Prayer, a fair reckoning with God
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
येउनी जाउनी पाहें तुजकडे । पडिल्या सांकडें नारायणा ॥1॥
आणीक कोणाचा मज नाहीं आधार । तुजवरि भार जीवें भावें ॥ध्रु.॥
निष्ठ अथवा होई तूं कृपाळ । तुज सर्वकाळ विसरेंना ॥2॥
आपुलें वचन राहावें सांभाळून । तुह्मां आह्मां जाण पडिपाडु ॥3॥
ज्याच्या वचनासी अंतर पडेल । बोल तो होईल तयाकडे ॥4॥
तुह्मां आह्मां तैसें नाहीं ह्मणे तुका । होशील तूं सखा जीवलगा ॥5॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
I come and go, looking toward You, O Narayana, for I am in distress. I have no other support. My entire being, body and jiva, rests upon You. Whether You are stern or gracious, I will never forget You at any time. Guard Your own word and keep it well. Between You and me, let there be a fair reckoning. Whoever breaks the promise, the blame will fall on that side. Says Tuka, it will not be so between us. You will be my dearest friend.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
I come and go, looking toward You, fallen into trouble, Narayana. I have no other support. My whole being, body and life, rests its weight on You. Whether You are harsh or gracious, I will not forget You at any time. Keep Your own word and guard it. Between You and me, let there be a fair account. Whoever breaks his promise, the blame will land on that side. Tuka says: it will not be that way between us. You will be my dearest friend.
What it means
Tukaram prays in the form of a bargain between two who are bound to each other. He has nowhere else to lean and lays his whole life on Narayana, and he pledges his own side first: harsh or kind, he will never forget God. Then he asks God to keep faith likewise and proposes a fair reckoning, with the blame falling on whoever breaks his word. The boldness is the intimacy: he does not beg from below but speaks as one friend holding another to a promise, and trusts that the bond will not be the one to fail.
Prayers
Direct appeals to God: for protection, guidance, strength, and mercy.
More in this theme →