Plea, God's hidden care
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
मुरुकुश दोन्ही मारिले आसुर । दुर्वास ॠषीश्वर सुखी केला ॥1॥
मारियेला मुरु ह्मणोनी मुरारी । नाम तुझें हरी पडियेलें ॥ध्रु.॥
पूवाअहुनी ऐसा भक्तिप्रतिपाळ । केला त्वां सांभाळ नारायणा ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे ये चि वेळे काय जालें । कां सोंग धरिलें मोहनाचें ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
The two demons Muru and Kushu were slain, and the sage Durvasa was set at ease. Because You killed Muru, the name Murari became Yours, O Hari. From the very beginning You have protected Your devotees in this manner, O Narayana. Says Tuka, what has changed now? Why have You put on this disguise of indifference?.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
You killed both the demons, Muru and Kushu. You set the sage Durvasa at ease. Because You killed Muru You are called Murari. That name became Yours, Hari. From the beginning You have guarded Your devotees this way. You kept them safe, Narayana. Tuka says: what has happened this time? Why have You put on the mask of indifference?
What it means
Tukaram recites God's old record of rescue: demons slain, the sage saved, even the name Murari earned by protecting devotees. Against that long history he sets his present complaint: from the start You have always shielded Your own, so why now do You seem cold and far off? The poem names the felt distance as a mask, a disguise of indifference, not the truth of God. It is the cry of a devotee who trusts the past enough to demand the same care now, refusing to believe the silence is real.
Sacred Stories
Abhangas drawing on mythological narratives to illuminate spiritual truths.
More in this theme →