Narasimha, the Lord makes His word true
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
प्रल्हादाकारणें नरसिंहीं जालासी । त्याचिया बोलासी सत्य केलें ॥1॥
राम कृष्ण गोविंदा नारायणा हरि । गर्जे राजद्वारीं भक्तराज ॥ध्रु.॥
विठ्ठल माधव मुकुंद केशव । तेणें दैत्यराव दचकला ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे तयां कारणें सगुण । भक्तांचें वचन सत्य केलें ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
For the sake of Prahlada You became Narasimha, making his words come true. Rama, Krishna, Govinda, Narayana, Hari, the royal devotee thundered these names at the king's gate. Vitthal, Madhava, Mukunda, Keshava, these names made the demon king tremble. Says Tuka, for the sake of Your devotees You assumed a visible form and proved the words of the faithful to be true.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
For Prahlada's sake You became Narasimha. You made his words come true. Rama, Krishna, Govinda, Narayana, Hari: the royal devotee thundered these names at the king's gate. Vitthal, Madhava, Mukunda, Keshava: at these names the demon king trembled. Tuka says: for Your devotees' sake You took a visible form and made the words of the faithful come true.
What it means
Tukaram retells Narasimha around a single act: the Lord made the devotee's word true. Prahlada had insisted God was everywhere, and to keep that word the Lord took form at the pillar. The Names themselves are the weapon here; the boy thunders them and the tyrant shakes. The unspoken claim is about how God meets faith: when a devotee stakes everything on a promise, the Lord puts on a body to make it stand. The pattern to examine is not the demon but our own half-belief, which never forces the issue the way Prahlada's whole-hearted word did.
Sacred Stories
Abhangas drawing on mythological narratives to illuminate spiritual truths.
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