Metaphor, grace lifts the lowly
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
राजा करी तैसे दाम । ते ही चाम चालती ॥1॥
कारण ते सत्ता शिरीं । कोण करी अव्हेर ॥ध्रु.॥
वाइले तें सुनें खांदीं । चाले पदीं बैसविलें ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे विश्वंभरें । करुणाकरें रिक्षलें ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
A king stamps coins as he pleases; even leather currency circulates. The real force is the authority upon one's head; who dares to disregard it? Even that which was carried on the shoulder now walks upright, once it has been seated in its proper place. Says Tuka, the Lord of the Universe, the compassionate One, has sheltered and saved us.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
The king stamps the coin as he wishes, and even leather then passes as money. The force is the authority over it; who dares refuse it? What was carried like a load on the shoulder now walks upright, once it is seated in its place. Tuka says: the Lord of the universe, the compassionate one, has sheltered and saved us.
What it means
Tukaram uses the image of royal coinage to explain how grace raises the worthless. A king's stamp can make even a scrap of leather circulate as currency; the value comes not from the material but from the authority behind it. In the same way, what was once a mere burden is set in its rightful place and made to stand upright by a power above it. The point lands on the last line: it is the compassion of the Lord, not any worth of our own, that has sheltered us and given us standing.
Worldly Metaphors
Poems using images from games, occupations, and daily life as spiritual teaching.
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