Surrender, the child to its mother
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
माझें जीवन तुझे पाय । कृपाळुं तूं माझी माय ॥1॥
नेदीं दिसों किविलवाणें । पांडुरंगा तुझें तान्हें ॥ध्रु.॥
जन्ममरण तुजसाटीं । आणीक नेणें दुजी गोष्टी ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे तुजविण । कोण हरिल माझा सीण ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Your feet are my very life. You are the compassionate one, my mother. Do not let me appear pitiable, O Panduranga, for I am Your little child. Birth and death I endure for Your sake alone. I know no other concern. Says Tuka, without You, who will remove my suffering?.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Your feet are my life. You are kind; you are my mother. Do not let me look wretched, Panduranga. I am your little child. I bear birth and death for your sake. I know no other matter. Tuka says: without you, who will take away my weariness?
What it means
Tukaram speaks as a small child to its mother, making his whole life depend on God's feet. He turns even birth and death, the great burden, into something endured only for God's sake, leaving room for no other concern in his mind. The plea is tender and a little protective of God's honor: do not let your own child be seen looking pitiable. The closing question states the stakes plainly, that there is no one else who can lift his exhaustion, so the helplessness itself is offered as the bond.
Prayers
Direct appeals to God: for protection, guidance, strength, and mercy.
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