Social criticism, the pious fraud
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
बोली मैंदाची बरवी असे । वाटे अंतरीं घालावे फांसे ॥1॥
कैसा वरिवरि दिसताहे चांग । नव्हे भाविक केवळ मांग ॥ध्रु.॥
टिळा टोपी माळा कंठीं । अंधारीं नेउनि चेंपी घांटी ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे तो केवळ पुंड । त्याजवरी यमदंड ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
The words of the deceiver sound pleasant, but his intention is to slip a noose around your neck. On the surface he appears handsome and good, but he is no devotee; he is a thorough scoundrel. He wears the tilak, the cap, and the garland around his neck, then leads you into the dark and squeezes your throat. Says Tuka, he is nothing but a thug, and the rod of Yama hangs over him.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
The cheat speaks sweetly. Inside he means to drop a noose around your neck. On the surface he looks fine and good. He is no devotee. He is a complete scoundrel. He wears the tilak, the cap, the garland at his throat. Then he leads you into the dark and squeezes your windpipe. Tuka says: he is nothing but a thug. The rod of Yama hangs over him.
What it means
Tukaram warns against the man who wears devotion as a disguise. His speech is pleasant, his forehead marked, his neck strung with beads, and all of it is bait; the real aim is to get a noose around your neck. The holy props prove nothing, because once he has you alone he goes for the throat. The verse points at a pattern, the fraud who trades on piety to prey on the trusting, and tells you to judge by what the man does in the dark, not by his costume. Such a one is a thug, and Yama's rod of judgment is already raised over him.
Social Criticism
Rebuke of hypocrisy, caste pride, false teachers, greed, and religious pretence.
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