Social criticism, the false ascetic
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
कौडीकौडीसाटीं फोडिताती शिर । काढूनि रुधिर मलंग ते ॥1॥
पांघरती चर्म लोहाची सांकळी । मारिती आरोळी धैर्यबळें ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे त्यांचा नव्हे चि स्वधर्म । न कळे चि वर्म गोविंदाचें ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
For a single coin they crack their skulls open, drawing blood. These fakirs wrap themselves in skins and iron chains and cry out with feigned courage. Says Tuka, this is not their true calling. They have not grasped the secret of Govinda.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
For a single coin they split their own heads open and draw their own blood. These malangs wrap themselves in animal skins and iron chains. They cry out loud, showing off their courage. Tuka says: this is not their true calling. They have not understood the secret of Govinda.
What it means
Tukaram is looking at wandering ascetics who turn pain into a street act. They gash their heads and drape themselves in skins and chains, then roar to impress a crowd, all for a coin tossed their way. He names the gap: this self-wounding spectacle is not the path it pretends to be, and it has nothing to do with the inner secret of Govinda. The warning points at the pattern in all of us, the urge to perform hardship for an audience instead of seeking God.
Social Criticism
Rebuke of hypocrisy, caste pride, false teachers, greed, and religious pretence.
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