Social criticism, the harm of bad company
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
आड पडे काडी । तरि ते बहुत पाणी खोडी ॥1॥
दुर्जनाचे संगती । बहुतांचे घात होती ॥ध्रु.॥
एक पडे मासी । तरी ते बहु अन्न नासी ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे रांड । ऐसी कां ते व्याली भांड॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
A single stick placed crosswise blocks a great flow of water. In the company of the wicked, many are destroyed. A single fly falling into food spoils the entire meal. Says Tuka, why did that cursed woman bring forth such quarrelsome offspring?.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
A single stick laid crosswise will hold back a great deal of water. In the company of the wicked, many are destroyed. A single fly falling in spoils a whole plate of food. Tuka says: why did that wretched woman give birth to such a quarrelsome creature?
What it means
Tukaram is warning how little it takes for one corrupt presence to ruin many. A twig dams a stream; a fly spoils a full meal; in the same way one wicked companion drags down everyone around. The lesson is not really about the stick or the fly but about the company you keep and the disproportion of the damage it does. The closing line is bitter scorn aimed at the troublemaker who poisons a whole circle. Read it as a hard look at how readily a small contamination spreads, and a caution to watch the company we sit in, including our own role in it.
Social Criticism
Rebuke of hypocrisy, caste pride, false teachers, greed, and religious pretence.
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