Devotion, the handmaid who will not be shamed
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
पाहावया माजी नभा । दिसे शोभा चांगली ॥१॥
बैसला तो माझे मनीं । नका कोणी लाजवूं ॥ध्रु.॥
जीवा आवडे जीवाहूनि । नव्हे क्षण वेगळा ॥२॥
जालें विश्वंभरा ऐसी । तुकया दासी स्वामीची ॥३॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Looking up into the sky, a beautiful radiance appears. He has settled in my mind; let no one shame me for it. He is dearer to me than life itself, not separate from me for even a moment. Says Tuka, I have become the handmaid of Vishvambhara, the sustainer of all.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Looking up into the sky, I see a beautiful radiance. He has settled in my mind; let no one shame me for it. He is dearer to me than my own life, not apart from me for a single moment. Tuka says: I have become the handmaid of Vishvambhara, the sustainer of all.
What it means
Tukaram takes the voice of a devotee who has made God her whole life and will not be shamed for it. The Lord has settled in her mind and become dearer than life, never separate from her even for a moment, and she answers in advance the world's mockery of such love by refusing it any hold. Calling herself the handmaid of Vishvambhara, the sustainer of all, she names her relationship as complete service and complete belonging. The verse stands as a quiet defiance: this devotion is not foolishness to be embarrassed by, but the soul's rightful place at the feet of the one who upholds everything.
Devotion to Vitthal
Poems of praise, invocation, and intimate address to Lord Vitthal at Pandharpur.
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