Nature of God, the Lord who comes down
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
भक्तवत्सल दिनानाथ । तिहीं लोकीं ज्याची मात॥1॥
तो हा पुंडलिकासाठीं । आला उभा वाळवंटीं ॥ध्रु.॥
गर्भवास धरी। अंबॠषीचा कैवारी ॥2॥
सकळां देवां अधिष्ठान । एका मंत्रासी कारण ॥3॥
तुका ह्मणे ध्यानीं । ज्यासि ध्यातो शूळपाणी॥4॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
He who loves His devotees, the Lord of the lowly, whose glory resounds through the three worlds. For the sake of Pundalik, He came and stood upon the sands of the riverbank. He endures the womb for His devotees, the champion of Ambarish. He is the foundation of all gods and the source of the supreme mantra. Says Tuka, He is the one whom even Shiva meditates upon.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
He loves his devotees; he is the Lord of the lowly. His glory is told through the three worlds. For the sake of Pundalik he came and stood upon the sands. He takes on the womb; he is the champion of Ambarish. He is the ground of all the gods, the source of the one mantra. Tuka says: he is the one whom Shiva, holding the trident, meditates upon.
What it means
Tukaram praises the strange greatness of a God whose majesty is shown in how low he will stoop. Famed through all three worlds and tender to his devotees and to the lowly, this Lord came and stood waiting on the riverbank simply because Pundalik bid him wait. For love of his devotees he even enters the womb and takes birth, as he did to defend Ambarish. The closing turn lifts him highest of all: he is the foundation of every god and the source of the supreme mantra, the one upon whom even Shiva, the trident-bearer, fixes his meditation.
The Nature of God
Explorations of God's character, power, grace, and relationship to the world.
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