Social criticism, swans not crows
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
आणितां त्या गती । हंस काउळे न होती ॥1॥
सांडा सांडा रे मठारे । येथें गांठीसवें धुरें ॥ध्रु.॥
नाकेंविण मोती । उभ्या बाजारें फजिती ॥2॥
हुकुमदाज तुका । येथें कोणी काुंफ्दों नका ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
No matter what status you assign them, swans do not become crows. Leave this place, you pretenders; here, the genuine come with their credentials. A pearl without a nose-ring is a disgrace in the open market. Says Tuka, I am the enforcer of order here; let no one try to squeeze in.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
However you rank them, swans do not turn into crows. Clear out, clear out, you frauds; here the real ones come with their credentials in hand. A pearl with no nose-ring is a disgrace in the open market. Tuka says: I am the one who keeps order here; let no one try to squeeze in.
What it means
Tukaram draws a hard line between the genuine devotee and the pretender. No amount of borrowed rank can turn a crow into a swan; what a person truly is shows through, and the true devotee arrives carrying real proof, not borrowed status. The pearl without its setting being shamed in the open market is his image for the fraud exposed once the crowd can see clearly. He casts himself as the keeper of order at this gate and tells the pretenders to clear out. The sharpness is aimed at the pattern of faking devotion, and it is a warning to examine whether one's own credentials are real before pushing to the front.
Social Criticism
Rebuke of hypocrisy, caste pride, false teachers, greed, and religious pretence.
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