Social criticism, selling a daughter
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
साळंकृत कन्यादान । करितां पृथ्वीसमान ॥१॥
परि तें न कळे या मूढा । येइल कळों भोग पुढां ॥ध्रु.॥
आचरतां कर्म । भरे पोट राहे धर्म ॥२॥
सत्या देव साहे । ऐसें करूनियां पाहें ॥३॥
अन्न मान धन । हें तों प्रारब्धा आधीन ॥४॥
तुका म्हणे सोस । दुःख आतां पुढें नास ॥५॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Giving away a well-adorned daughter in marriage is considered equal to giving away the earth itself. But this does not dawn upon the fool; he will come to understand only when he faces the consequences ahead. If one performs one's duties properly, the belly is filled and righteousness is upheld. God supports the truthful; put this to the test and see. Food, honor, and wealth are all subject to destiny. Says Tuka, after toil comes sorrow, and in the end, ruin.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
To give away a daughter, well adorned, in marriage is as great a gift as giving away the whole earth. But the fool does not see this. He will see it later, when the consequences come. Do your duty rightly; the belly is filled and dharma stands. God upholds the truthful. Try it, and see for yourself. Food, honor, wealth: these are all in the hands of destiny. Tuka says: this greed brings sorrow now, and ruin ahead.
What it means
Tukaram is contrasting two ways of giving a daughter in marriage. To give her freely and well prepared is the highest gift, on a par with giving away the earth itself; to sell her for gain is the act of a fool who cannot yet see what he is doing. He insists that an honest livelihood already feeds the belly and keeps dharma intact, and that God himself stands behind the truthful, a thing one can test. Food, honor, and wealth come by destiny anyway, so grasping for them this way is needless. The warning lands at the end: the greed looks like profit now, but its end is sorrow and ruin.
Social Criticism
Rebuke of hypocrisy, caste pride, false teachers, greed, and religious pretence.
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