Moral ideal, purity tested by fire
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
पतिव्रते आनंद मनीं । सिंदळ खोंचे व्यभिचारवचनीं ॥1॥
जळो वर्म लागो आगी । शुद्धपण भलें जगीं ॥ध्रु.॥
सुख पुराणीं आचारशीळा । दुःख वाटे अनर्गळा ॥2॥
शूरा उल्हास अंगीं । गांढएा मरण ते प्रसंगीं ॥3॥
शुद्ध सोनें उजळे अगी । हीन काळें धांवे रंगीं ॥4॥
तुका ह्मणे तो चि हिरा । घनघायें निवडे पुरा ॥5॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
A faithful wife finds joy in her own mind; a faithless woman flinches at a word about devotion. Let falsehood burn and catch fire; purity alone is blessed in this world. The righteous find delight in scripture and moral conduct; the dissolute find such talk a torment. The warrior thrills at the prospect of battle; the coward sees death in the same occasion. Pure gold shines brighter in the fire; base metal only darkens and runs in the heat. Says Tuka, only the true diamond emerges whole from the heaviest blows.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
A faithful wife is glad at heart; an unfaithful one flinches when devotion is spoken of. Let falsehood burn and catch fire; purity alone is blessed in this world. The disciplined find joy in scripture and right conduct; the loose find such talk a torment. The brave thrill at the chance of battle; the coward sees only death in the same hour. Pure gold shines brighter in the fire; base metal darkens and runs in the heat. Tuka says: only the true diamond comes through the heaviest blows whole.
What it means
Tukaram lines up pairs to show that a trial reveals what a person already is. The same word, the same battle, the same fire draws joy from one and dread from another: the faithful wife, the disciplined soul, the brave warrior welcome the test, while the false, the loose, and the cowardly recoil from it. His point is that purity is not threatened by hardship but proved by it, the way fire brightens true gold and exposes the base. The final image carries the weight: only the real diamond survives the heaviest blows uncracked, so let the testing come, since it only confirms what is genuine.
The Moral Ideal
Purity, sincerity, truthfulness, humility, peacefulness, and service.
More in this theme →