ਸਤਰਿ ਸੈਇ ਸਲਾਰ ਹੈ ਜਾ ਕੇ ॥
satar sai-ay salaar hai jaa kay.
He has 7,000 commanders,
ਸਵਾ ਲਾਖੁ ਪੈਕਾਬਰ ਤਾ ਕੇ ॥
savaa laakh paikaabar taa kay.
and hundreds of thousands of prophets;
ਸੇਖ ਜੁ ਕਹੀਅਹਿ ਕੋਟਿ ਅਠਾਸੀ ॥
saykh jo kahee-ahi kot athaasee.
He is said to have 88,000,000 shaykhs,
ਛਪਨ ਕੋਟਿ ਜਾ ਕੇ ਖੇਲ ਖਾਸੀ ॥੧॥
chhapan kot jaa kay khayl khaasee. ||1||
and 56,000,000 attendants. ||1||
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
The One has seven thousand commanders
and hundreds of thousands of prophets.
The One is said to have eighty-eight million shaykhs, wise teachers,
and fifty-six million attendants.
The One is so vast that every title of honor is only a small servant at its door.
The One is so vast that every title of honor is a small servant at that door.
Kabir opens in the language of the Muslim world around him: salaar (commanders), paikaabar (prophets), saykh (learned guides). He uses the words of his Muslim neighbors to praise the same boundless One the whole hymn addresses. The enormous numbers all point to a greatness beyond measure, like counting the stars on a clear night.
A Question to Sit With
How do you picture something too big to fully imagine?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI
Use ← → to navigate