Prayer, caught in the wheel of time
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
आतां मज धरवावी शुिद्ध । येथुनी परतवावी बुिद्ध । घ्यावें सोडवुनि कृपानिधि । सांपडलों संधीं काळचक्रीं ॥1॥
करिसील तरि नव्हे काई । राईचा डोंगर पर्वत राई । आपुले करुणेची खाई। करीं वो आई मजवरी ॥ध्रु.॥
मागील काळ अज्ञानपणें । सरला स्वभावें त्या गुणें । नेणे आयुष्य जालें उणें । पुढील पेणें अंतरलें ॥2॥
आतां मज वाटतसे भय । दिवसेंदिवस चालत जाय । येथें म्या येउनि केलें काय । नाहीं तुझे पाय आठविले ॥3॥
करूनि अपराध क्षमा । होतील केले पुरुषोत्तमा । आपुले नामीं घ्यावा प्रेमा। सोडवीं भ्रमापासुनिया ॥4॥
हृदय वसो तुमच्या गुणीं । ठाव हा पायांपें चरणीं । करूं हा रस सेवन वाणी । फिटे तों धणी तुका ह्मणे ॥5॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Now restore my awareness and turn my mind back from here. Free me, O treasury of mercy; I am caught in the wheel of time. If You will it, nothing is impossible. A grain of sand becomes a mountain, a mountain becomes a grain. Open the mine of Your compassion upon me, O Mother. The past was spent in ignorance, passing by its own nature and tendencies. I did not realize my life was growing short, and the shelter ahead has slipped away. Now fear grips me; day by day time marches on. What have I accomplished by coming here? I never once remembered Your feet. Forgive, O Purushottama, the offenses already committed. Instill love for Your name and free me from delusion. May my heart dwell in Your virtues, may I find a place at Your feet. Says Tuka, let my tongue savor this nectar until it is fully satisfied.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Now hold my mind steady. Turn my thoughts back from here. Set me free and take me, O treasury of mercy. I am caught at the joint of the wheel of time. If you will it, what cannot be done? A grain of sand can become a mountain, a mountain a grain of sand. Open the mine of your compassion upon me, O Mother. The time behind me was spent in ignorance, passing away by its own nature and habits. I did not notice that my life had grown short, and the shelter ahead has slipped past me. Now fear comes over me. Day by day the time keeps walking on. What have I done by coming here? I never once brought your feet to mind. Forgive the offenses already done, O Purushottama. Take me into love for your name. Free me from this delusion. Let my heart dwell in your virtues. Let my place be at your feet. Let my tongue drink this nectar until the thirst is fully satisfied. Tuka says this.
What it means
Tukaram prays from inside the grinding wheel of time, asking God to halt his scattered mind and turn it back before the machinery carries him off. He confesses the years went by in ignorance almost without his noticing, the lifespan quietly shrank, and the shelter he should have reached has already slipped behind him, which is why fear now sets in. Against that he sets God's sheer power: if God wills it, a grain of sand becomes a mountain, so a wasted life can still be saved. He asks for what he failed to take on his own, forgiveness, love for the Name, a place at the feet, release from delusion. The closing image is thirst: let the tongue keep drinking the nectar of God's praise until it is finally satisfied.
Prayers
Direct appeals to God: for protection, guidance, strength, and mercy.
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