-granting cow. He floated stones across the sea, set up Vibhishana, and killed Ravana. He killed King Kamsa and freed his father Vasudeva. When enemies tormented Draupadi, Hari himself became her unending cloth. When the elephant Gajendra cried out Rama, Rama, the Lord carried him to Vaikuntha. Tuka says: those who took on Hari's form were freed and never born again.
What it means
Tukaram answers his own fear of death by reciting the long record of God's rescues. The Name is his lifeblood, and his protector is Narayana, who stands with the saints, so Death has no claim on him. He runs through the deeds and avatars, Shankhasura and the Vedas, the tortoise and boar, Prahlad, Bali, Parashurama, the bridge to Lanka, Kamsa, Draupadi's endless sari, Gajendra carried to Vaikuntha, as so much evidence already on the table. The frame is simple: a God who has reached down to save so many across the ages will not abandon the one who holds his Name. And the final stake is release itself: those who became one with Hari were freed and never born again.
The Power of the Name
The supremacy of nama-smarana: God's name as the highest practice.
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