Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Nine tax assessors and ten judges rush around. They never let the people live in peace.
They never measure with a full tape, and they grab big bribes.
Kabir describes unfair officials who cheat people, both out in the world and inside the heart.
Na-o daadee das munsaf Dhaaveh — nine tax assessors and ten munsaf, judges, rush around. Ra-ee-at basan na dayhee — they never let the ra-ee-at, the ordinary people, live in peace.
Doree pooree maapeh naahee — they never measure with a full tape. Baho bistaalaa layhee — and they take big bribes. Think of a shopkeeper who secretly presses a thumb on the scale, so you always get less than you paid for.
This works on two levels at once. Inside, the restless pulls of the body act like unfair officials, always demanding more than is right. Outside, Kabir is poking at the real corrupt tax collectors of his day, who pushed ordinary people around. Both ways, the call is the same: be fair and honest, and don't let greed run your life.
What does it look like to be fair and honest even when it would be easier not to be?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI