God in the pillar, everywhere when called
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
कोपोनियां पिता बोले प्रल्हादासी । सांग हृषीकेशी कोठें आहे ॥1॥
येरू ह्मणे काष्ठीं पाषाणीं सकळीं । आहे वनमाळी जेथें तेथें ॥ध्रु.॥
खांबावरी लात मारिली दुर्जनें । खांबीं नारायण ह्मणतां चि ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे कैसा खांब कडाडिला । ब्रह्मा दचकला सत्यलोकीं ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
The enraged father demanded of Prahlada: tell me, where is your Hrishikesha? The boy replied: He is in wood, in stone, in everything; the Lord is everywhere. The wicked one kicked the pillar in fury, and the moment the name Narayana was uttered, the pillar burst apart. Says Tuka, see how the pillar thundered and split, and Brahma himself was startled in his celestial abode.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
The father, in fury, said to Prahlada: tell me where your Hrishikesha is. The boy answered: He is in wood, in stone, in everything; Vanamali is wherever you look. The wicked one kicked the pillar in anger. The moment the name Narayana was spoken, the pillar burst. Tuka says: see how the pillar cracked open with a roar, and Brahma himself was startled in his high heaven.
What it means
Tukaram stages the confrontation at the pillar to make the doctrine of God's presence land as fact. The father demands proof of where God is; the boy says everywhere, in wood and stone alike. When the tyrant strikes the pillar in scorn and the Name is uttered, the pillar splits and the Lord comes out of it. The unspoken claim is that the all-pervading God is not an idea but answers when called from anywhere. The shock that reaches even Brahma is the measure of it: God is precisely where mocking certainty swore he could not be.
Sacred Stories
Abhangas drawing on mythological narratives to illuminate spiritual truths.
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