Vithoba on the brick, the Lord has come
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
सांडूनि वैकुंठ । उभा विटेवरी नीट ॥१॥
आला आला रे जगजेठी । भक्ता पुंडलिकाचे भेटी ॥ध्रु.॥
पैल चंद्रभागे तिरीं । कट धरूनियां करीं ॥२॥
तुकयाबंधु म्हणे अंबर । गजर होतो जयजयकार ॥३॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Leaving Vaikuntha behind, he stands upright upon the brick. He has come, the Lord of the world has come, to meet his devotee Pundalik. There on the bank of the Chandrabhaga, he stands with hands upon his waist. Says Tuka's brother, the sky resounds with the thundering cry of victory.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Leaving Vaikuntha behind, he stands straight upon the brick. He has come, he has come, the Lord of the world, to meet his devotee Pundalik. There on the bank of the Chandrabhaga, he stands with his hands upon his waist. Tuka's brother says: the sky rings with the thundering cry of victory.
What it means
The poem retells why Vitthal stands at Pandharpur. He left Vaikuntha, his own heaven, to come down and stand upright on a brick for the sake of his devotee Pundalik, and the cry He has come carries the joy of that arrival. The familiar posture is named, the Lord on the bank of the Chandrabhaga with hands resting on his waist, the very image pilgrims go to see. The closing line, signed by Tuka's brother, fills the whole sky with shouts of victory. The point is the tenderness behind it: the Lord of the world preferred standing on a brick beside his devotee to remaining in heaven.
Devotion to Vitthal
Poems of praise, invocation, and intimate address to Lord Vitthal at Pandharpur.
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