Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha
मराठी मूळ
मागुता हा चि जन्म पावसी । भोगिलें सुखदुःख जाणसी। हें तों न घडे रे सायासीं । कां रे अंध होसी जाणोनियां ॥1॥
लक्ष चौयाशी न चुके फेरा । गर्भवासीं यातना थोरा । येउनि पडसी संदेहपुरा। वोळसा थोरा मायाजाळीं ॥2॥
पशु काय पापपुण्य जाणती । उत्तम मध्यम भोग भोगिती । कांहीं एक उपजतां मरती । बहिरीं अंध होती पांगुळ मुकीं ॥3॥
नरदेह निधान लागलें हातीं । उत्तम सार उत्तम गती । होइन देव चि ह्मणती ते होती । तरि कां चित्तीं न धरावें ॥4॥
क्षण एक मन िस्थर करूनी । साव होइप डोळे उघडोनी । पाहें वेद बोलिले पुराणीं । तुका विनवणी करीतसे ॥5॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
You will take this very same birth again and know the pleasure and pain you have already tasted. This cannot be gained through any effort; why then do you willingly become blind? The cycle of eighty-four lakh births cannot be escaped. The torments in the womb are immense. You fall again into the city of doubt, entangled deeply in the snare of illusion. Do animals know sin or virtue? They experience enjoyments of high, middle, and low degree. Some die the moment they are born. Some are deaf, some blind, some lame, some mute. This human body is a treasure that has come into your hands, the supreme essence, the highest path. Those who say they will become God themselves do become so. Why then not take it to heart? Make the mind steady for even a moment, become alert, and open your eyes. Look at what the Vedas and Puranas have declared. Says Tuka, this is my humble plea.
This translation is auto-generated and may contain errors. We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram’s original Marathi.
Appeals and Exhortations
Direct calls to action: wake up, seek God, do not waste this human birth.
More in this theme →Continue exploring