Metaphor, guard the essence
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
मथनासाटीं धर्माधर्म । त्याचें वर्म नवनीत ॥1॥
तें चि तें घाटूं नये । आलें जाय नासूनि ॥ध्रु.॥
सांभाळावें वरावर । वर्म दूर न वजावें ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे घालें पोट । मग बोटचांचणी॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Dharma and adharma are like the churning; the butter is their inner essence. That essence should not be handled carelessly; it spoils if it comes and goes. Guard it carefully, layer upon layer; do not let the essence drift far. Says Tuka, first fill the belly, then pick at the crumbs.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Dharma and adharma are like the churning. The butter is their inner essence. That essence should not be handled carelessly; it comes and it spoils. Guard it carefully, layer upon layer. Do not let the essence drift far. Tuka says: first fill the belly, then pick at the crumbs.
What it means
Tukaram uses the churning of milk as a picture of weighing right and wrong: the labor of sorting dharma from adharma yields one fine thing, the butter, which is the real essence underneath. That essence is delicate; handle it roughly and it spoils, so it must be kept close and guarded, never allowed to drift out of reach. His closing image is homely and practical: take the substantial nourishment first, then bother with the scraps. The teaching is to seize and protect the core truth and not lose it in fussing over the details around it.
Worldly Metaphors
Poems using images from games, occupations, and daily life as spiritual teaching.
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