Prayer, the only refuge
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
तुजवांचून कोणा शरण । जाऊं आतां कर जोडून॥1॥
कोण करील माझें साहे । चित्तीं विचारूनि पाहें ॥ध्रु.॥
तूं तंव कृपेचा सागर । दीनबंधु जगदोद्धार ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे निका । भवसिंधु तारक नौका ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Without You, to whom shall I go for refuge, with folded hands? Who will come to my aid? Consider this carefully in Your chitta. You are the ocean of compassion, the Friend of the lowly, the Redeemer of the world. Says Tuka, You are the pure and trustworthy boat for crossing the ocean of worldly existence.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Without You, to whom shall I go for refuge, with folded hands? Who will be my help? Consider it carefully in Your heart and see. You are the ocean of compassion, the friend of the lowly, the lifter of the whole world. Tuka says: You are the good and trusty boat that carries me across the sea of this worldly life.
What it means
Tukaram is closing every other door so that only one remains. He asks where else he could go: with folded hands he can find no second refuge, no one else to come to his aid. Then he turns the question on God, telling Him to look in His own heart and see that there is no one else either. He names what God is, ocean of mercy, friend of the lowly, redeemer of the world, and so makes the plea unrefusable. The poem ends in a single image: God is the one seaworthy boat across the ocean of birth and death.
Prayers
Direct appeals to God: for protection, guidance, strength, and mercy.
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