Krishna's lila, devotion past shame
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
दिलें ठेवूं तें विसरसी हातीं । नेणों काय बैसला हरि चित्तीं वो ॥१॥
सर सर परती जालीस आतां भांड । कैसें दाखविसी जगासी या तोंड ।
व्याली माय ते लाजविली रांड । नाहीं थार दो ठायीं जाला खंड वो ॥धृ ॥
होतें तैसें तें उमटलें वरी । बाह्य संपादणी अंतरींची चोरी ।
नाहीं मर्यादा निःसंग बावरी । मन हें गोविंदीं देह काम करी वो ॥२॥
नाहीं करीत उत्तर कोणासवें । पराधीन भोजन दिलें खावें ।
नाहीं अचळ सावरावा ठावे । देखों उदासीन तुज देहभावें वो ॥३॥
कोठें नेणों हा फावला एकांत । सदा किलकिल भोंवतीं बहुत ।
दोघे एकवाटा बोलावया मात । नाहीं लाज धरिली दिला हात वो ॥४॥
करी कवतुक खेळ खेळे कान्हा । दावी लाघव भांडवी सासासुना ।
परा भक्ति हे शुद्ध तुम्ही जाणा । तुका म्हणें ऐसें कळों यावें जना वो ॥५॥
भरिला उलंडूनि रिता करी घट । मीस पाणियाचें गोविंदाची चट ।
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
You forget even what has been placed in your own hands. Who knows what Hari has settled into your chitta. Go on, step back now, you fraud. How will you show your face to the world? A married woman has been shamed; you have no standing in either place. What was hidden within has surfaced outwardly: a polished exterior hiding inner theft. She has lost all restraint, this bewildered one; her mind is in Govinda while the body goes through motions. She makes no reply to anyone; she eats only what is given, like one not in her own keeping. We find her indifferent to everything, lost to bodily awareness. Where she found this solitude no one knows, for crowds surround her always. The two of them share one path and one conversation; with no shame at all, she has given him her hand. Says Tuka, Krishna plays his playful game, setting even mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law to quarreling. This is the highest devotion: pure. May all the world come to know it.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
You forget even what was placed in your own hands. Who knows what Hari has settled into your mind. Step back now, you fraud. How will you show your face to the world? You have shamed the mother who bore you; you have no standing in either place. What was hidden inside has come out: a polished outside hiding theft within. She has lost all restraint, this bewildered one. Her mind is in Govinda while her body goes through the motions. She makes no reply to anyone. She eats only what is given, like one no longer her own. She holds nothing steady. We find her indifferent to everything, lost to the body. Where she found this solitude no one knows, for crowds are always around her. The two of them share one path and one talk. With no shame, she has given him her hand. Tuka says: Krishna plays his playful game; he even sets mothers and daughters quarreling. Know this for the highest devotion, pure. May the whole world come to know it.
What it means
Tukaram speaks in the voice of women scolding a girl who has fallen wholly into love for Krishna, and the scolding slowly turns into recognition. To the world she looks ruined: absent-minded, indifferent, lost to her duties, no longer keeping up appearances. The poem names the stakes by inverting the world's judgment. What looks like disgrace is her mind fixed on Govinda while the body merely moves, and the solitude she keeps in the middle of crowds is union with him. The harsh words land on the worldly habit of measuring devotion by reputation; the verse points instead at the pattern of being so taken by God that nothing of the self is held back. Tuka closes by naming it outright: this absorption past all shame is the purest devotion, and he wants everyone to see it.
Appeals and Exhortations
Direct calls to action: wake up, seek God, do not waste this human birth.
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