Lament, suffering that will not leave
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
अनुभव ऐसा । मज लागला सरिसा ॥1॥
पाठी बैसली सेजारीं । नव्हे शांत कोणे परी ॥ध्रु.॥
कोठें न लगे जावें । कांहीं घालावया ठावें ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे कोटि । दुःखाच्या च तये पोटीं ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Such is my experience, which has attached itself to me relentlessly. Suffering sits beside me like a companion and will not be quieted by any means. There is no need to go anywhere or to find a place to put it down. Says Tuka, in the very womb of that suffering lie ten million more.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
This is my experience. It has fastened itself to me without a gap. It has sat down at my back, right beside me. By no means will it grow quiet. There is nowhere I need to go to set it down. There is nowhere to lay it. Tuka says: in the very belly of this sorrow lie ten million more.
What it means
Tukaram speaks from inside unrelieved suffering. He says it has attached itself to him without any gap and sits at his very side like a companion that will not be calmed by anything he tries. The bitterness deepens when he admits there is no place to carry it off to and set it down. The final line is the darkest: within the belly of this one sorrow wait ten million more. The verse does not resolve into comfort; it lets the weight of affliction stand, the honest cry of a devotee who finds no exit on his own.
Autobiography
Tukaram's own account of his life, struggles, awakening, and mission.
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