Exhortation, wealth buys nothing at death
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
द्रव्याचिया कोटी । नये गांडीची लंगोटी ॥1॥
अंती बोळवणेसाटीं । पांडुरंग धरा कंठीं ॥ध्रु.॥
लोभाची लोभिकें । यांचें सन्निधान फिकें ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे हितें । जग नव्हो पडो रितें॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Millions in wealth cannot buy even a loincloth for the afterlife. At the hour of departure, hold Panduranga close to your throat. The possessions of the greedy have a feeble presence in their final hour. Says Tuka, let good counsel keep the world from perishing in emptiness.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Millions in wealth cannot buy you even a loincloth for the next world. At the end, when you are sent off, hold Panduranga at your throat. The greedy and their hoard stand worthless in the final hour. Tuka says: I speak for your good. Do not let the world fall away empty.
What it means
Tukaram measures wealth against the one moment it cannot reach: the hour of death. No fortune buys passage onward, not even a scrap of cloth, so the only thing worth clutching at the throat as you depart is Panduranga, the Name and form of God. He names the greedy directly: when they need their riches most, those riches are hollow and absent. The last line frames the whole poem as counsel given out of love, a warning meant to keep people from dying into emptiness.
Appeals and Exhortations
Direct calls to action: wake up, seek God, do not waste this human birth.
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