Longing, the devotee turns demanding
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
बहु धीर केला । जाण न होसी विठ्ठला ॥1॥
आतां धरीन पदरीं । करीन तुज मज सरी ॥ध्रु.॥
जालों जीवासी उदार । उभा राहिलों समोर ॥2॥
तुका विनवी संतां । ऐसें सांगा पंढरिनाथा॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
I have waited with great patience, but You do not respond, O Vitthal. Now I shall seize hold of Your garment and make You equal to me. I have become generous with my very life and stand here before You. Says Tuka, appealing to the saints: please convey this to the Lord of Pandhari.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
I have waited with great patience. You still do not heed me, Vitthal. Now I will catch hold of your garment. I will make you equal to me. I have grown reckless with my own life. I stand here right in front of you. Tuka pleads with the saints: say this for me to the Lord of Pandhari.
What it means
Patience has run out, and Tukaram turns from waiting to demanding. He has held on long, but Vitthal still gives no answer, so he says he will seize the hem of God's garment and refuse to be put off. The line about making God equal to himself is the bold heart of it: love has made him careless of his own life, so he will stand face to face and not back down. Unable to reach Vitthal directly, he asks the saints to carry his message in. The verse shows devotion that has become insistent, even confrontational, without losing its trust.
Longing and Separation
Cries from the dark night of the soul: remonstrances, complaints, and desperate yearning.
More in this theme →