Moral ideal, the false witness
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
लटिकी ग्वाही सभेआंत । देतां पतित आगळा॥1॥
कुंभपाकीं वस्ती करूं । होय धुरु कुळेसी ॥ध्रु.॥
रजस्वला रुधिर स्रवे । तें चि घ्यावें तृषेसी ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे जन्मा आला । काळ जाला कुळासी ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
He who bears false witness in an assembly is the most fallen of all. He will dwell in the boiling hell of Kumbhapaka, and his entire family line is set ablaze. Says Tuka, the day he was born became a dark day for his entire clan.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
The man who gives false testimony in the assembly is the most fallen of all. He will live in the boiling hell of Kumbhapaka, and his whole family line is set on fire. Tuka says: the day he was born became a dark day for his clan.
What it means
Tukaram fixes on the lie told under oath, the false witness in a public assembly, and calls it the lowest fall a person can take. The consequence is the boiling cauldron-hell of Kumbhapaka, and again the ruin is not contained to one man: his entire family is set ablaze with him. The final line lands the verdict at the very beginning of his life, saying his birthday itself became a curse on his people. The point is not relish at his fate but the weight Tukaram puts on truthful speech: a single false word can be heavy enough to darken a whole lineage, which asks the hearer to guard their own tongue.
The Moral Ideal
Purity, sincerity, truthfulness, humility, peacefulness, and service.
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