Wonder, God bound by love
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
बहुत कृपाळु दीनाचा दयाळु । जगीं भक्तवत्सळु नाम तुझें ॥1॥
मानियेला चित्तीं बळीचा उपकार । अझूनि त्याचें द्वार राखसील ॥ध्रु.॥
काय त्याच्या भेणें बैसलासी द्वारीं । नाहीं तुज हरि कृपा बहु ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे भक्तजनाची ममता । तुह्मांसी अनंता अलोलिक ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Most compassionate, merciful to the lowly, Your name in the world is the Lover of Devotees. You valued the offering of Bali so deeply that even now You stand guard at his door. Are You bound there out of fear of him, or is it that Your mercy knows no bounds, O Hari? Says Tuka, Your love for Your devotees, O Ananta, is truly extraordinary.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
You are most kind, merciful to the lowly. In the world Your name is Lover of Devotees. You held Bali's offering dear in Your heart. Even now You guard his door. Do You sit at his door out of fear of him? No, Hari, it is that Your mercy is vast. Tuka says: Your tenderness toward Your devotee, O Ananta, is beyond anything.
What it means
Tukaram marvels that the highest Lord chooses to stand watch like a servant at the door of His devotee Bali. He names two readings and rejects the false one: God is not bound there by fear, but by His own boundless mercy. The poem turns the usual order upside down: the master becomes the doorkeeper, because love for the devotee is greater than majesty. Calling Him Ananta, the endless one, sharpens the wonder: what is limitless has gladly made itself small for love.
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