Devotion, Pandhari is heaven on earth
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
जो या गेला पंढरपुरा । आणीक यात्रा न मानी तो॥1॥
सुलभ माय पंढरिराणा । पुरवी खुणा अंतरींच्या ॥ध्रु.॥
जन्मांतरिंच्या पुण्यरासी । वारी त्यासी पंढरी ॥2॥
बाहेर येतां प्राण फुटे । रडें दाटे गहिवरें ॥3॥
दधिमंगळभोजन सारा । ह्मणती करा मुरडींव ॥4॥
मागुता हा पाहों ठाव । पंढरिराव दर्शनें ॥5॥
तुका ह्मणे भूवैकुंठ । वाळुवंट भींवरा ॥6॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
One who has been to Pandharpur accepts no other pilgrimage. The gentle Lord of Pandhari fulfills every secret longing. The accumulated merit of many births draws one to the Pandhari pilgrimage. When it comes time to leave, the soul breaks; sobs of deep emotion well up. After the farewell meal is finished, they plead, let us turn back once more. Let us behold the Lord of Pandhari one more time through His darshan. Says Tuka, Pandhari is Vaikuntha on earth, and the sands of the Bhimra are its holy ground.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
One who has gone to Pandharpur counts no other pilgrimage worth it. The gentle mother, the King of Pandhari, fills the secret longings of the heart. The piled-up merit of many births draws a soul to the Pandhari pilgrimage. When the time comes to leave, the heart breaks; sobs and tears well up. The farewell meal with curds is finished, and they cry, let us turn back. Let us see this place again, the Lord of Pandhari in his darshan. Tuka says: Pandhari is Vaikuntha on earth, and the sands of the Bhima are its holy ground.
What it means
Tukaram exalts the pilgrimage to Pandharpur above every other holy journey. Reaching Vithoba there satisfies the longings a pilgrim cannot even put into words, and only the merit of many lifetimes brings one to that shrine. He dwells on the grief of departure, the breaking heart and welling tears, the pilgrims who have eaten the parting meal yet beg to turn back for one more look at the Lord. The final claim is the boldest: Pandhari is not a road to heaven but Vaikuntha itself set down on earth, with the riverbank sands of the Bhima as sacred ground. Place and presence are one.
Devotion to Vitthal
Poems of praise, invocation, and intimate address to Lord Vitthal at Pandharpur.
More in this theme →