Social criticism, character over caste
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
आसुरी स्वभाव निर्दय अंतर । मानसीं निष्ठ अतिवादी ॥१॥
याति कुळ येथें असे अप्रमाण । गुणाचें कारण असे अंगीं ॥ध्रु.॥
काळकुट पितळ सोनें शुद्ध रंग । अंगाचेंच अंग साक्ष देतें ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे बरी जातीसवें भेटी । नवनीत पोटीं सांटविलें ॥३॥
बाळपणीं हरि । खेळे मथुरेमाझारी । पायीं घागरिया सरी । कडदोरा वांकी ।
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
A demonic temperament is merciless at heart, obstinate in mind, given to excessive argument. Caste and lineage count for nothing here; what matters is the quality within. Poison, brass, and pure gold each reveal their nature by their own substance. Says Tuka, a true meeting is one with genuine goodness; like butter hidden in milk, it is stored within the heart.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
A demonic nature is merciless within, hard in mind, given to endless argument. Caste and birth count for nothing here; what matters is the quality in a person. Poison, brass, pure gold: each shows its nature by its own substance. Tuka says: a true meeting is one with real goodness, like butter stored hidden inside the milk.
What it means
Tukaram measures a person by inner character, not by birth. He marks the cruel, stubborn, endlessly quarrelsome temperament as the demonic one, and says plainly that caste and lineage prove nothing about a person's worth. Like poison, brass, and gold, each thing declares what it really is by its own substance, not by its label. He keeps the edge on the pattern of cruelty itself: the meeting worth having is with genuine goodness, the butter quietly held inside the milk, which is found in the heart and not in the rank.
Social Criticism
Rebuke of hypocrisy, caste pride, false teachers, greed, and religious pretence.
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