Social criticism, the boasting miser
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
दानें कांपे हात । नाव तेविशीं मात ॥१॥
कथी चावटीचे बोल । हिंग क्षीरीं मिथ्या फोल ॥ध्रु.॥
न वजती पाप । तीर्था म्हणे वेचूं काय ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे मनीं नाहीं । न ये आकारातें कांहीं ॥३॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
His hand trembles from giving, yet he boasts on that very subject. In holy gatherings he speaks loose words; asafoetida mixed into milk, a false froth. His sins do not depart, yet he says of pilgrimage, "Why should I spend?" Says Tuka, when there is nothing in the mind, nothing comes to form.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
His hand shakes when it comes to giving, yet on that very subject he boasts the loudest. In holy gatherings he spouts loose talk, asafoetida stirred into milk, a false froth. His sins do not leave him, and still he says of pilgrimage, why should I spend the money? Tuka says: when there is nothing in the heart, nothing takes shape in the act.
What it means
A quick, exact sketch of the stingy hypocrite. He cannot bear to give, yet talks endlessly about generosity; he pollutes holy company with empty chatter, like a pinch of asafoetida ruining good milk. He will not spend on anything that might actually cleanse him, and so his faults stay with him. Tukaram's closing line is the principle behind the portrait: action follows the heart, and where the heart is empty, no real deed can take form. The outer meanness is only the shape of an inner emptiness.
Social Criticism
Rebuke of hypocrisy, caste pride, false teachers, greed, and religious pretence.
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