Metaphor, the honest shop of God
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
घातला दुकान । पढीये तैसा आहे वान ॥1॥
आह्मी भांडारी देवाचे । द्यावें घ्यावें माप वाचे ॥ध्रु.॥
उगवूं जाणों मोडी । जाली नव्हे त्याची जोडी ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे पुडी । मोल तैसी खरी कुडी ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
I have set up shop, and the stock is exactly as advertised. I am the treasurer of God, and my voice is the measure by which I give and receive. I know how to settle every account; what is gained or lost is never confused. Says Tuka, each parcel is weighed and priced, genuine or false, exactly as it is.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
I have set up shop, and the goods are exactly as I describe them. I am God's treasurer. My word is the measure I give and take by. I know how to settle every account; nothing gained or lost gets confused. Tuka says: each parcel is weighed and priced, true or false, just as it is.
What it means
Tukaram casts himself as a shopkeeper trading in God's truth, and the whole point is honesty. The goods match the description exactly, and as God's treasurer his own word is the measure by which everything is given and received. He keeps clean accounts: nothing gained or lost is ever blurred or hidden. The last line states the standard plainly, that every parcel is weighed and named for what it truly is, genuine called genuine and false called false, which is the integrity he claims for his teaching.
Worldly Metaphors
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