Prayer, no other authority over me
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
पांडुरंगा कृपाळुवा दयावंता । धरिसील सत्ता सकळ ही ॥1॥
कां जी आह्मांवरी आणिकांची सत्ता । तुह्मासी असतां जविळक ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे पायीं केलें निवेदन । उचित हें दान करीं आतां ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
O Panduranga, compassionate and merciful one, You hold all power. Why then should others have authority over us, when You are so near? Says Tuka, I have made my offering at Your feet. Now grant me the gift that is fitting.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
O Panduranga, kind and merciful one, You hold all power. Why then should others have authority over us, when You are so near? Tuka says: I have made my offering at Your feet. Now give me the gift that is fitting.
What it means
Tukaram is praying with a quiet challenge inside the prayer. Since Panduranga holds all power and stands so near, he asks why any other force should still rule over him. The unspoken frame is the pull of fate, of worldly masters, of fear; he is asking to be set under God's authority alone. Having placed his whole self at God's feet as an offering, he asks God to answer with the fitting gift. He leaves what is fitting to God, trusting the merciful one to know it better than he does.
Prayers
Direct appeals to God: for protection, guidance, strength, and mercy.
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