Krishna comes to Gokul, knowledge without austerity
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
चिंता ते पळाली गोकुळाबाहेरी । प्रवेश भीतरी केला देवें ॥1॥
देव आला घरा नंदाचिया गांवा । धन्य त्याच्या दैवा दैव आलें ॥2॥
आलें अविनाश धरूनि आकार । दैत्याचा संहार करावया ॥3॥
करावया भक्तजनाचें पालण । आले रामकृष्ण गोकुळासी ॥4॥
गोकुळीं आनंद प्रगटलें सुख । निर्भर हे लोक घरोघरीं ॥5॥
घरोघरीं जाला लक्ष्मीचा वास । दैन्यदािळद्रास त्रास आला ॥6॥
आला नारायण तयांच्या अंतरा । दया क्षमा नरा नारीलोकां ॥7॥
लोकां गोकुळींच्या जालें ब्रह्मज्ञान । केलियावांचून जपतपें ॥8॥
केलीं नारायणें आपुलीं अंकित । तो चि त्यांचें हित सर्व जाणे ॥10॥
सर्व जाणे एक विष्णु साच खरा । आणीक दुसरा नाहींनाहीं ॥11॥
नाहीं भक्ता दुजें तिहीं त्रिभुवनीं । एका चक्रपाणीवांचूनियां ॥12॥
याच्या सुखसंगें घेती गर्भवास । तुका ह्मणे आस त्यजूनियां ॥13॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Worry fled beyond the borders of Gokul. God entered within. God came to the home of Nanda in Gokul. Blessed was their destiny; fortune itself arrived. The Imperishable took on a form to destroy the demons. To nurture and protect His devotees, Rama and Krishna came to Gokul. Joy was born in Gokul; happiness overflowed. Every household was filled with delight. In every home, Lakshmi took up residence. Poverty and misery were driven away. Narayana entered the hearts of all. Compassion and forgiveness filled the men and women. The people of Gokul attained the knowledge of Brahman without performing any austerities. Narayana made them all His own. He alone knows their true welfare. Says Tuka, Vishnu alone is the one true reality. There is nothing else.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Worry fled beyond the borders of Gokul; God entered within. God came to the home of Nanda, to his village. Blessed was their destiny; fortune itself arrived. The Imperishable came, taking a form, to destroy the demons. To nurture and protect his devotees, Rama and Krishna came to Gokul. Joy was born in Gokul; happiness broke open. The people overflowed, house by house. In every home Lakshmi took up dwelling; poverty and misery were driven off. Narayana entered their hearts; compassion and forgiveness filled the men and women. The people of Gokul gained the knowledge of Brahman without doing any chanting or austerity. Narayana made them all his own; he alone knows their true welfare. Vishnu alone is the one true reality, and there is no other, none. For the devotee there is no second in the three worlds, except the one who holds the discus. With the joy of his company they take birth in the womb, Tuka says, casting off all longing.
What it means
Tukaram celebrates Krishna's coming to Gokul as a flood of grace that needs no spiritual technique. God enters, worry flees, and the village fills with joy, with Lakshmi dwelling in every house and poverty driven out. The striking claim is that the cowherds gained the knowledge of Brahman without any chanting or austerity, simply because Narayana entered their hearts and made them his own. From this Tukaram lifts a teaching of strict oneness: Vishnu alone is real, there is no second in the three worlds, and the holder of the discus is the devotee's only refuge. The closing line says that for such joy of his company even rebirth in the womb is worth taking, once all other longing is cast aside.
Krishna Leela
Poems celebrating Krishna's birth, childhood, and divine play.
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