Bhakti SaintsAn atlas of devotion

Verses  ·  Kabir  ·  Doha vi

पोथी पढ़ पढ़ जग मुआ, पंडित भया न कोय।
ढाई आखर प्रेम का, पढ़े सो पंडित होय॥

Pothi padh padh jag mua, pandit bhaya na koy.
Dhai aakhar prem ka, padhe so pandit hoy.

The world died reading books, yet none became truly wise.
Whoever learns the two-and-a-half letters of love becomes the real scholar.

Kabir  ·  Doha

Translator’s note

on the language of the verse

Kabir criticizes knowledge without transformation. Wisdom is emotional and ethical, not merely intellectual.

The voice

Kabir

कबीर

The weaver of Banaras, c. 1440 – 1518.

The questions it touches
  • Devotion
  • The vernacular