Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha
मराठी मूळ
गाढवाचे अंगीं चंदनाची उटी । राख तया तेणें केलीसे भेटी ॥1॥
सहज गुण जयाचे देहीं । पालट कांहीं नव्हे तया ॥ध्रु.॥
माकडाचे गळां मोलाचा मणि । घातला चावुनी टाकी थुंकोनि ॥2॥
तुका ह्मणे खळा नावडे हित । अविद्या वाढवी आपुलें मत ॥3॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
If you rub sandalwood paste on a donkey, it rolls in the ashes at once. The inborn nature of a creature does not change. If you hang a precious gem around a monkey's neck, it chews it and spits it out. Says Tuka, the wicked have no taste for what is good. They only nurture their own ignorance.
This translation is auto-generated and may contain errors. We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram’s original Marathi.
Social Criticism
Rebuke of hypocrisy, caste pride, false teachers, greed, and religious pretence.
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