Prayer, give me what endures
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
सरे ऐसें ज्याचें दान । त्याचे कोण उपकार ॥1॥
नको वाढूं ऐसें काचें । दे वो साच विठ्ठला ॥ध्रु.॥
रडत मागें सांडी पोर । ते काय थोर माउली ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे कीतिन वाढे । धर्म गाढे ते ऐसे ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
What good is a gift that runs out? What obligation does such a giver earn? O Vitthal, do not give me anything brittle; give me what is real. What kind of mother leaves her crying child behind on the road? Says Tuka, true righteousness is that which endures and whose glory only increases.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
A gift that runs out, what good is it? What thanks does such a giver earn? Do not give me brittle things, O Vitthal; give me what is real. What kind of mother leaves her crying child behind on the road? Is she a great mother? Tuka says: glory grows where the gift endures; such are the strong, lasting ways of dharma.
What it means
Tukaram is praying, but he is also pressing Vitthal to give rightly. He measures a gift by whether it lasts: anything that runs out is brittle and earns no real gratitude, so he asks only for what is real and enduring. The image of a mother who abandons her crying child on the road is his test of true care; a giver who lets the devotee fall short is no better than that. The close names the standard for both God's giving and a person's living: only what endures, in gift and in dharma, carries real glory.
Prayers
Direct appeals to God: for protection, guidance, strength, and mercy.
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