The true warrior, conquering the world
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
जिंकावा संसार । येणें नांवें तरी शूर ॥1॥
येरें काय तीं बापुडीं । कीर अहंकाराचीं घोडीं ॥ध्रु.॥
पण ऐशा नांवें । देवा धरिजेतो भावें ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे ज्यावें । सत्य कीर्तीनें बरवें ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
He alone is truly a warrior who conquers the worldly life. All others are mere wretches, horses ridden by ego. By this very determination one can hold God through devotion. Says Tuka, one should live nobly, adorned by the beauty of truthful fame.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Conquer the worldly life: by that name alone are you truly brave. All the rest are only poor creatures, horses that ego rides. By this same resolve a man holds God through love. Tuka says: it is good to live by truth, adorned with true fame.
What it means
Tukaram redefines bravery away from conquest in the world toward conquest of the world's pull. The hero is the one who masters worldly life; everyone else, however fierce they look, is just a mount that ego sits on and steers. He then ties this inward victory to devotion: the same firm resolve that masters the world is what lets a person take hold of God through love. The poem ends with the standard he sets, a life built on truth and a fame that is real, not flattering noise.
Worldly Life
The perplexities of action, karma, and navigating life in the world.
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