Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha
मराठी मूळ
अवतार केला संहारावे दुष्ट । करिती हे नष्ट परपीडा॥1॥
परपीडा करी दैत्य कंसराव । पुढें तो ही भाव आरंभिला ॥2॥
लाविलें लाघव पाहोनियां संधी । सकळांही वधी दुष्टजना ॥3॥
दुष्टजन परपीडक जे कोणी । ते या चक्रपाणी न साहति ॥4॥
न साहवे दुःख भHांचें या देवा । अवतार घ्यावा लागे रूप ॥5॥
रूप हें चांगलें रामकृष्ण नाम । हरे भवश्रम उच्चारितां ॥6॥
उच्चारितां नाम कंस वैरभावें । हरोनियां जीवें कृष्ण केला ॥7॥
कृष्णरूप त्यासि दिसे अवघें जन । पाहे तों आपण कृष्ण जाला ॥8॥
पाहिलें दर्पणीं आधील मुखासि । चतुर्भुज त्यासि तो चि जाला ॥9॥
जालीं कृष्णरूप कन्या पुत्र भाज । तुका ह्मणे राज्य सैन्य जन ॥10॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
The incarnation was taken to destroy the wicked who tormented others. The demon-king Kamsa inflicted suffering on the innocent, and the next chapter of that divine play began. Watching for the right moment, God applied His skill and destroyed every evildoer. Those who cause suffering to others cannot be endured by the Lord of the Discus. God cannot bear to see His devotees in pain; He must take form to relieve them. His form is beautiful; the Name is Rama Krishna. Merely uttering it destroys the weariness of worldly existence. By uttering the Name in enmity, Kamsa was absorbed into Krishna. Consumed by hatred, everything appeared as Krishna to him: his children, his wife, his army, his kingdom. He looked in the mirror and saw a four-armed form. He himself had become Krishna. Says Tuka, his kingdom, his army, and all his people had turned into Krishna before his eyes.
This translation is auto-generated and may contain errors. We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram’s original Marathi.
Krishna Leela
Poems celebrating Krishna's birth, childhood, and divine play.
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