Authorpreneur Dashboard – Chandrakant Kaluram Mhatre
One Hundred Poems of Tukaram
Literature & Fiction
One Hundred Poems of Tukaram is a translation of selected poems of Tukaram, originally composed in Marathi. Tukaram, hailed as one of the greatest sant, Indian equivalent for a saint, belongs to the Bhakti Movement that nourished Indian psyche for close to a millennium. Like his predecessors, Tukaram, too, used poetry as a means of expression of his love for his deity Lord Vitthal. However, the range and depth of Tukaram’s poetry is such that it touches upon and lightens up every possible aspect of human life. His penetrating insights are so ably complemented by his poetic innovations that he took Indian poetry to new heights in the times when the Indian society’s morale was at its lowest. Tukaram’s poems revived this almost dead society and made it survive for centuries to come. That’s the most important contribution of Tukaram’s poetry. And therefore its relevance in today’s turbulent times!
Book Bubbles from One Hundred Poems of Tukaram
Sings praise of the Lord
Bahinabai was Tukaram's contemporary and devoted follower. She is arguably the first woman autobiographer in Indian literature. Her poems reflect What we call today as women's issues. As early as seventeenth century, Bahinabai showed the courage to express such rebellious thoughts in her poems which makes her perhaps the first Indian feminist. Her poems, like this one, are also significant as they throw significant light on Tukaram's life and times.
With the blessings of the saints
Bahinabai, Tukaram's contemporary and devoted follower, holds a unique place in Indian literature as one of the pioneers of women's autobiography in India. Her such poems throw considerable light on Tukaram's life and times. In this poem, Bahinabai gives her account of the Bhakti movement in India using the metaphor of a temple. This poems enables us to understand how his contemporaries valued Tukaram!
I will tear You | Apart in tiny bits
Kanhoba, Tukaram's younger brother, is perhaps the most gifted among the satellite poets around Tukaram. His poems composed after Tukaram's departure give us a glimpse of his poetic prowess. Apart from being amongst the best elegies in Indian literature, they caste significant light on Tukaram, the loving and caring family man! In this poem, Kanhoba is addressing Lord Vitthal, holding Him responsible for Tukaram's untimely departure. The loving bond that the brothers shared is evident from each line of the poem.
Tukaram! Tukaram!
Rameshwar is one of the "satellite poets" contemporaneous to Tukaram who has written significant pieces of devotional poetry extolling the virtues of the saint-poet whom he considered to be his Guru. Given the fact that there is critical dearth of contemporary documents regarding Tukaram's life and times, Rameshwar's poetry gains a crucial role in Tukaram studies. In this poem, Rameshwar is praising Tukaram while commenting on one of the most important events in the poet's life viz. the drowning of his notebooks of poems in River Indrayani.
Hail Tukaram
Rameshwar is one of the "satellite poets" contemporaneous to Tukaram who has written significant pieces of devotional poetry extolling the virtues of the saint-poet whom he considered to be his Guru. Given the fact that there is critical dearth of contemporary documents regarding Tukaram's life and times, Rameshwar's poetry gains a crucial role in Tukaram studies. In this poem, Rameshwar is praising Tukaram while commenting on one of the most important events in the poet's life viz. the drowning of his notebooks of poems in River Indrayani.
The game has begun on the river bank- Part II
The poet is describing here the cultural phenomenon called "Vari" i.e. the on-foot pilgrimage to Pandharpur that Lord Vitthal's devotees (called as "Varkari) undertake twice a year. Despite the exhausting journey, the Varkaris experience ecstatic joy on reaching Pandharpur, the place of Lord Vitthal. And in here happens something miraculous, unseen and unheard of before: The Cosmic Union of all beings! Tukaram has depicted this exquisite experience in this poems vividly in the extended image of an army marching victoriously.
The game has begun on the river bank
The poet is describing here the cultural phenomenon called "Vari" i.e. the on-foot pilgrimage to Pandharpur that Lord Vitthal's devotees (called as "Varkari) undertake twice a year. Despite the exhausting journey, the Varkaris experience ecstatic joy on reaching Pandharpur, the place of Lord Vitthal. And in here happens something miraculous, unseen and unheard of before: The Cosmic Union of all beings! Tukaram has depicted this exquisite experience in this poems vividly in the extended image of an army marching victoriously.
Vishnu manifests in the masses Is the Faith of the
The poet belongs to that strand of Indian spirituality that believes the entire Creation to be nothing but the manifestation of the Lord Himself. Therefore, no need to turn back on the world! This poem is a testimony to this revolutionary philosophical/spiritual strand that evolved in Maharashtra in the thirteenth century in the hands of Dnyandev. An ardent follower Dnyandev, Tukaram in this poem upholds this doctrine with the help of his trademark distinct images!
Holy places have boulder, water God’s truly amongs
Tukaram has a very unorthodox approach towards religion and spirituality in which ritualism has no place whatsoever! Automatically the holy places lose all their significance and relevance. So where does Tukaram find the divine presence? Read the poem to find out.
Give me meekness, O Lord An ant feasts on sugar
Echoing the Bible's declaration "Blessed are the meek", the poet here supplicates for meekness. Using two simple but striking images, Tukaram drives his point home in this short poem and exhorts his readers to refrain from pride!
Salt dissolved in water What is left apart?
The salient feature of all the Bhakti Poets has been the expression of their love for their deity in which the poet assumes the role of the beloved and addresses the deity as their supreme love. In this poem, Tukaram is expressing such a love for the Lord. He has, through his love, achieved unification with the Lord to such an extent that his distinct identity separable from the Lord does not exist. Tukaram brings this ultimate spiritual experience alive for his readers through his unique images which culminate in the final master image!
Words Are the Jewels That Our Homes Are Filled wit
The poet, here, is expressing his understanding of his medium of expression- words! He believes the words, true to his Indian roots, to be the force behind the Creation and eulogizes them in the most commendable fashion in this poem which is amongst his best-known poems.
The Good and God
The poet, known for his unorthodox insights, has given new dimensions to the epithets GOOD and GOD. What is significant about his definitions of these two terms is they give hope of attaining divinity even to the most lowly! By doing so Tukaram also redefines the ethical norms and mores of his times and the times to come which are so applicable and desirable even today.
Longing for the Return
The poet has expressed here the mental pain that he underwent in the absence of his near and dear ones, a universal feeling that remains the same irrespective of the bounds of time and place!
