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, snake and bee — and then, refusing any tidy ladder, keeps going: birds and deer, horses and camels, the eighty-four accomplished yogis, the six celibates and nine Naths, sun and moon, the ascetics and sages, and then back down to dogs and jackals, cats, sheep and foxes, trees and their roots — before closing with the gods themselves, 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, snake and bee — and then, refusing any tidy ladder, keeps going: birds and deer, horses and camels, the eighty-four accomplished yogis, the six celibates and nine Naths, sun and moon, the ascetics and sages, and then back down to dogs and jackals, cats, sheep and foxes, trees and their roots — before closing with the gods themselves, 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.