The kirtan, lost in the Name
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
रंगीं रंगें नारायण । उभा करितों कीर्त्तन ॥1॥
हातीं घेउनियां वीणा । कंठीं राहें नारायणा ॥ध्रु.॥
देखिलीसे मूर्ती । माझ्या हृदयाची विश्रांति ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे देवा । देई कीर्त्तनाचा हेवा ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
With joy and color, Narayana stands as I perform kirtan. With the veena in my hands, let Him remain at my throat, O Narayana. I have seen that form which is the repose of my heart. Says Tuka, O God, grant me the passion for kirtan.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
I stand and sing kirtan, lost in the color of Narayana. I take the veena in my hands. Stay on my tongue, O Narayana. I have seen that form. It is the rest of my heart. Tuka says: O God, give me this hunger for kirtan.
What it means
Tukaram is asking God for one gift, and the gift is the singing itself. He stands up with the veena and loses himself in the colour of the Name, and he prays that Narayana will live on his throat so the song keeps coming. The form he has seen is what gives his heart its only rest. So when he asks for the hunger for kirtan, he is asking not for liberation but for the love that makes him sing; the longing is already the reward.
Devotion to Vitthal
Poems of praise, invocation, and intimate address to Lord Vitthal at Pandharpur.
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