Prayer, do not let me drown
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
कृपा करुनी देवा । मज साच तें दाखवा ॥१॥
तुम्ही दयावंत कैसे । कीर्ति जगामाजी वसे ॥ध्रु.॥
पाहोनियां डोळां । हातीं ओढवाल काळा ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे देवा । माझा करावा कुठावा ॥३॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
O God, show me by your grace what is truly real. Your honor will be lost if you abandon me, and ruin is written on my forehead. Will you watch with open eyes as I drown? Says Tuka, I place my head at your feet; now do as you will.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
By your grace, O God, show me what is truly real. How merciful you are; your fame lives all through the world. Will you watch with open eyes while ruin drags me away by the hand? Tuka says: O God, make me wholly your own.
What it means
Tukaram prays to be shown what is real, and presses God with God's own reputation. The world calls you merciful, he says, so will you really stand and watch, eyes open, as I am dragged off to ruin. He puts God's honor on the line: to abandon him would stain the very fame for kindness that fills the world. The plea ends simply, asking God to claim him entirely as his own.
Prayers
Direct appeals to God: for protection, guidance, strength, and mercy.
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