The lifted mountain, do not fear
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
वेडावलीं काय करावें या काळीं । ह्मणे वनमाळी गोपाळांसि ॥1॥
शिरी धरूं गोवद्धनन उचलूनि । ह्मणे तुह्मी कोणी भिऊं नका ॥2॥
नका सांडूं कोणी आपला आवांका । मारितां या हाका आरोिळया ॥3॥
अशंकित चित्तें न वटे त्यां खरें । धाकें च ते बरें ह्मणती चला ॥4॥
चित्ती धाक परि जवळी अनंत । तुका ह्मणे घात होऊं नेदी ॥5॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
The Lord said to the bewildered cowherds, 'What should be done at such a time?' 'Let us lift Govardhan mountain and hold it overhead. Let none of you be afraid.' 'Do not lose chitta. Shout and cheer together.' Their minds were not at ease; it did not seem possible. But out of fear they said, 'Very well, let us go.' Fear was in their chitta, yet the Infinite One was beside them. Says Tuka, He does not let His own come to harm.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
The cowherds were bewildered. What is to be done now? Vanamali said to them, we will lift Govardhan and hold it up overhead. None of you be afraid. Do not lose heart, any of you. Shout and call out together. Their minds were not at ease; it did not seem possible. But out of fear they said, very well, let us go. Fear was in their hearts, yet the Infinite One stood beside them. Tuka says: he does not let his own come to harm.
What it means
Vanamali answers the panic of the last poem with a plan that sounds impossible: lift the whole mountain. He tells the cowherds not to lose heart and to shout together, drawing them into the act. They do not really believe it can be done, but their fear pushes them to obey anyway. Tukaram lets that gap stand. They go forward on shaky trust, and the line that holds them up is not their confidence but the simple fact that the Infinite One is beside them and will not let his own be harmed.
Krishna Leela
Poems celebrating Krishna's birth, childhood, and divine play.
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