Devotion, the child at the mother's side
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
कवतुकवाणी बोलतसें लाडें । आरुष वांकडें करुनि मुख ॥1॥
दुजेपणीं भाव नाहीं हे आशंका । जननीबाळकामध्यें भेद ॥ध्रु.॥
सलगी दुरूनि जवळी पाचारूं । धांवोनियां करूं अंगसंग॥2॥
धरूनि पालव मागतों भातुकें । आवडीचें निकें प्रेमसुख ॥3॥
तुका ह्मणे तुज आमची च गोडी । ऐसी हे आवडी कळों आली ॥4॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
I speak lovingly in playful tones, twisting my face into a pout. In this game there is no real duality, no separation between mother and child. From a distance I call out with familiar ease; running close, I press against Your body. Tugging at Your garment, I beg for a trinket, for the sweetness of loving delight. Says Tuka, it is our love that You find sweet; this I have come to know.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
I speak in coaxing, playful words, twisting my face into a little pout. In this game there is no real two-ness, no division between mother and child. From far off I call you with easy familiarity; then I run close and press my body against yours. Holding your hem, I beg for a treat, for the good sweetness of loving delight. Tuka says: it is our love that you find sweet. This is the liking I have come to understand.
What it means
Tukaram pictures the bond with God as that of a small child with its mother, all play and no distance. He acts out the child's tricks: a coaxing voice, a pretend pout, calling from across the room and then running to cling. There is no real separation here, no two-ness; the playfulness is possible only because the love is sure. He tugs at the hem and begs, not for an object, but for the sweetness of loving closeness itself. The last line turns it around: what God delights in is the devotee's love, and recognizing that mutual sweetness is the whole discovery of the poem.
Devotion to Vitthal
Poems of praise, invocation, and intimate address to Lord Vitthal at Pandharpur.
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