Krishna, the child who enchants Mathura
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
मुख पाहे माता । सुख न माये चित्ता । धन्य मानव संचिता । वोडवलें आजि ॥१॥
बाळ चांगलें वो । बाळ चांगलें वो । म्हणतां चांगलें । वेळ लागे तया बोलें ।
जीवापरीस तें वाल्हें । मज आवडतें ॥ध्रु.॥
मिळोनियां याती । येती नारी कुमारी बहुती । नाही आठव त्या चित्तीं । देहभाव कांहीं ।
विसरल्या घरें । तान्हीं पारठीं लेकुरें । धाक सांडोनियां येरें । तान भूक नाहीं ॥२॥
एकी असतील घरीं । चित्त तयापासीं परी । वेगीं करोनि वोसरी । तेथें जाऊं पाहे ।
लाज सांडियेली वोज । नाहीं फजितीचें काज । सुख सांडोनियां सेज । तेथें धाव घाली ॥३॥
वेधियेल्या बाळा । नर नारी या सकळा । बाळा खेळवी अबला । त्याही विसरल्या ।
कुमर कुमारी । नाभाव हा शरीरीं । दृष्टी न फिरे माघारी । तया देखतां हे ॥४॥
वैरभाव नाहीं । आप पर कोणीं कांहीं । शोक मोह दुःख ठायीं । तया निरसलीं ।
तुका म्हणे सुखी । केलीं आपणासारिखीं । स्वामी माझा कवतुकें । बाळवेषें खेळे ॥५॥
अशोकाच्या वनीं सीता शोक करी । कां हों अंतरले रघुनाथ दुरी ।
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
The mother gazes at the child's face, unable to contain the joy in her chitta. Blessed is the merit that has ripened today. What a beautiful child, what a beautiful child! One could go on saying it forever; it is dearer to me than life itself. Women and girls gather from every clan, forgetting all sense of the body. They forget their homes, their hungry and thirsty little ones; fear, thirst, and hunger all vanish. Even those who remain at home have their hearts drawn there, making excuses to rush to that place. They abandon all modesty, leaving the comfort of their beds, and run. Young and old, men and women, all are enchanted by this child. The women play with him and forget themselves. Boys and girls lose all bodily awareness; their gaze will not turn away once it falls upon him. There is no enmity, no sense of mine and yours; sorrow, delusion, and suffering all dissolve. Says Tuka, my Lord has made everyone as joyful as himself, playing in the guise of a child for his own delight.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
The mother gazes at the child's face, and the joy will not fit inside her heart. Blessed is the merit that has ripened today. What a beautiful child, what a beautiful child! You could say it forever; he is dearer to me than my own life. Women and girls gather from every clan and forget all sense of the body. They forget their homes, their hungry and thirsty little ones; fear, thirst, and hunger all vanish. Even those who stay home have their hearts pulled there, and make excuses to rush to that place. They drop all modesty, leave the comfort of their beds, and run. Young and old, men and women, all are enchanted by this child. The women play with him and forget themselves. Boys and girls lose all awareness of the body; once the gaze falls on him it will not turn back. There is no enmity, no sense of mine and yours; sorrow, delusion, and suffering all dissolve. Tuka says: my Lord has made everyone as joyful as himself, playing in the guise of a child for his own delight.
What it means
Tukaram pictures the child Krishna at play in Mathura and the helpless love he draws from everyone who sees him. The mother cannot contain her joy, and women and girls leave homes, beds, modesty, even their own crying children, to come and gaze at him, forgetting hunger, fear, and the body itself. The point under the scene is the power of God's beauty: once the eyes fall on him the gaze will not turn back, and in his presence the old divisions of mine and yours, along with sorrow and delusion, simply dissolve. Tukaram names the final stakes: the Lord takes the form of a playful child on purpose, and by it he makes everyone share in his own joy.
Krishna Leela
Poems celebrating Krishna's birth, childhood, and divine play.
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