Confession, the sinner holds his ground
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
आह्मी पापी तूं पावन । हें तों पूर्वापार जाण ॥1॥
नवें करूं नये जुनें । सांभाळावें ज्याचें तेणें ॥ध्रु.॥
राखावा तो ठाव। मिरासी करोनि उपाव ॥2॥
वादें मारी हाका । देवा आइकवी तुका ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
We are wrongdoers and You are the purifier; this has been so from the very beginning. Do not try to make something new of what is old; let each uphold his own role. Guard your own rightful place and hold it with all your means. Says Tuka, he argues boldly and makes God listen to his case.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
We are the sinners; you are the one who makes us pure. This has been so from the beginning. Do not make the old thing new. Let each keep his own part. Guard your place. Hold it as your rightful claim, by every means. Tuka says: he calls out loudly, pressing his case, and makes God listen.
What it means
Tukaram turns an old truth into a claim he can hold God to: from the start, the roles have been fixed, we are sinners and God is the purifier. He warns against unsettling that ancient arrangement, urging that each side keep its own role rather than redefine it. The counsel to guard your rightful place applies to the devotee, who should hold his standing before God as an inherited right and not surrender it. The closing line shows Tukaram doing exactly that, arguing boldly and forcing God to hear his case.
Confession and Sin
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