Prayer, weighed words at the feet
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
हें चि वारंवार । पडताळुनी उत्तर ॥1॥
करितों पायांसी विनंती । नुपेक्षावें कमळापती ॥ध्रु.॥
गंगोदकें गंगे । अर्घ्य द्यावें पांडुरंगे ॥2॥
जोडोनियां हात । करी तुका प्रणिपात ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Again and again I test and weigh my words. I make this prayer at Your feet: do not neglect me, O Lord of Kamala. With the water of the Ganga, I offer an oblation to the Ganga itself. Says Tuka, with folded hands I bow in reverence.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Again and again I check it, weighing every word. I make this plea at Your feet: do not pass me by, Lord of Kamala. With Ganga water I offer Ganga her own oblation, Panduranga. Tuka, with folded hands, bows down.
What it means
Tukaram says he keeps testing his own prayer, turning the words over to be sure of them, and the request is simple: do not overlook me. The striking image is the middle one. Offering Ganga water back to the Ganga, which means he has nothing of his own to give God except what God already is and gives. So the prayer is not a transaction but pure homage; all he can truly add is folded hands and a bowed head.
Prayers
Direct appeals to God: for protection, guidance, strength, and mercy.
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