The Name, warriors of Vitthal
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
भाते भरूनि हरिनामाचे । वीर गर्जती विठ्ठलाचे॥1॥
अनंतनामाची आरोळी । एक एकाहूनि बळी ॥ध्रु.॥
नाहीं आणिकांचा गुमान । ज्याचे अंकित त्यावांचून ॥2॥
रििद्ध सििद्ध ज्या कामारी। तुका ह्मणे ज्याचे घरीं ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Filled with quivers of Hari's name, the warriors of Vitthal roar their battle cry. The shout of the infinite Name rings out; each one is mightier than the last. They heed no one else, for they are pledged only to their Lord. Says Tuka, all powers and attainments attend him in whose home they dwell.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Their quivers are full of Hari's name. The warriors of Vitthal roar their battle cry. The shout of the infinite Name rings out. Each one is mightier than the one before. They heed no one else. They are pledged only to their Lord, and to no one besides him. Tuka says: every power, every attainment, serves as a maidservant in his house.
What it means
Tukaram paints the lovers of the Name as an army on the field. Their weapon is not steel but Hari's name, packed full in their quivers, and the war cry they roar is the Name itself, each voice stronger than the last. What makes them invincible is single allegiance: they answer to no power but their Lord. The stakes are that the worldly siddhis and powers people chase as ends are reduced here to servants; they wait on the devotee of the Name rather than rule over him.
The Power of the Name
The supremacy of nama-smarana: God's name as the highest practice.
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