Devotion, song as the only offering
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
नाच गाणें माझा जवळील ठाव । निरोपीन भाव होईल तो ॥१॥
तुम्हां निद्रा मज आज्ञा ते स्वभावें । उतरूनि जीवें जाईन लोण ॥ध्रु.॥
एकाएकीं बहु करीन सुस्वरें । मधुर उत्तरें आवडीनें ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे तूं जगदानी उदार । फेडशील भार एका वेळा ॥३॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Song and dance are the only place I have near you. Whatever devotion arises, that I will offer. Your sleep is my own command by nature; with my very life I will remove the evil eye from you. Alone, I will sing many sweet melodies in a loving voice. Says Tuka, you are the generous Lord of the universe; in a single moment you will lift the entire burden.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Song and dance are the only place I have near you. Whatever devotion rises in me, that I will offer. Your sleep is my command, by my very nature; with my own life I will lift away the evil eye from you. Alone, I will sing many sweet melodies in a loving voice. Tuka says: you are the generous giver to the whole world. In a single moment you will lift the whole burden.
What it means
Tukaram names the one gift he has to bring: song and dance, the place where he can stand close to God. He has no learning or riches to offer, only the devotion that rises in him, and he gives that. The tenderness turns protective: he treats God's rest as his charge and offers his own life to ward off any harm, the evil eye, that might touch the Lord. The close trades the small gift for an immense return: the one who is generous to the whole world will, in a single moment, lift away the entire burden the devotee carries.
Devotion to Vitthal
Poems of praise, invocation, and intimate address to Lord Vitthal at Pandharpur.
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