Krishna lila, the cowherds' cry for rescue
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
धडकला अिग्न आह्या येती वरी । गोपाळ श्रीहरी विनविती ॥1॥
अरे कृष्णा काय विचार करावा । आला रे वोणवा जळों आतां ॥ध्रु.॥
अरे कृष्णा तुझें नाम बिळवंत । होय कृपावंत राख आतां ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे अरे कृष्णा नारायणा । गोपाळ करुणा भाकितिले ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
The fire raged and flames rose overhead. The cowherds pleaded with Shrihari. O Krishna, what is to be done? The wildfire has come to burn us. O Krishna, Your name is mighty; be compassionate and protect us now. Says Tuka, O Krishna, O Narayana, the cowherds cried out to You in anguish.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
The fire has caught. Its flames leap up overhead. The cowherds plead with Shrihari. O Krishna, what should we do? The wildfire has come; we will burn now. O Krishna, your name is mighty. Be kind. Protect us now. Tuka says: O Krishna, O Narayana, the cowherds cried out to you in their anguish.
What it means
This opens a sequence on the forest fire that surrounds Krishna and the cowherds. The danger is plain and immediate: the flames are already overhead and the boys know they will die. They do not look for water or a way to run; they turn to Krishna himself and to the power they trust in his name. The poem fixes the whole weight of the moment on that one appeal, calling for kindness and rescue right now. Tuka closes by naming what is really happening: this is a cry of anguish flung at God, not a plan.
Krishna Leela
Poems celebrating Krishna's birth, childhood, and divine play.
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