The Name, warriors of Rama
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
आह्मी रामाचे राऊत । वीर जुंझार बहुत ॥1॥
मनपवनतुरंग । हातीं नामाची फिरंग ॥ध्रु.॥
वारू चालवूं चहूंखुरीं । घाला घालूं यमपुरी ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे पेणें । आह्मां वैकुंठासी जाणें॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
We are the horsemen of Rama, mighty warriors in battle. The mind and breath are our steed, and the Name is the sword in our hand. We ride our horse on all four hooves and charge straight into the city of Death. Says Tuka, our destination is Vaikuntha itself.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
We are the horsemen of Rama, many mighty warriors in battle. Mind and breath are our horse; the Name is the sword in our hand. We drive our steed at full gallop on all four hooves and charge straight into the city of Death. Tuka says: our resting place, the place we are going, is Vaikuntha itself.
What it means
Tukaram turns the inner life into a battlefield and casts the devotees as Rama's mounted soldiers. The horse they ride is the mind joined to the breath; the weapon they wield is the Name. With these alone they charge fearlessly at Yama, the city of Death, the one enemy that defeats everyone else. The claim is bold: armed only with the Name, they ride past death itself. Their destination is not survival but Vaikuntha, the abode of God, so the war is already as good as won.
The Power of the Name
The supremacy of nama-smarana: God's name as the highest practice.
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