Pandharpur, Pundalik's power
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
भूत नावरे कोणासी । पुंडलीकें खििळलें त्यासी॥1॥
समचरण असे विटे । कटिकर उभें नीट ॥ध्रु.॥
वाळुवंटीं नाचती संत । प्रेमामृतें डुल्लत ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे पुंडलीका । भक्तिबळें तूं चि निका ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
This spirit could not be controlled by anyone, yet Pundalik nailed Him to that spot. With even feet on the brick He stands, hands on hips, perfectly still. In the sand-bed the saints dance, swaying in the nectar of divine love. Says Tuka, O Pundalik, by the power of your devotion, you alone are truly great.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
This spirit could be controlled by no one. Pundalik nailed Him to that spot. He stands with even feet on the brick, hands on His hips, perfectly still. On the sand by the river the saints dance, swaying in the nectar of love. Tuka says: O Pundalik, by the strength of your devotion, you alone are truly great.
What it means
The poem celebrates how love held God still. The wild, ungraspable spirit that no one could master was fixed in place at Pandharpur, and Tukaram credits the devotee Pundalik for it: love, not force, pinned the unpinnable. So Vitthal stands waiting on the brick, hands on hips, while the saints dance on the riverbank drunk on the sweetness of that love. The closing turn gives the glory not to the God who stands but to the devotee whose longing made Him stand, naming devotion itself as the greatness worth praising.
Sacred Stories
Abhangas drawing on mythological narratives to illuminate spiritual truths.
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