Social criticism, glass is not a diamond
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
खोटएाचा विकरा । येथें नव्हे कांच हिरा ॥1॥
काय दावायाचें काम । उगा च वाढवावा श्रम ॥ध्रु.॥
परीक्षकाविण । मिरवों जाणों तें तें हीण ॥2॥
तुका पायां पडे । वाद पुरे हे झगडे॥3॥ ॥2॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
There is no sale for the false here; glass cannot pass for diamond. What is the point of showing off and increasing toil for nothing? To parade without an examiner is to display what is inferior. Says Tuka, I fall at Your feet; enough of these quarrels and disputes.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
The false finds no buyer here; glass cannot pass for a diamond. What is the use of showing off? You only pile up labor for nothing. To parade without a true judge present is to put your own poverty on display. Tuka says: I fall at Your feet. Enough of these quarrels and disputes.
What it means
Tukaram is exposing pretense and turning away from it toward God. In God's presence, he says, fakery finds no market; a piece of glass will never be taken for a diamond, so display is wasted effort. To show off where no real judge can tell the difference only reveals how cheap one's wares actually are. The poem ends by abandoning the whole game: he falls at God's feet and calls a halt to the arguing and contention, choosing surrender over the performance of merit. The criticism is aimed at the impulse to parade, including in himself, not at any one rival.
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