Devotion, the nearness of the nectar
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
सवंग जालें सवंग जालें । घरा आलें बंदरींचे ॥1॥
आतां हेवा करावा सोस । भक्तिरस बहु गोड ॥ध्रु.॥
पाउल वेचे चिंता नाहीं । आड कांहीं मग नये ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे संचिताचें । नेणें काचें राहों तें ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Everything has become affordable, as if the goods from the distant port have arrived at our very doorstep. Now pursue this longing with zeal, for the nectar of devotion is exceedingly sweet. Every step you take removes worry; nothing can stand in the way after that. Says Tuka, I do not know how the store of past karma can hold out any longer.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
It has become cheap, it has become cheap. The goods from the far port have come home. Now long for it with all your heart, for the nectar of devotion is very sweet. Each step you take, your worry falls away; after that nothing can block the road. Tuka says: I do not know how the store of past deeds can hold out now.
What it means
Tukaram uses the image of distant, costly goods suddenly arriving at the door to say that what once seemed far and dear, God, is now cheap and near to whoever wants it. So he urges the listener to crave it openly; this nectar is too sweet to be modest about. Each step on this road dissolves anxiety and clears the way ahead. He ends by wondering aloud how the accumulated weight of past karma can possibly survive such a force; devotion is burning the ledger faster than it can be read.
Devotion to Vitthal
Poems of praise, invocation, and intimate address to Lord Vitthal at Pandharpur.
More in this theme →