Prayer, the vessel waiting at the door
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
पदोपदीं पायां पडणें । करुणा जाण भाकावी ॥1॥
ये गा ये गा विसांवया । करुणा दयासागरा ॥ध्रु.॥
जोडोनियां करकमळ । नेत्र जळ भरोनि ॥2॥
तुका उभें दारीं पात्र । पुरवीं आर्त विठोबा ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
I fall at Your feet again and again, pleading for mercy. Come, O ocean of compassion, come and rest here. With folded lotus-hands and eyes brimming with tears, Tuka stands at Your door like a vessel waiting. O Vithoba, fulfill this yearning.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Step by step I fall at Your feet, knowing I must plead for mercy. Come, O come and be my rest, ocean of compassion, ocean of mercy. With my lotus-hands folded and my eyes full of tears, Tuka stands at Your door like a vessel waiting to be filled. O Vithoba, fulfill this longing.
What it means
This is a plain cry of dependence and waiting. Tukaram bows again and again, knowing his only recourse is to plead for mercy, and he calls God the very ocean of compassion to come and be his resting place. He paints himself with folded hands and brimming eyes, standing at the door like an empty vessel held out to be filled. The single request is that Vithoba satisfy this yearning; the prayer rests entirely on God's grace and the devotee's patient, open emptiness.
Prayers
Direct appeals to God: for protection, guidance, strength, and mercy.
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