Krishna's justice, the cost of refusing the Name
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
मारिले असुर दाटले मेदिनी । होते कोणाकोणी पीडित ते ॥1॥
ते हा नारायण पाठवी अघोरा । संतांच्या मत्सरा घातावरी ॥2॥
वरिले ते दूतीं यमाचिया दंडीं । नुच्चरितां तोंडीं नारायण ॥3॥
नारायण नाम नावडे जयासि । ते जाले मिरासी कुंभपाकीं ॥4॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
The demons who had oppressed the earth were slain. They had tormented everyone in sight. Narayana sent them to the terrible realms, striking down those who persecuted the saints. Those who did not utter the Name of Narayana were seized by the messengers of Yama. Says Tuka, those to whom the Name of Narayana was hateful have become permanent residents of the boiling hells.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
He killed the demons who had crowded the earth. They had been tormenting people everywhere. Narayana sent them to the dreadful realms, those who struck at the saints out of malice. The messengers of Yama took them under the rod, because they did not speak Narayana's name with their mouths. Tuka says: those to whom the name of Narayana was hateful have become settled tenants of the boiling hell.
What it means
Tukaram reads the slaying of the demons as a plain moral fact, not just a story. Those who oppress others and attack the saints out of spite are brought to their end, and after death Yama's officers seize them. The deciding mark is the mouth: they never uttered the Name. The harsh closing image of the boiling hell is aimed at a pattern, not a person, the refusal to let God's name even cross the lips. The warning turns back on the listener: examine whether the Name has any place in your own speech and heart, since that is what the verse says hangs in the balance.
Krishna Leela
Poems celebrating Krishna's birth, childhood, and divine play.
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