Social criticism, nature does not change
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
जाली गाढवी दुधाळ । महिमा गाईची पावेल ॥1॥
श्वान जालेंसे चांगलें । तरी कां सांगातें जेवील ॥ध्रु.॥
जाली सिंदळा चांगली । तरि कां पतिव्रता जाली ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे ऐशा जाति । काय उंचपण पावती ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
If a she-donkey gives milk, will it attain the status of a cow's? If a dog is groomed nicely, will it be invited to dine at the table? If a fallen woman becomes refined, does that make her a chaste wife? Says Tuka, can such natures ever attain true nobility?
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
If a she-donkey gives milk, will she reach the dignity of a cow? If a dog is groomed well, will it be invited to eat at the table with you? If a loose woman is made refined, does that make her a faithful wife? Tuka says: can such natures ever reach true high standing?
What it means
Tukaram lines up three blunt images to argue that an inner nature is not changed by surface improvement. The point is not contempt for the donkey, the dog or the woman; it is a warning about the gap between appearance and reality, polish on the outside while the disposition stays what it was. Read against himself and the reader, the question turns into self-examination: am I trusting in grooming and pretense rather than a real change of heart. The poem leaves the question open and pointed, asking whether any merely cosmetic fix can buy genuine worth.
Worldly Metaphors
Poems using images from games, occupations, and daily life as spiritual teaching.
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