Pasaydan is the closing prayer associated with the Dnyaneshwari. Many listeners first encounter it at the end of a school programme, a devotional gathering or a reading. Its position as a conclusion is significant: the attention turns from the completion of a work towards the welfare of a wider world.
A prayer that extends beyond the individual
The prayer asks for the turning away of harmful tendencies, delight in good action and friendship among living beings. These themes make it more than a request for the speaker's private success. The hoped-for benefit is shared.
One well-known line expresses the wish for a bond of friendship among beings. The original is Marathi in Devanagari, not a Sanskrit shloka:
भूतां परस्परे जडो, मैत्र जीवांचे ॥
Meaning: May living beings be joined to one another in friendship.
Why language identification matters
Marathi and Sanskrit can both be written in Devanagari. Seeing the script does not make a passage Sanskrit. Naming the language correctly helps readers choose the right pronunciation guide and understand the literary tradition to which the passage belongs.
A translation also involves choices. A short English meaning can introduce the thought, but it cannot reproduce every shade of the original. If comparing two translations, ask how each handles the image or relationship expressed rather than deciding immediately that only one wording can be valid.
Bring one wish into everyday conduct
The wish for friendship can become a question about how a group treats a newcomer or how a family handles disagreement. That is a contemporary application, not a claim that the poem gives a ready-made answer to every situation.
Similarly, wishing for good action can encourage practical generosity without making a public display compulsory. A useful act done quietly may be a thoughtful response to the prayer's outlook.
Recite with understanding
When using Pasaydan in a programme, allow time to explain a few lines. Listeners who do not know Marathi can follow a brief meaning before the recitation. Credit the text and the musician if a recorded rendition is played.
The prayer's familiarity can make it easy to hear only as a closing signal. Reading its words slowly restores the larger question it leaves with the audience: what kind of wellbeing are we willing to wish, and work, for beyond ourselves?
