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The Muslim reign was firmly entrenched in the south at that
time. The Portuguese ruled Goa. The three main Muslim rulers
– Adilshah of Bijapur, Nizamshah of Ahmednagar and Kutubshah
of Golconda – were perpetually at loggerheads with each
other, the upshot being that villages were being looted
recklessly and rendered barren while the rulers themselves
were enjoying to the hilt all the perquisites of royalty.
The subjects were living in abject conditions.
‘The
Brahmins had given up their pious deportment, the Kshatriyas
were bleeding the Vaishyas and forcible conversions were the
rule of the day,’ noted Tukaram. Anarchy prevailed in every
sphere. The undesirable had usurped the place of the
desirable and the saints had been robbed of their place of
honour. The society had become split at many levels.
Religion held no attraction for anybody and ignorance ruled
the roost. People were looking forward to a new sunrise and
such a sunrise was witnessed at Dehu.
Tukaram
was born to a great devotee, Bolhoba, and his wife, Kanakai,
in 1609. His childhood was spent in great comfort and
luxury, because the family was prosperous. He was initiated
into education by the pantoji (the non-formal village
teacher). The alphabet was learnt with the help of pebbles
that gave form to each letter.
So
far as his initiation into the temporal and spiritual life
was concerned, Tukaram did so at the knee of his father,
Bolhoba. When Savji refused to take up the family business
and money-lending, Tukaram was asked by his father to take
upon him the responsibility. He received lessons in business
while working under the guidance of his father at the
mahajan’s wada (shop) in the marketplace.
Marriage came about at the age of 13 and soon Tukaram began
looking after the family business independently. He became
successful both in trade and money-lending. Plaudits came
his way from the general public. Everyone praised him. He
successfully transferred the atmosphere of piety prevailing
at home to his workplace. Since Tukaram’s first wife was
chronically afflicted by asthma, a second wedding was
arranged with Jijabai (alias Awali), the daughter of Appaji
Gulwe, a famous money-lender in Pune. It was an alliance
between two affluent families that marked the pinnacle of
prosperity for Tukaram’s family. The house was always
well-stocked with grains, there were affectionate parents
and brothers and Tukaram himself enjoyed good health. There
was not a single thing to complain about. Days went by in a
perpetual state of happiness and well-being. As they say,
sorrow follows happiness in a cyclical manner. A
demonstration of this was in store. |
