Social criticism, the hollow boaster
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
ढेंकणासी बाज गड । उतरचढ केवढी ॥1॥
होता तैसा कळों भाव । आला वाव अंतरींचा ॥ध्रु.॥
बोरामध्यें वसे अळी। अठोळीच भोंवती ॥2॥
पोटासाटीं वेंची चणे । राजा ह्मणे तोंडें मी ॥3॥
बेडकानें चिखल खावा । काय ठावा सागर ॥4॥
तुका ह्मणे ऐसें आहे । काय पाहे त्यांत तें ॥5॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
A bedbug on a throne; what a contrast. Yet character reveals itself as it truly is, and the inner emptiness comes to light. A worm lives inside a berry, circling only the pit. For the sake of his belly, one sells peanuts yet calls himself a king. A frog that eats mud, what does it know of the ocean? Says Tuka, such is the way of things; look for what is truly inside.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
A bedbug on a throne; what a climb up, what a fall down. Sooner or later the true nature shows itself, and the emptiness inside comes out into the open. A worm lives inside a berry and circles only the pit. A man sells peanuts to fill his belly, yet says with his mouth, I am a king. A frog eats mud; what does it know of the ocean? Tuka says: this is how it is. What is there to look for in such people? Look at what is truly inside.
What it means
Tukaram is taking apart the boaster whose station does not match his size. The bedbug on the throne, the worm that circles only the pit of its berry, the peanut seller calling himself king, the mud-eating frog with no idea the ocean exists: each is small, and each pretends to be large. His point is that station and noise cannot hide the inner truth; given time, the real nature surfaces and the emptiness shows. The turn is inward at the end: do not be fooled by the front, and ask what is actually inside, in others and in yourself.
Social Criticism
Rebuke of hypocrisy, caste pride, false teachers, greed, and religious pretence.
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