Prayer, the Name on the lips
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
विनवितों सेवटीं । आहे तैसें माझे पोटीं ॥1॥
कंठीं राहावें राहावें । हें चि मागतसें भावें ॥ध्रु.॥
पुरली वासना । येणें होईल नारायणा ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे जो देहाडा । तो चि वर्णीन पवाडा ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
In this final plea I speak what is truly in my chitta. May Your Name remain upon my lips; this is all I ask with devotion. If this desire is fulfilled, it will satisfy everything, O Narayana. Says Tuka, whatever day remains, I will spend it singing Your glory.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
This is my last plea, and I will say what is really in me. Stay in my throat; stay there. This is all I ask, and I ask it with my whole heart. If that one desire is granted, O Narayana, everything in me is satisfied. Tuka says: whatever days are left to me, I will spend them singing Your glory.
What it means
Tukaram strips his asking down to a single request and lays it bare. He does not want wealth, rescue, or heaven; he wants the Name of God to stay on his lips and never leave. He tells God plainly that if this one wish is met, nothing else is lacking. The vow that follows is the proof of the request: whatever life remains will be poured out in singing of Narayana, so the prayer and the rest of his life become the same thing.
Prayers
Direct appeals to God: for protection, guidance, strength, and mercy.
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