Social criticism, caste as self-degradation
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
तेथें बिबव्याचें काम । अधमासि तों अधम ॥1॥
रुसला गुलाम । धणी करीतो सलाम ।
तेथें चाकराचें काम । अधमासि तों अधम ॥ध्रु.॥
रुसली घरची दासी । धणी समजावी तियेसि ।
तेथें बटकीचें काम। अधमासि तों अधम ॥2॥
देव्हायावरि विंचू आला । देवपूजा नावडे त्याला ।
तेथें पैजारेचें काम । अधमासि तों अधम ॥3॥
तुका ह्मणे जाती । जातीसाटीं खाती माती ॥4॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Where a shoe is the remedy, one worse than the lowest is at work. When a slave sulks, the master bows to him; there, a servant's work is needed. When the household maid is offended, the master must console her; there, a handmaid's work is needed. When a scorpion climbs onto the altar, the worship of God becomes impossible; there, a sandal is what is needed. Says Tuka, those who cling to caste end up eating dirt for its sake.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Where a beating is the cure, the lowest gets something lower still. When a slave sulks, the master bows to him; there a servant's handling is what is needed. When the house maid takes offense, the master must coax her; there a handmaid's handling is what is needed. When a scorpion climbs onto the shrine, worship cannot go on; there a sandal is what is needed. Tuka says: those who live for caste end up eating dirt for the sake of it.
What it means
Tukaram lines up cases where the right response is plain force or correction, not flattery. A sulking slave or an offended maid may have to be coaxed by a soft master, but a scorpion on the altar gets the sandal, because it only blocks the worship. He is naming people who, out of pride, insist on being handled gently when what they truly need is to be put in their place. The closing turns the blade on caste-pride itself: those who cling to caste and live by its rankings end up degraded, eating dirt for the sake of a thing that lifts no one. The poem invites self-examination about the pride one defends as honor.
Worldly Metaphors
Poems using images from games, occupations, and daily life as spiritual teaching.
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