God's love, beyond mother and father
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
माउलीसी सांगे कोण । प्रेम वाढवी ताहानें ॥1॥
अंतरींचा कळवळा । करीतसे प्रतिपाळा ॥ध्रु.॥
मायबापाची उपमा। तुज देऊं मेघश्यामा ॥2॥
ते ही साजेना पाहातां । जीवलगा पंढरिनाथा ॥3॥
माय पाळी संसारीं । परलोक राहे दुरी ॥4॥
तैसा नव्हेसी अनंता । काळावरी तुझी सत्ता ॥5॥
तुका ह्मणे नारायणा। तुह्मां बहुत करुणा ॥6॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Who can teach a mother her love? Hunger itself deepens her affection. The tenderness within her chitta makes her nurture and protect. Shall I compare You to a mother and father, O dark-hued Lord? Even that comparison falls short, O beloved Lord of Pandhari. A mother cares for this world alone, while the next world stays far away. But You are not like that, O Ananta; Your sovereignty extends even over Death. Says Tuka, O Narayana, how great is Your compassion.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Who has to teach a mother to love? The child's hunger only deepens her love. The ache inside her makes her nurse and guard the child. Shall I compare you to a mother and a father, dark-hued Lord? Even that comparison falls short when I look at you, beloved Lord of Pandhari. A mother cares for you in this world; the next world stays far from her reach. You are not like that, Ananta: your rule reaches even over Death. Tuka says: Narayana, how great is your mercy.
What it means
Tukaram reaches for the strongest human image of love, a mother's, and then shows it is still too small for God. A mother does not need to be taught to love; the child's helplessness draws it out of her on its own. But her care stops at the edge of this life, and the next world lies beyond her. God's care does not stop there, because his authority reaches even over death itself. So the dearest comparison Tukaram can find, mother and father, falls short of the mercy he is actually praising.
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