Raag Bhairao, Shabad (five stanzas with rahau), Bhagat Kabir
As many living beings as there are, that many get swept up in its spell.
The Arc
A great catalog of enchantment. Kabir names creature after creature — fish, moth, elephant, bee, birds, deer, horses, camels, dogs, lions, trees — and then rises through sages, yogic masters, sun and moon, even the gods, showing that the pull of maa-i-aa, craving and attachment, reaches every level of existence. The rahau (Pauri1) states it plainly: as many beings as there are, that many are caught. The final stanza turns: whoever has a body to feed lives under this pull, and freedom comes in one place — the company of a soul already free.
Key Vocabulary
Maa-i-aa — here, the web of craving and attachment (not merely "illusion" or "wealth"). Mohnee — the bewitching, enchanting power. Dehkaa-ee — fooled, swept up. Siddh / chauraaseeh siddh — the eighty-four accomplished yogis. Kaal — time. Panch doot — the five inner pulls (softened to "restless urges"). Udar — belly; "whoever has a belly has Maya." Saadhoo / saadh sangat — a holy soul; the company of the good.
Themes and Cross-Connections
The hymn is a study in universality: no creature, no sage, no god is exempt from craving, which removes any ground for looking down on the "weak." This links to the scripture's steady insight that liberation is not a solo achievement but grows in company — the saadh sangat. Kabir's use of ordinary animals over abstract argument is characteristic of his grounded, weaver's voice.
For Raag Bhairao
Bhairao's bright, awake energy suits a hymn that wants you to see clearly — to notice the enchantment rather than drift in it. The closing note is not gloom but a doorway: the company of the good is the way through.
Translation Notes
— Wellbeing: the literal's "destroyed," "deadly trap," and "the five demons / death" are softened — creatures are shown "caught," "swept up," "trapped," and the panch doot rendered as "five restless urges," keeping the teaching about craving while dropping frightening imagery for children. — Interfaith / respect: the yogic and Indic figures (the six celibates, nine Naths, rishis, the eighty-four siddhas) and "the gods" are named evenhandedly and with respect, shown inside Maya without mockery. — Maa-i-aa introduced as "the pull of wanting" rather than simply "illusion," to keep it concrete and non-condemning.
As many living beings as there are, that many get swept up in its spell.
The Arc
A great catalog of enchantment. Kabir names creature after creature — fish, moth, elephant, bee, birds, deer, horses, camels, dogs, lions, trees — and then rises through sages, yogic masters, sun and moon, even the gods, showing that the pull of maa-i-aa, craving and attachment, reaches every level of existence. The rahau (Pauri1) states it plainly: as many beings as there are, that many are caught. The final stanza turns: whoever has a body to feed lives under this pull, and freedom comes in one place — the company of a soul already free.
Key Vocabulary
Maa-i-aa — here, the web of craving and attachment (not merely "illusion" or "wealth"). Mohnee — the bewitching, enchanting power. Dehkaa-ee — fooled, swept up. Siddh / chauraaseeh siddh — the eighty-four accomplished yogis. Kaal — time. Panch doot — the five inner pulls (softened to "restless urges"). Udar — belly; "whoever has a belly has Maya." Saadhoo / saadh sangat — a holy soul; the company of the good.
Themes and Cross-Connections
The hymn is a study in universality: no creature, no sage, no god is exempt from craving, which removes any ground for looking down on the "weak." This links to the scripture's steady insight that liberation is not a solo achievement but grows in company — the saadh sangat. Kabir's use of ordinary animals over abstract argument is characteristic of his grounded, weaver's voice.
For Raag Bhairao
Bhairao's bright, awake energy suits a hymn that wants you to see clearly — to notice the enchantment rather than drift in it. The closing note is not gloom but a doorway: the company of the good is the way through.
Translation Notes
— Wellbeing: the literal's "destroyed," "deadly trap," and "the five demons / death" are softened — creatures are shown "caught," "swept up," "trapped," and the panch doot rendered as "five restless urges," keeping the teaching about craving while dropping frightening imagery for children. — Interfaith / respect: the yogic and Indic figures (the six celibates, nine Naths, rishis, the eighty-four siddhas) and "the gods" are named evenhandedly and with respect, shown inside Maya without mockery. — Maa-i-aa introduced as "the pull of wanting" rather than simply "illusion," to keep it concrete and non-condemning.