Moral warning, the tightening noose
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
परद्रव्यपरनारीचा अभिळास । तेथूनि हारास सर्वभाग्या ॥1॥
घटिका दिवस मास वरुषें लागेतीन । बांधलें पतन गांठोडीस ॥ध्रु.॥
पुढें घात त्याचा रोकडा शकुन । पुढें करी गुण निश्चयेंसी ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे एकां तडतांथवड । काळ लागे नाड परी खरा ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Craving another's wealth or another's spouse is the beginning of ruin for all one's fortune. Hour by hour, day by day, month by month, year by year, the knot of downfall is being tied tighter. The ill omen of future destruction is plain to see; these very qualities guarantee the outcome. Says Tuka, for some the reckoning takes a while, but Death's noose, though slow, is certain.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
To crave another's wealth or another's spouse is the start of ruin. From there, all your good fortune is lost. Hour by hour, day by day, month by month, year by year, the knot of your downfall is tied tighter. The sign of the destruction ahead is plain to see. These very habits make the end certain. Tuka says: for some the reckoning takes a long time. Death's noose is slow, but it is real.
What it means
Tukaram names two cravings, for what is not yours to own and for who is not yours to touch, and traces where they lead. He is not predicting bad luck; he is describing how a habit accumulates. Each day the want is fed, the knot of one's own undoing is pulled a little tighter, until the outcome is no longer in question. The slowness is the deception: because Death's noose does not fall at once, a person mistakes delay for safety. Tukaram's point is to read the early signs in oneself, while there is still slack in the rope.
The Moral Ideal
Purity, sincerity, truthfulness, humility, peacefulness, and service.
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