Grinding song, the joy of purity
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
शुद्ध दळणाचें सुख सांगों काई । मानवित सईबाई तुज ॥१॥
शुद्ध तें वळण लवकरी पावे । डोलवितां निवे अष्टांग तें ॥ध्रु.॥
शुद्ध हें जेवितां तन निवे मन । अल्प त्या इंधन बुडा लागे ॥२॥
शुद्ध त्याचा पाक सुचित चांगला । अविट तयाला नाश नाहीं ॥३॥
तुका म्हणे शुद्ध आवडे सकळां । भ्रतार वेगळा न करी जीवें ॥४॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
How shall I tell you the joy of pure grinding, dear sister? Let me satisfy you with this. Pure flour, well ground, is quickly ready; when all eight limbs turn with the quern, the whole being is cooled. When you eat what is pure, both body and mind are nourished; only a little fuel is needed for such a fire. The cooking of the pure is well seasoned and excellent; it never grows stale and knows no destruction. Says Tuka, purity is loved by all, and the Beloved never separates Himself from such a soul.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Dear sister, how can I tell you the joy of pure grinding? Let me satisfy you with it. Flour ground clean is ready quickly; when all eight limbs sway with the quern, the whole body grows cool. Eat what is pure, and both body and mind are nourished; such a fire needs only a little fuel. The cooking of the pure is well seasoned and good; it never goes stale, and it never perishes. Tuka says: everyone loves what is pure, and the Beloved never parts from such a soul, not for the life of him.
What it means
This is a grinding song, the kind women sang at the quern, but Tukaram makes the grindstone an image of inner work. "Pure grinding" is purity of effort and devotion: when the whole body bends to it, the eight limbs all engaged, the result is cooling, nourishing, and lasting. The fire of such purity needs little fuel and its food never goes stale, unlike worldly things that spoil. The poet's claim lands in the last line: God himself will not separate from a soul that is pure, so the work at the stone is really the work of becoming someone the Beloved will never leave.
Worldly Metaphors
Poems using images from games, occupations, and daily life as spiritual teaching.
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