Praise of the renunciant, the begging saint
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
छोडे धन मंदिर बन बसाया । मांगत टूका घरघर खाया ॥1॥
तीनसों हम करवों सलाम । ज्या मुखें बैठा राजाराम ॥ध्रु.॥
तुलसीमाला बभूत चहावे । हरजीके गुण निर्मल गावे ॥2॥
कहे तुका जो साई हमारा । हिरनकश्यप उन्हें मारहि डारा ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
He left behind wealth and mansion to dwell in the forest; now he goes begging from door to door. I bow to that mouth in which Raja Rama is ever seated. He loves the tulsi garland and the sacred ash, and sings the pure virtues of Hari. Says Tuka, our Sahib, our very own Master, once slew Hiranyakashipu.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
He left his wealth and his mansion and went to live in the forest. He begs from door to door and eats what he is given. Three times over I bow to that mouth, the mouth in which Raja Rama is seated. He longs for the tulsi garland and the sacred ash, and he sings the pure virtues of Hari. Tuka says: He who is our Sahib, our own Master, is the one who once slew Hiranyakashipu.
What it means
Tukaram is honoring the man who has given up everything for God and now lives by begging, and he is naming what makes that life worthy. The saint left wealth and a house behind and walks door to door, but his mouth holds Rama's name, his body bears the tulsi beads and sacred ash, and his voice sings Hari. So Tukaram bows three times to that mouth, not to the poverty but to what fills it. The closing line ties this Master to the God who once tore down the tyrant Hiranyakashipu: the same Lord who destroyed pride is the one the beggar-saint carries within.
The Saints
The character and service of true saints: softer than butter, harder than diamond.
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