Litany of names, free me from bondage
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
श्रीअनंता मधुसूदना । पद्मनाभा नारायणा । जगव्यापका जनादनना । आनंदघना अविनाशा ॥1॥
सकळदेवा आदिदेवा । कृपाळुवा जी केशवा । महा महानुभवा । सदाशिवा सहजरूपा ॥ध्रु.॥
चक्रधरा विश्वंभरा । गरुडध्वजा करुणाकरा । सहस्रपादा सहस्रकरा । क्षीरसागरा शेषशयना ॥2॥
कमलनयना कमलापती । कामिनीमोहना मदनमूर्ती । भवतारका धरित्या िक्षती । वामनमूर्ती त्रिविक्रमा ॥3॥
अगा ये सगुणा निर्गुणा । जगज्जनित्या जगज्जीवना। वसुदेवदेवकीनंदना । बाळरांगणा बाळकृष्णा ॥4॥
तुका आला लोटांगणी । मज ठाव द्यावा जी चरणीं । हे चि करीतसें विनवणी। भवबंधनीं सोडवावें ॥5॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
O infinite Madhusudana, O Padmanabha, Narayana, all-pervading Janardana, fullness of bliss, imperishable one. O God of all gods, primal deity, O merciful Keshava, great among the great, O Sadashiva of innate form. Bearer of the discus, sustainer of the universe, bearer of the Garuda banner, fountain of compassion, thousand-footed, thousand-armed, resting on the serpent in the ocean of milk. Lotus-eyed, Lord of Lakshmi, enchanter of hearts, beautiful as Madana, upholder of the earth, O Vamana of the Trivikrama form. O Lord of qualities and beyond qualities, creator and life of the world, O delight of Vasudeva and Devaki, crawling infant, child Krishna. Says Tuka, I have come prostrating. Grant me a place at Your feet. This alone is my plea: free me from the bonds of worldly existence.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
O infinite one, Madhusudana, Padmanabha, Narayana, all-pervading Janardana, dense with bliss, undying one. God of all gods, first deity, merciful Keshava, greatest of the great, Sadashiva, you of the natural form. Bearer of the discus, holder of the universe, you with the Garuda banner, well of compassion, thousand-footed, thousand-armed, you who lie on the serpent in the ocean of milk. Lotus-eyed, Lord of Lakshmi, charmer of hearts, lovely as Madana, ferry across this world, upholder of the earth, Vamana who became Trivikrama. O you who are with form and beyond form, maker and life of the world, delight of Vasudeva and Devaki, crawling child, child Krishna. Tuka has come and fallen flat at your feet. Give me a place there. This is my one plea: free me from the bonds of worldly life.
What it means
Almost the whole poem is a rolling litany of the Lord's names and forms, each one a fresh angle on the same God. Tukaram heaps them up deliberately, the slayer of Madhu, the lotus-naveled, the discus-bearer asleep on the cosmic serpent, the dwarf Vamana who strode the worlds as Trivikrama, the crawling child Krishna, naming him at once as the one with form and the one beyond form. The piling on is itself the devotion: he is praising God from every direction his mind can reach. Only at the very end does he state his request, and it is a single thing. He falls flat at the feet and asks for a place there, and for release from the bonds of worldly existence.
Devotion to Vitthal
Poems of praise, invocation, and intimate address to Lord Vitthal at Pandharpur.
More in this theme →