Ecstasy, the merit of many births bearing fruit
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
बरवें ऐसें आलें मना । नारायणा या काळें ॥1॥
देव आह्मा प्राणसखा । जालें दुःखा खंडण ॥ध्रु. ॥
जन्मांतरिंच्या पुण्यरासी । होत्या त्यांसी फळ आलें ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे निजठेवा । होईल हेवा लाधलों ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
How beautiful that this has entered my chitta, O Narayana, at this very time. God has become my soul's dearest friend; the sorrow of lifetimes has been shattered. The store of merit accumulated over many births has at last borne its fruit. Says Tuka, I shall count myself blessed for having found this innermost treasure.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Something good has come into my mind, O Narayana, at this very time. God has become the dearest friend of my life. My sorrow is cut to pieces. The heap of merit gathered through many births has now borne its fruit. Tuka says: I have found the treasure that is my own. I will count myself blessed.
What it means
Tukaram marks a moment when, all at once, God arrives as the closest friend of his life and the grief of lifetimes is broken. He reads this not as luck but as harvest: the store of good gathered across many births has finally ripened into fruit. The treasure he names is nijatheva, the wealth that was always his own, now recovered. The mood is gratitude shading into awe, a man astonished that the long accounting of his births has paid out in this single nearness to God.
Ecstasy and Joy
Triumphant happiness: poems written from the far side of the struggle.
More in this theme →