Prayer, the only giver of life
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
सोडवा सोडवा । सोडवा हो अनंता ॥१॥
तुजविण ऐसा । कोण दुजा प्राणदाता ॥ध्रु.॥
कोणा लाज नेणां ऐसें । आणिकां शरण आम्ही जातां ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे सखया । माझ्या रखुमाईच्या कांता ॥३॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Save me, save me, save me, O Ananta. Who else but you is the giver of life? I know no one, and shame prevents me from taking refuge elsewhere. Says Tuka, O my dear friend, O husband of Rukmini, save me.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Save me, save me, save me, O Ananta. Who else but you is the giver of life? I know no other, and shame keeps me from going to anyone else for refuge. Tuka says: O dear friend, husband of Rakhumai, save me.
What it means
Tukaram is crying for rescue and closing off every other door as he does it. The threefold save me, save me, save me carries the urgency, and the address to Ananta, the endless one, names where he turns. His reasoning is exclusive: God alone gives life, so there is no second giver to run to, and he would feel shame even attempting to take refuge anywhere else. The plea ends in intimacy rather than dread, calling God his dear friend and the husband of Rakhumai, so the one he begs for help is also the one he loves and belongs to.
Prayers
Direct appeals to God: for protection, guidance, strength, and mercy.
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