Prayer, the mother of orphaned souls
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
बहुत असती मागें सुखी केलीं । अनाथा माउली जिवांची तूं ॥1॥
माझिया संकटा न धरीं अळस । लावुनियां कास पार पावीं ॥ध्रु.॥
कृपावंता करा ज्याचा अंगीकार । तया संवसार नाहीं पुन्हां ॥ ।2॥
विचारितां नाहीं दुजा बिळवंत । ऐसा सर्वगत व्यापी कोणी ॥3॥
ह्मणउनि दिला मुळीं जीवभाव । देह केला वाव समाधिस्थ ॥4॥
तुका ह्मणे नाहीं जाणत आणीक । तुजविण एक पांडुरंगा ॥5॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
You have comforted many before me, O mother of orphaned jivas. Do not be slow in my time of distress. Gird Yourself and see me through to the other shore. O compassionate one, whoever You accept is freed from worldly life forever. Upon reflection, there is no other power as great. No one else pervades all things so completely. Therefore, I have surrendered my entire being from the very root. The body has been made empty, as if in deep samadhi. Says Tuka, I know no one else besides You, O Panduranga.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
You have made many before me happy. You are the mother of orphaned souls. Do not be slow in my time of trouble. Gird yourself up and carry me to the far shore. O compassionate one, whoever you take in is never thrown back into worldly life again. When I look, there is no other power so strong. No one else fills all things so completely. So I have surrendered my very life and being from the root. My body is made empty, set as if in deep samadhi. Tuka says: I know no one else, none but you alone, O Panduranga.
What it means
Tukaram calls God the mother of the parentless, the one refuge for souls with no other shelter, and asks her not to be slow now that he is in distress. He reminds God of a track record, many have been made happy, and whoever God accepts is freed from samsara for good. He grounds his trust in God's uniqueness: no other power is as great, no other reality pervades everything. On that footing he gives up his entire self at the root, emptying the body as in deep samadhi, because for him there is simply no second refuge besides Panduranga.
Prayers
Direct appeals to God: for protection, guidance, strength, and mercy.
More in this theme →