Devotion, no caste at the feet of Hari
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
पवित्र तें कुळ पावन तो देश । जेथें हरिचे दास घेती जन्म ॥1॥
कर्मधर्म त्याचे जाला नारायण । त्याचेनी पावन तिन्ही लोक ॥ध्रु.॥
वर्णअभिमानें कोण जाले पावन । ऐसें द्या सांगून मजपाशीं ॥3॥
अंत्यजादि योनि तरल्या हरिभजनें । तयाचीं पुराणें भाट जालीं ॥3॥
वैश्य तुळाधार गोरा तो कुंभार । धागा हा चांभार रोहिदास ॥4॥
कबीर मोमीन लतिब मुसलमान । शेणा न्हावी जाण विष्णुदास ॥5॥
काणोपात्र खोदु पिंजारी तो दादु । भजनीं अभेदू हरिचे पायीं ॥6॥
चोखामेळा बंका जातीचा माहार । त्यासी सर्वेश्वर ऐक्य करी ॥7॥
नामयाची जनी कोण तिचा भाव । जेवी पंढरीराव तियेसवें ॥8॥
मैराळा जनक कोण कुळ त्याचें । महिमान तयाचें काय सांगों ॥9॥
यातायातीधर्म नाहीं विष्णुदासा । निर्णय हा ऐसा वेदशास्त्रीं ॥10॥
तुका ह्मणे तुह्मी विचारावे ग्रंथ । तारिले पतित नेणों किती ॥11॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Sacred is the family and holy is the land where the servants of Hari take birth. Narayana Himself has become their merit and dharma; through them, all three worlds are purified. Tell me, who has ever been purified by mere pride of caste? The lowborn and all other beings have been saved by devotion to Hari; the Puranas themselves sing their praises. Tulsidhara the merchant, Gora the potter, Rohidas the cobbler. Kabir the weaver, Latif the Muslim, Shena the barber, all servants of Vishnu. Kanopatra, Khodu the cotton-carder, Dadu: all equal at the feet of Hari in devotion. Chokhamela and Banka, born as Mahars, yet the Lord of all made them one with Himself. Namdev's Jani, what was her status? Yet the Lord of Pandhari dined with her. Janaka the king of Mithila, what was his lineage? How can one describe his greatness? For the servants of Vishnu there is no distinction of caste; this is the clear verdict of the Vedas and scriptures. Says Tuka, search the sacred texts; countless wrongdoers have been saved, beyond all counting.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Sacred is the family, holy is the land, where the servants of Hari are born. Narayana himself becomes their duty and their merit; through them all three worlds are made pure. Tell me, who was ever made holy by pride of caste? Say it to my face. The lowborn and every kind of birth have been carried across by devotion to Hari; the Puranas themselves became their bards. Tuladhara the merchant, Gora the potter, Rohidas the cobbler. Kabir the weaver, Latif the Muslim, Shena the barber, all servants of Vishnu. Kanopatra, Khodu, Dadu the cotton-carder: all undivided at the feet of Hari in their devotion. Chokhamela and Banka, Mahars by caste, and the Lord of all made them one with himself. Namdev's Jani, what was her standing? Yet the King of Pandhari ate with her. Janaka the king, what was his lineage? How can I tell his greatness? For the servants of Vishnu there is no rule of high birth and low; this is the verdict of the Vedas and the scriptures. Tuka says: search the books yourselves. The fallen ones who have been saved are past all counting.
What it means
Tukaram throws down a direct challenge: name one person ever sanctified by caste pride alone. He answers with a roll call of saints drawn from every rank, a merchant, a potter, a cobbler, a weaver, a Muslim, a barber, Mahars, a serving woman, even a king, and insists that devotion to Hari, not birth, is what carried each of them across. The repeated point is that at the feet of God all these distinctions dissolve; the Lord himself dined with the maidservant Jani and made the outcaste Chokhamela one with him. To anyone who would defend the hierarchy of birth, Tukaram says: go check the scriptures, the verdict is already against you. The poem lands as a flat denial that caste has any standing in the life of God.
Devotion to Vitthal
Poems of praise, invocation, and intimate address to Lord Vitthal at Pandharpur.
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