The Name, essence of all
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
नाम साराचें ही सार । शरणागत यमकिंकर ॥१॥
उतमातम । वाचे बोला पुरुषोत्तम ॥ध्रु.॥.
नाम जपतां चंद्रमौळी । नामें तरला वाल्हा कोळी ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे वणूप काय । तारक विठोबाचे पाय ॥३॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
The Name is the essence of all essences; even Yama's servants bow before one who has surrendered to it. Whether high or low, let the tongue speak the name of the Supreme Being. Chandra Mauli himself chants the Name; by the Name even Valmiki, whom society had cast out, was saved. Says Tuka, what more can I describe? The feet of Vitthoba are the vessel of deliverance.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
The Name is the essence of every essence; even Yama's servants bow to one who has taken refuge in it. High or low, let the tongue speak the name of the Supreme. Shiva, who wears the moon, chants the Name; by the Name even Valya the fowler was carried across. Tuka says: what can I praise? The feet of Vithoba carry us over.
What it means
Tukaram lifts the Name to the highest place: it is the essence of all essences, and even the agents of death bow before whoever takes refuge in it. He throws the door open to everyone, high-born or low, since the tongue of any person can speak the name of the Supreme. His proofs are two well-known figures: Shiva, the moon-crowned, himself chants the Name, and Valya the fowler, an outcast hunter, was ferried across by it. He ends confessing that praise runs out of words; in the end it is the feet of Vithoba that carry the soul across.
The Power of the Name
The supremacy of nama-smarana: God's name as the highest practice.
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