Petition, the servant at the door
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
जोडिले अंजुळ । असें दानउताविळ ॥1॥
पाहा वाहा कृपादृष्टी । आणा अनुभवा गोष्टी ॥ध्रु.॥
तूं धनी मी सेवक । आइक्य तें एका एक ॥2॥
करितों विनंती । तुका सन्मुख पुढती॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
I have joined my palms, eager for Your gift. Cast Your merciful gaze upon me and bring these words to experience. You are the master and I the servant; our union is one and the same. Says Tuka, I stand before You making this humble plea.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
I have cupped my palms together, eager for your gift. Look at me; carry me; turn your merciful gaze my way. Bring these words into living experience. You are the master, I am the servant; yet our union is one and the same. I make my plea. Tuka says: I stand before you, asking once again.
What it means
Tukaram comes empty-handed and says so. He folds his palms like a beggar waiting for alms, and the alms he wants is grace itself, the merciful gaze that turns mere words into something he actually tastes and lives. He names the relationship plainly: God is master, he is servant. But then he refuses to leave it there, insisting that master and servant are finally one and the same. The whole poem is the posture of standing face to face and pleading, unwilling to settle for distance.
Prayers
Direct appeals to God: for protection, guidance, strength, and mercy.
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