Devotion, God as mother
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
मायलेंकरांत भिन्न । नाहीं उत्तराचा सीण ॥1॥
धाडीं धाडीं वो भातुकें । रंजविल्याचें कौतुकें ॥ध्रु.॥
करूनि नवल। याचें बोलिलों ते बोल ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे माते । पांडुरंगे कृपावंते॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Between mother and child there is no distance; harsh words cause no real offense. Send, O Mother, send the gifts of delight, for the joy of pleasing Your child is its own reward. I have spoken these words out of wonder. Says Tuka, O Mother Panduranga, O gracious one.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Between mother and child there is no distance; sharp words leave no real hurt. Send, O Mother, send the gifts of delight, for the joy of pleasing Your child is its own reward. I have spoken these words out of wonder. Tuka says: O Mother Panduranga, O gracious one.
What it means
Tukaram speaks to God as a child speaks to its mother, claiming the closeness that excuses everything. Because there is no real distance between mother and child, even harsh or demanding words between them cause no offense and break nothing. From inside that freedom he asks for the gifts of delight, reminding the Mother that pleasing her child is its own joy. He admits his bold words rose simply out of wonder, and signs off by naming God directly as Mother Panduranga, the gracious one, turning the Lord of Pandhari into the mother who indulges him.
Devotion to Vitthal
Poems of praise, invocation, and intimate address to Lord Vitthal at Pandharpur.
More in this theme →