Plea for release, the vow of the feet
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
एकवेळ करीं या दुःखावेगळें । दुरिताचें जाळें उगवूनि॥1॥
आठवीन पाय हा माझा नवस । रात्री ही दिवस पांडुरंगा ॥ध्रु.॥
बहु दूरवरी भोगविले भोग । आतां पांडुरंगा सोडवावें॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे काया करीन कुरवंडी । ओंवाळूनि सांडीं मस्तक हें ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
For once, free me from this sorrow, O God, by untangling the web of sin. I will remember Your feet; this is my vow, day and night, O Panduranga. For too long I have been made to suffer these painful consequences. Says Tuka, I will offer my body as a sacrifice, bowing and casting even my head before You.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
For once, set me free from this sorrow. Untangle the net of my sins. I will remember Your feet; this is my vow, by night and by day, O Panduranga. For too long I have been made to suffer these consequences. Now, Panduranga, release me. Tuka says: I will offer my body as a sacrifice; I will wave even this head of mine before You and cast it down.
What it means
Tukaram is begging for release from a long stretch of suffering he traces to his own sins, picturing them as a net he cannot untangle alone. In return he makes a vow: he will hold God's feet in memory day and night, without break. He says the consequences have run on long enough and asks God to cut them off now. The last line is an offering of his whole self, body and head laid down before God, the gesture of one who keeps nothing back.
Prayers
Direct appeals to God: for protection, guidance, strength, and mercy.
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