Exhortation, the robbery within
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
ह्मणवितां हरी न ह्मणे तयाला । दरवडा पडिला देहामाजी ॥1॥
आयुष्यधन त्याचें नेले यमदूतीं । भुलविला नििंश्चतीं कामरंगें ॥ध्रु.॥
नावडे ती कथा देउळासी जातां । िप्रयधनसुता लक्ष तेथें ॥2॥
कोण नेतो तयां घटिका दिवसा एका । कां रे ह्मणे तुका नागवसी ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
One says one will worship Hari but never actually does so; meanwhile, a robbery is underway within the body. The messengers of death have stolen away his lifespan, beguiling him with the colors of desire. He dislikes sacred stories and going to the temple; his attention is fixed only on spouse, wealth, and children. Who is carrying away his moments and days, one by one? Says Tuka, why are you cheating yourself?.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
He says he will worship Hari, but he never does. A robbery is going on inside his own body. The messengers of death have carried off the wealth of his lifespan, while he sits charmed, careless, lost in the colors of desire. He has no taste for sacred stories or for going to the temple; his whole attention is fixed on wife, wealth, and children. Who is it that carries away his hours and his days, one by one? Tuka says: why, then, are you cheating yourself?
What it means
Tukaram describes a man who keeps promising devotion and never begins. While he delays, his life is quietly being stolen from inside: the messengers of death carry off his days one by one while desire keeps him dazed and content. He cannot be drawn to sacred stories or the temple, because spouse, money, and children hold all his attention. Tukaram's last line turns the loss back on the man himself; no outside thief is to blame, the cheating is self-inflicted.
Appeals and Exhortations
Direct calls to action: wake up, seek God, do not waste this human birth.
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