Putting God to rest, tender care
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
उठा भागलेती उजगरा । जाला स्वामी निद्रा करा ॥१॥
वाट पाहाते रुक्मिणी । उभी मंचक संवारुणी ॥ध्रु.॥
केली करा क्षमा । बडबड पुरुषोत्तमा ॥२॥
लागतो चरणा । तुकयाबंधु नारायणा ॥३॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Rise now, you who are weary from the night vigil; the Master has retired, so go and take your rest. Rukmini stands waiting, having prepared the royal bed. Forgive the many words I have spoken, O Purushottama. Says Tuka's brother, I fall at the feet of Narayana.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Rise now, you are worn out from the long night watch. The Master has lain down, so go and take your rest. Rukmini is waiting; she has made the bed ready and stands beside it. Forgive my chatter, O Purushottama. Tuka's brother says: I fall at the feet of Narayana.
What it means
This is a bedtime song for the Lord, sung as the day's worship ends and the deity is laid down to sleep. The singer turns to those who have kept the night vigil and tells them their service is done; they may rest now, for Rukmini stands waiting by the made bed. Then he asks pardon for all the words he has poured out, calling them mere chatter before God. The closing is pure surrender: the body of devotion is to fall at Narayana's feet and ask nothing more.
Devotion to Vitthal
Poems of praise, invocation, and intimate address to Lord Vitthal at Pandharpur.
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