Ecstasy, the gift of love poured out
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
जाली हरिकथा रंग वोरसला । उचितासी आला पांडुरंग ॥1॥
वांटितो हें प्रेम उचिताचा दाता । घेई रे तूं आतां धणीवरि ॥ध्रु.॥
प्रेम देऊनियां अवघीं सुखीं केलीं । जें होतीं रंगलीं विटलीं तीं ॥2॥
तुकें हें दुर्बळ देखियलें संतीं । ह्मणउनि पुढती आणियेलें ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
The Hari-katha has unfolded and its color has spread. Panduranga has come with His bountiful gift. He distributes this love as a generous giver; receive it now to your full satisfaction. By giving love, He has made everyone joyful, even those who were weary and indifferent. Says Tuka, the saints saw this poor one and brought him forward once more.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
The Hari-katha has begun, and its color has spread over everything. Panduranga has come to the deserving. He shares out this love, the giver who gives to the worthy. Take it now, take it to the full. By giving love, he has made everyone happy; even those who were stained and worn out are glad now. Tuka says: the saints saw how poor and weak I was, and so they brought me forward again.
What it means
Tukaram is describing a gathering where the telling of Hari's story turns into an outpouring of grace. Panduranga himself arrives and gives away love freely, and Tukaram urges the listeners to receive it without holding back. This love reaches even those who came in weary or indifferent, leaving no one untouched. In the last line he places himself among the lowest: it was the saints who noticed how destitute he was and drew him in to receive this gift along with the rest.
Ecstasy and Joy
Triumphant happiness: poems written from the far side of the struggle.
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