Social criticism, caste cannot stain the divine
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
गंगा न देखे विटाळ । तें चि रांजणीं ही जळ ॥1॥
अल्पमहदा नव्हे सरी । विटाळ तो भेद धरी ॥ध्रु.॥
काय खंडिली भूमिका । वर्णा पायरिकां लोकां ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे अगीविण । बीजें वेगळीं तों भिन्न ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
The Ganga does not see pollution; it is the same water whether in the river or in a pot. The small and the great cannot be equated; it is division itself that perceives defilement. Has the earth been broken into separate pieces for people of different castes and ranks? Says Tuka, until they are separated from the fire, the seeds remain distinct.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
The Ganga sees no pollution. It is the same water whether it flows in the river or sits in a clay pot. The small and the great are not equal, and it is division itself that sees defilement. Has the earth been cut into separate pieces for people of different castes and ranks? Tuka says: it is only before they meet the fire that the seeds stay separate.
What it means
Tukaram attacks the logic of caste pollution. The Ganga does not register impurity; its water is one water, river or pot, so what is truly holy cannot be stained by the vessel that holds it. The sense of defilement, he says, lives in the mind that insists on ranking high over low, not in reality. The earth was never carved into separate plots for separate castes. His closing image asks the listener to look at the destination: distinct seeds look different now, but in the fire they all come to one end, and so do all people.
Social Criticism
Rebuke of hypocrisy, caste pride, false teachers, greed, and religious pretence.
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