Kabir: Weaver's SongsKnowledge ahead, knowledge behind, knowledge to the left and right. The knowledge that knows what knowledge is: that’s the knowledge that’s mine. —Bijak, sakhi 188 One of India’s greatest mystics, Kabir (1398-1448) was also a satirist and philosopher, a poet of timeless wit and wisdom. Equally immersed in theology and social thought, music and politics, his songs have won devoted followers from every walk of life through the past five centuries. He was a Muslim by name, but his ideas stand at the intersection of Hinduism and Islam, Bhakti and Yoga, religion and secularism. And his words were always marked by rhetorical boldness and conceptual subtlety. This book offers Vinay Dharwadker’s sparkling new translations of one hundred poems, drawing for the first time on major sources in half a dozen literary languages. They closely mimic the structure, voice and style of the originals, revealing Kabir’s multiple facets in historical and cultural contexts. Finely balancing simplicity and complexity, this selection opens up new forms of imagination and experience for discerning readers around the world. |
Contents
About the Author | |
The Fabric of the Text | |
The Thread of Authorship | |
Sixty Threads in the Warp | |
Poems from the Northern Texts | |
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Ādi Granth Advaita Vedānta Allāh-Rāma Aphorism ātmā avatar Banaras Bhagavad-gītā bhakti bhāshā Bījak body Bolī Braj Callewaert 1996 Callewaert 2000 canon century Dadu Dayal Dadu Panth Delhi devotion Dvivedi early English entry genre God’s godhead Goindval Goindval Pothis Gopaladas Guru haṃsa Hess and Singh Hindi Hindu Hinduism human impure Islam Jaipur jāti julāhā Kabīr Granthāvalī Kabir Panth Kabir poets Kabir says Kabir texts Kabir tradition Kabir’s poetry karma Krishṇa languages Magahar manuscript-lines manuscripts master Māyā musical Muslim Nagari script Niranjani nirguṇa north India pada Pañchavāṇī poems poet’s poetic pronounced Punjabi Qur’ān Rāga Rāga Gauḏī Rajasthani Rāma Rāma’s ramainī Refrain region religion religious reproduced in Callewaert ritual sādhus saguṇa sākhī saṃskāras Sanskrit Sarba Sarbagī shabad shabda shalok Shastri Shukdev Singh 1972 Sikh Sikhism sources speech-variety sufi textual theological Tivari TRANSLATIONS true Vaishṇava VARIANTS Vaudeville 1993 Vedas verse Vishṇu weaver Western line what’s yoga