The cobbler who has set down his tools: no more anxious mending of the world's knots, only the Name, and nothing left to fear.
The Arc
A short, witty shabad built on Ravidas's own trade. The Rahao (Pauri 0): I am a cobbler who no longer knows how to mend shoes, though people keep bringing them. Pauri 1: I have no awl, no knife. Pauri 2: people wear their lives out tying and untying knots of worry, but without fussing over a single knot, I have arrived home. Pauri 3 closes: Ravidas chants the Name and has no business with fear, not even death.
Key Vocabulary
chamrataa: the cobbler, Ravidas's own low-ranked trade, signed with pride
gaanth / ganth: the knot, worldly worry and anxious mending
aar / raambee: the awl and knife, tools of endless fixing, now set down
bin gaanthe jaai pahoochaa: arriving home without fussing over a single knot
jam siau naahee kaamaa: no business with death, fear dissolved
Themes and Cross-Connections
The double meaning of ganth (a cobbler's stitch and a knot of worry) lets Ravidas turn his trade into teaching, exactly the caste-leveling dignity that runs through his bani: honest work as the very stage of wisdom. It pairs with B00C1377's chamaar signature. The release from anxious mending echoes the project's Sahaj, arriving by stopping the struggle.
For Raag Sorath
Sorath carries this light, playful shabad warmly; the raag lets a shoemaker's workshop become a place of deep peace.
Translation Notes
BHAGAT ATTRIBUTION: signed Ravidasu japai raam naamaa, ||3||7||, so titled and commented as Bhagat Ravidas. NOTE: the Rahao stands first here (Pauri 0), verses follow.
CASTE-LEVELING (foregrounded): the cobbler's trade is signed with pride and made the stage of the teaching, dignity in honest work, never shame.
WELLBEING: jam siau naahee kaamaa (no business with death's messenger) rendered as fear simply dissolved for the one who holds the Name, not dwelt on.
The cobbler who has set down his tools: no more anxious mending of the world's knots, only the Name, and nothing left to fear.
The Arc
A short, witty shabad built on Ravidas's own trade. The Rahao (Pauri 0): I am a cobbler who no longer knows how to mend shoes, though people keep bringing them. Pauri 1: I have no awl, no knife. Pauri 2: people wear their lives out tying and untying knots of worry, but without fussing over a single knot, I have arrived home. Pauri 3 closes: Ravidas chants the Name and has no business with fear, not even death.
Key Vocabulary
Themes and Cross-Connections
The double meaning of ganth (a cobbler's stitch and a knot of worry) lets Ravidas turn his trade into teaching, exactly the caste-leveling dignity that runs through his bani: honest work as the very stage of wisdom. It pairs with B00C1377's chamaar signature. The release from anxious mending echoes the project's Sahaj, arriving by stopping the struggle.
For Raag Sorath
Sorath carries this light, playful shabad warmly; the raag lets a shoemaker's workshop become a place of deep peace.
Translation Notes
Last updated: 2026