Old age, remember Hari now
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
वृद्धपणीं आली जरा । शरीर कांपे थरथरा ॥1॥
आयुष्य गेलें हें कळेना । स्मरा वेगीं पंढरिराणा ॥ध्रु.॥
दांत दाढा पडिल्या ओस । हनुवटि भेटे नाकास ॥2॥
हात पाय राहिलें कान। नेत्रा पाझर हाले मान ॥3॥
अंगकांति परतली । चिरगुटा ऐसी जाली ॥4॥
आड पडे जिव्हा लोटे । शब्द नये मुखा वाटे॥5॥
लांब लोंबताती अंड । भरभरा वाजे गांड ॥6॥
तुका ह्मणे आतां तरी । स्मरा वेगीं हरी हरी ॥7॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
In old age, the body trembles and shakes. You do not realize that your lifespan has gone. Remember the Lord of Pandhari quickly. Teeth and molars have fallen out; the chin now meets the nose. Hands and feet have weakened, ears have failed; the eyes water and the head shakes. The complexion has faded, the skin hangs in folds like old cloth. The tongue gets stuck and lolls about; words will not come from the mouth as they should. Says Tuka, at least now, at least now, remember Hari quickly.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Old age has come, and the body shakes and trembles. You do not see that your life is gone. Remember the Lord of Pandhari quickly. The teeth and molars have fallen and left the gums bare; the chin meets the nose. The hands, the feet, the ears have stopped; the eyes run, the head wobbles. The skin's glow has turned; it has become like an old rag. The tongue gets caught and lolls; the words will not come out of the mouth. The testicles hang long and loose; the backside breaks wind in bursts. Tuka says: at least now, remember Hari, Hari, quickly.
What it means
Tukaram refuses to let old age be dignified or hidden. He lists the body's collapse without flinching, the lost teeth, the running eyes, the slack skin, the failing control of the body's lowest functions, precisely so the reader cannot look away. The unsparing catalogue is not mockery of the old; it is a mirror held up to every body, since this is where each one is headed. The shaking hand is also the hand that did nothing while life slipped past. So the refrain hammers in: while the mouth can still form a word, remember Hari, because the time to begin is shrinking with each named decay.
Appeals and Exhortations
Direct calls to action: wake up, seek God, do not waste this human birth.
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