Devotion as watchdog, fed by the Lord's hand
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
सिळें खातां आला वीट । सुनें धीट पावि धरी॥1॥
कान्होबा ते जाणे खूण । उन उन घास घाली ॥ध्रु.॥
आपुलिये ठायींचे घ्यावें । लाड भावें पाळावा ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे मी जुनाट । मोहो आट परतला ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Tired of eating stale food, the faithful dog stands with paw raised. Krishna knows the sign and feeds it warm, fresh morsels. One should receive what comes from one's own master and be nourished by His grace. Says Tuka, I am an old, tested one; the pull of delusion has turned back from me.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Tired of eating stale scraps, the bold dog stands with its paw raised. Kanhoba knows the sign and lays warm, fresh morsels in its mouth. One should take what comes from one's own place and be reared by love. Tuka says: I am old and tested; the pull of delusion has turned back from me.
What it means
Tukaram pictures the devotee as a dog worn out on stale leavings, raising its paw to beg better food. Krishna, here Kanhoba, reads the sign at once and feeds it warm, fresh morsels from his own hand. The lesson is to receive only what comes from one's true master and to be raised by that love rather than scavenging elsewhere. He closes by speaking as a seasoned old dog, long kept and proven, for whom the lure of delusion has finally lost its grip and turned away.
Worldly Metaphors
Poems using images from games, occupations, and daily life as spiritual teaching.
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