Surrender, for your name's sake
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
समर्थाचें बाळ पांघरे वाकळ । हसती सकळ लोक कोणा ॥1॥
समर्थासी लाज आपुल्या नांवाची । शरण आल्याची लागे चिंता ॥2॥
जरी तुज कांहीं होईल उचित । तरी हा पतित तारीं तुका ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
When the child of a mighty lord wears a coarse blanket, the whole world laughs. But the mighty lord feels shame for his own name's sake and takes upon himself the worry for the one who has surrendered. If it is at all fitting for You, O Lord, then save this fallen Tuka.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
When the child of a great lord goes about in a coarse, ragged blanket, everyone laughs. At whom? The mighty lord feels the shame, for his own name's sake; he takes on the worry for the one who has come to him for refuge. Tuka says: if it is at all fitting for you, O Lord, then save this fallen Tuka.
What it means
Tukaram makes his rescue God's concern rather than his own deserving. The image is keen: a rich father's child seen in rags brings ridicule not on the child but on the father, whose name is at stake. So, he argues, the one who has surrendered becomes the Lord's own responsibility; my poverty reflects on you. He does not claim he has earned saving. He leaves it as a gentle condition, if it is fitting for you, and asks plainly to be saved as the fallen man he is. The whole appeal rests on God's honor and on the bond of refuge, not on Tuka's merit.
Prayers
Direct appeals to God: for protection, guidance, strength, and mercy.
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