Loving accusation, God's hard hand
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
नित्य नित्य पूजा करी श्रीकमळीं । तेणें तुझें काय केलें॥1॥
काय बडिवार सांगसी वांयां । ठावा पंढरिराया आहेसि आह्मां ।
एकला चि जरी देऊं परिहार । आहे दुरिवरी सीमा ॥ध्रु.॥
कर्णाऐसा वीर उदार जुंझार । तो तुवां जर्जर केला वाणीं ।
पडिला भूमी परी नयेची करुणा । दांत पाडियेले दोन्ही ॥2॥
िश्रयाळ बापुडे साित्वकवाणी । खादलें कापूनि त्याचें पोर ।
ऐसा कठिण कोण होईल दुसरा । उखळीं कांडविलें शिर ॥3॥
सिभ्री चक्रवर्ती करितां यज्ञयाग । त्याचें चिरिलें अंग ठायीं ठायीं ।
जाचऊनि प्राण घेतला मागें । पुढें न पाहतां कांहीं ॥4॥
बळीचा अन्याय सांग होता काय। बुडविला तो पाय देऊनि माथां ।
कोंडिलें दार हा काय कहार । सांगतोसी चित्त कथा ॥5॥
हरिश्चंद्राचें राज्य घेऊनियां सर्व। विकविला जीव डोंबाघरीं ।
पाडिला विघड नळा दमयंतीमधीं। ऐसी तुझी बुिद्ध हरि ॥6॥
आणिकही गुण सांगावे किती । केलिया विपित्त माउसीच्या ।
वधियेला मामा सखा पुरुषोत्तमा । ह्मणे बंधु तुकयाचा ॥7॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Lakshmi worships You daily with lotuses; yet what has that won from You? Why do You boast of Your generosity in vain? We know who You are, O Lord of Pandhari. You say You alone can grant deliverance, but Your justice has its limits. Karna, that generous and mighty warrior, You felled him with words alone. Even when he lay on the ground, You showed him no mercy and knocked out both his teeth. Poor Shiryala, a man of gentle nature, You made him cut and serve his own child as food. Who could be more merciless? You had his head pounded in a mortar. The emperor Shibi, performing sacred rites, You had his body carved piece by piece. You extracted his very life with relentless demands, caring nothing for what followed. And what wrong had Bali committed? You pushed him under the earth with Your foot upon his head. You imprisoned him behind closed doors. Is this how You tell devotional stories? You took Harishchandra's entire kingdom and had him sold to a low-caste household. You drove a wedge between Nala and Damayanti. Such is Your cunning, O Hari. And how many more of Your deeds shall I recount? You brought calamity upon Your own mother's kin. You killed Your own uncle. Says Tuka's brother, such is our beloved Lord.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Lakshmi worships You every day with lotuses. What has she ever won from You? Why do You boast of Your generosity for nothing? We know who You are, O Lord of Pandhari. You say You alone can grant deliverance, but Your justice has its limits. Karna was a generous, mighty warrior, and You felled him with words alone. He lay on the ground, yet You showed no pity; You knocked out both his teeth. Poor Shiryala was a gentle, devout man, and You made him cut up his own child and serve it as food. Who could be more merciless? You had his head pounded in a mortar. The emperor Shibi was performing sacred rites, and You had his body carved piece by piece. You wrung out his very life and never looked back at what came after. What wrong had Bali done? You pushed him under the earth with Your foot on his head. You shut him behind a closed door. Is this how You tell devotional stories? You took Harishchandra's whole kingdom and had him sold into a low-caste house. You drove a wedge between Nala and Damayanti. Such is Your cunning, O Hari. How many more of Your deeds shall I count? You brought ruin on Your own mother's kin. You killed Your own uncle. Tuka says: such is our beloved Lord.
What it means
Tukaram speaks to Vitthal in the voice of a hurt lover, listing the famous devotees and kings whom God let suffer terribly. He stacks up Karna, Shiryala, Shibi, Bali, Harishchandra, Nala, even Krishna's own slain uncle, to throw God's boasted generosity back in His face. The point is not to deny God but to protest: if You alone save, why has saving looked so cruel to those who loved You? Behind the accusation is faith, not contempt; only one who is utterly sure of the bond dares to argue with it this hard. The poem leaves the wound open, refusing the easy comfort that devotion always pays off in this life. It asks the listener to face how dark and unaccountable the relationship with God can feel, and still call Him beloved.
Longing and Separation
Cries from the dark night of the soul: remonstrances, complaints, and desperate yearning.
More in this theme →