Devotion, the Name on the lips
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
चरणीं नमन सद्गूच्या पूर्ण । नित्य हरिगुण गाऊं सदा ॥1॥
गोवर्धन जेणें नखीं हो धरिला । काळ्या नाथिला महाबळी ॥ध्रु.॥
ऐसे हरिगुण गातो वाचेवरि । पतितासी तारी जनादनन ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे हें चि सज्जना जीवन । वाचेसी स्मरण गोविंदाचें ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
I bow at the feet of the Sadguru with complete reverence. Let us always sing the glories of Hari. He who lifted Govardhan on His fingertip, who subdued the mighty Bali. I sing such glories of Hari with my voice. Janardana saves even the fallen. Says Tuka, this is the very life of the good: the remembrance of Govinda on their lips.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
I bow at the feet of the Sadguru with full reverence. Let us always sing the virtues of Hari, day after day. He held up Govardhan on a fingernail; He tamed the mighty Bali. I sing such virtues of Hari with my voice. Janardana saves the fallen. Tuka says: this very thing is the life of the good, the remembrance of Govinda on the tongue.
What it means
Tukaram opens by bowing to the Guru and then sets the daily task: to keep singing the glories of Hari. He recalls God's deeds, lifting Govardhan on a fingertip, subduing the mighty Bali, as the deeds he means to sing. The point of recalling them is that this same God, Janardana, is the one who saves even the fallen. So the conclusion is practical and warm: for a good person, life itself is just this, keeping the remembrance of Govinda always on the lips.
Devotion to Vitthal
Poems of praise, invocation, and intimate address to Lord Vitthal at Pandharpur.
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