Pleading on the Name, a spoiled child
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
अपराध जाले जरी असंख्यात । तरी कृपावंत नाम तुझें ॥1॥
तुझें लडिवाळ तुज कृपा यावी । म्यां वाट पाहावी कवणाची ॥ध्रु.॥
मायबाप माझा रुक्मादेवीवर । हा दृढ निर्धार अंतरींचा ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे कोणे गोष्टीचें संकष्ट । न घालीं मज भेट नारायणा ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Even if my offenses are beyond counting, Your Name is still compassionate. I am Your spoiled child; You should show mercy. Whose path shall I look to, if not Yours? My mother and father is the husband of Rukmadevi. This is the firm conviction within my chitta. Says Tuka, do not put me through any ordeal. Simply grant me Your presence, O Narayana.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Even if my offenses are beyond counting, your Name is still full of mercy. I am your spoiled child; the mercy should come to me. Whose path should I watch for, if not yours? My mother and father is the husband of Rukmadevi. This is the firm resolve inside my heart. Tuka says: do not put me through any ordeal. Just come and meet me, Narayana.
What it means
Tukaram brings his sins forward on purpose and then sets the Name against them, betting that the Name's mercy is larger than his failings. He does not plead innocence; he pleads relationship, calling himself a spoiled child who has nowhere else to look. Naming Vitthal, the husband of Rukmadevi, as his own mother and father, he makes God responsible for him the way a parent is responsible for a child. The closing ask is small and total at once: skip the testing, just show up and meet me.
Prayers
Direct appeals to God: for protection, guidance, strength, and mercy.
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