Longing, hungry for the face
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
कधीं कृपा करिसी नेणें । मज दीनाचें धांवणें ॥1॥
भेटी लागीं पंढरीनाथा । जीवीं लागली तळमळ व्यथा ॥ध्रु.॥
सिणलें माझें मन । वाट पाहतां लोचन ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे लागली भूक । तुझें पहावया श्रीमुख ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
I do not know when You will show mercy; this is the cry of a lowly jiva. For the sake of meeting You, O Lord of Pandhari, my chitta burns with aching and restless longing. My weary mind and my watching eyes grow tired of waiting. Says Tuka, I am hungry to behold Your blessed face.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
I do not know when you will show mercy; this is the cry of a lowly one running to you. For the sake of meeting you, O Lord of Pandhari, my heart burns with restless, aching longing. My mind is worn out, and my eyes are tired from watching the road. Tuka says: a hunger has seized me, to behold your blessed face.
What it means
Tukaram pours out the plain ache of waiting for God. He does not know when mercy will come, and calls himself a lowly creature running toward the Lord. His longing is bodily: the heart burns, the mind tires, the eyes grow weary from watching the road for his arrival. The closing word names it as hunger, an appetite that nothing but the sight of Panduranga's face can satisfy.
Longing and Separation
Cries from the dark night of the soul: remonstrances, complaints, and desperate yearning.
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