The Lord comes when all else leaves
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
गजेंद्र तो हस्ती सहस्र वरुषें । जळामाजी नक्रें पीडिलासे ॥1॥
सुहुदव सांडिलें कोणी नाहीं साहे । अंतीं वाट पाहे विठो तुझी ॥ध्रु.॥
कृपेच्या सागरा माझ्या नारायणा । तया दोघांजणा तारियेलें ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे नेले वाऊनि विमानी । मी ही आईकोनी विश्वासलों ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
The great elephant Gajendra was tormented by a crocodile in the waters for a thousand years. All his companions abandoned him, none would endure his suffering, and at last he looked only to You, O Vitthal. O ocean of mercy, my Narayana, You delivered them both. Says Tuka, You carried them aloft in a celestial chariot, and hearing this, I too have placed my trust in You.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Gajendra the great elephant was tormented in the water by a crocodile for a thousand years. His companions left him; none could bear his suffering. At the end he watched only for You, Vitthal. O ocean of mercy, my Narayana, You delivered them both. Tuka says: You carried them up in a celestial chariot. Hearing this, I too have put my trust in You.
What it means
Tukaram retells Gajendra to name the moment faith is for: when everyone who could help has walked away and the suffering has no end in sight. The elephant's friends abandon him, and only then does he look to the Lord alone, who delivers both the captive and even the crocodile. The unspoken frame is the hearer's own desperation. Tuka does not stand outside the story; he says that simply hearing it was enough to make him trust too. The stakes are stated plainly: at the end, the one you watch for is the one who comes.
Sacred Stories
Abhangas drawing on mythological narratives to illuminate spiritual truths.
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