The Name, who has been saved by it
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
नाम आहे जयापाशीं । जेथें राहे तेथें चि काशी॥1॥
ऐसा नामाचा महिमा । जाणे वाल्मीक शंकर उमा ॥ध्रु.॥
नाम प्रहादबाळ । जाणे पापी आजामेळ ॥2॥
नाम जाणे तो नारद । नामें ध्रुवा अक्षय पद ॥3॥
नाम गणिकेतें तारी । पशु गजेंद्र उद्धारी॥4॥
नाम जाणे हणुमंत । जाणताति महासंत ॥5॥
नाम जाणे शुकमूतिन । जाणे राजा परििक्षती ॥6॥
नाम जाणे तुका । नाहीं संसाराचा धोका ॥7॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Wherever the Name resides, that place itself becomes Kashi. Such is the greatness of the Name; Valmiki, Shankara, and Uma know it well. The child Prahlad knew the Name; so did the wrongdoer Ajamila. Narada knew the Name; through the Name, Dhruva attained an imperishable seat. The Name delivered the courtesan and delivered the elephant Gajendra. Hanuman knew the Name; the great saints know it. The sage Shuka knew it; so did King Parikshit. Says Tuka, I too know the Name; there is no fear of worldly existence.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Wherever the Name lives, that place itself becomes Kashi. Such is the greatness of the Name; Valmiki, Shankara, and Uma know it. The child Prahlad knew the Name; so did the sinner Ajamila. Narada knew the Name; through the Name Dhruva won an undying seat. The Name saved the courtesan; it lifted up the elephant Gajendra. Hanuman knows the Name; the great saints know it. The sage Shuka knew it; so did King Parikshit. Tuka says: I too know the Name; there is no fear of worldly life for me.
What it means
Tukaram makes his case for the Name by calling a long roll of witnesses. He says the Name carries Kashi within it: wherever it is spoken, that spot becomes the holy city, so a pilgrimage is not needed where the Name is. Then he lists who has been carried by it, deliberately mixing the great and the fallen: sages like Valmiki, Narada, and Shuka stand beside a wrongdoer like Ajamila and a courtesan, even an animal like Gajendra. The unspoken frame is that the Name does not check your record before it saves you; it reached a child, a king, a sinner, and a beast alike. Tuka places himself last in the line and draws the only conclusion he needs: he too holds the Name, so worldly existence holds no fear for him.
The Power of the Name
The supremacy of nama-smarana: God's name as the highest practice.
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