Longing, the fish out of water
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
न गमे न गमे न गमे हरिविण । न मगे न मगे न मगे मेळवा शाम कोणी गे ॥1॥
तळमळ करी तैसा जीव जळाविण मासा । दिसती दिशा ओसा वो ॥ध्रु.॥
नाठवे भूक तान विकळ जालें मन । घडी जाय प्रमाण जुगा एकी वो ॥2॥
जरी तुह्मी नोळखा सांगतें ऐका । तुकयाबंधूचा सखा जगजीवन ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
I cannot bear it, I cannot bear it, I cannot bear it without Hari. Bring me my dark Lord, someone, bring Him to me. My jiva writhes like a fish out of water; all directions appear empty and desolate. I forget hunger and thirst; my mind has grown distracted; a single moment feels as long as an age. If you do not recognize Him, listen: He is the friend of Tuka's brother, the life of the world.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
I cannot bear it, I cannot bear it, I cannot bear it without Hari. Bring me, someone bring me, my dark Lord, my Shyam. My life writhes like a fish out of water; every direction looks empty and desolate. I forget hunger and thirst, my mind has come undone, and a single moment stretches as long as an age. If you do not know Him, then listen: He is the friend of Tuka's brother, the very life of the world.
What it means
This is the cry of separation, and the threefold repetition is the sound of someone past composure. Tukaram, here speaking as Tuka's brother, reaches for the most exact image of unbearable lack: a fish thrown out of water, thrashing and unable to live. The world drains of meaning, hunger and thirst no longer register, and time itself swells so that one moment feels like an age. The last lines turn outward to the listener who may not recognize this Lord, naming Him not by power but by intimacy, the friend of the singer and the life of the whole world.
Longing and Separation
Cries from the dark night of the soul: remonstrances, complaints, and desperate yearning.
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