Adoration, longing for Vitthal
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
विठ्ठला रे तूं उदाराचा राव । विठ्ठला तूं जीव या जगाचा ॥1॥
विठ्ठला रे तूं उदाराची रासी । विठ्ठला तुजपाशीं सकळसिद्धी ॥ध्रु.॥
विठ्ठला रे तुझें नाम बहु गोड । विठ्ठला रे कोड पुरविसी ॥2॥
विठ्ठला रे तुझें श्रीमुख चांगलें । विठ्ठला लागलें ध्यान मनीं ॥3॥
विठ्ठला रे वाचे बोला बहुरस । विठ्ठला रे सास घेतला जीवें ॥4॥
विठ्ठला रे शोक करीतसे तुका । विठ्ठला तूं ये कां झडकरी ॥5॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
O Vitthal, You are the king of the generous. O Vitthal, You are the life of this world. O Vitthal, You are the very sum of generosity. O Vitthal, all powers reside with You. O Vitthal, Your Name is supremely sweet. O Vitthal, You fulfill every longing. O Vitthal, Your holy face is beautiful. O Vitthal, Your meditation has seized my mind. O Vitthal, the words from Your mouth overflow with nectar. O Vitthal, my very breath is pledged to You. Says Tuka, O Vitthal, I grieve in longing. O Vitthal, come to me swiftly.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
O Vitthal, You are the king of the generous. O Vitthal, You are the life of this world. O Vitthal, You are the very heap of generosity. O Vitthal, all powers rest with You. O Vitthal, Your Name is so sweet. O Vitthal, You fulfill every wish. O Vitthal, Your holy face is beautiful. O Vitthal, Your image has settled in my mind. O Vitthal, the words from Your mouth are full of nectar. O Vitthal, my breath is pledged to You. Tuka says: O Vitthal, I grieve in longing. O Vitthal, come to me quickly.
What it means
This is a litany of praise that builds toward a cry for presence. Tukaram names Vitthal's generosity, His power, the sweetness of His Name, the beauty of His face, the nectar of His speech, each line opening and closing on the name itself, so the praise is also the practice. The repetition shows a mind that has fixed on one object and will not let it go: Vitthal's image has lodged in his thought and his very breath is given over. Then the adoration tips into ache. For all this nearness in the heart, the Lord is not yet here in the flesh, and the poem ends in grief and the plain plea, come quickly.
Devotion to Vitthal
Poems of praise, invocation, and intimate address to Lord Vitthal at Pandharpur.
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