Prayer, the road ahead blocked
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
चित्त गुंतलें प्रपंचें । जालें वेडें ममतेचें ॥1॥
आतां सोडवीं पांडुरंगा । आलें निवारीं तें आंगा ॥ध्रु.॥
गुंतली चावटी । नामीं रूपीं जाली तुटी ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे चाली । पुढें वाट खोळंबली॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
My mind has become entangled in worldly life; it has gone mad with attachment. Now deliver me, O Panduranga. Ward off what has come upon me. Idle mischief has crept in, creating a rift between me and Your name and form. Says Tuka, the road ahead has been blocked.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
My mind is tangled in worldly life. It has gone mad with attachment. Now set me free, Panduranga. Ward off what has come upon me. Idle mischief has crept in. It has cut me off from Your name and Your form. Tuka says: the road ahead is blocked.
What it means
Tukaram describes a soul that knows it is stuck and cannot move on its own. His mind has wrapped itself around the things of the world until it is sick with attachment, so he asks Panduranga to do the untangling for him. The danger he names is precise: useless busyness and chatter have slipped in and severed his contact with God's name and form, the very things that kept him oriented. With the path forward sealed, he has nothing left but to call on the one who can clear it.
Prayers
Direct appeals to God: for protection, guidance, strength, and mercy.
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