sahitya and meaning in English.

[Nandy]

Hello everyone,

I need the exact meaning of each line of this Kabir das song. Please correct me if certain words by any chance are wrong too.


This song goes as follows:

Beeth gaye din bajan binaare
Bal avastha khel gavaye
Jab jo ban tab maan ganaare

Laahe kaarana mula gavaaye
Ajahuna gaaye man ki trishunaare
Kahate kabir suno bhayi saadho
Paar uthar gayi sant janaare

Thank you.

Regards,

Nandy.

[Rajani]

Here is a rough translation from what I could understand.
Corrections welcome

Beeth gaye din bajan binaare - The days have passed without praising the Lord
Bal avastha khel gavaye - Childhood went in play
Jab jo ban tab maan ganaare - When youth (joban = youvanam) came, pride/touchiness was high

Laahe kaarana mula gavaaye - ?
Ajahuna gaaye man ki trishunaare - the desire/thirst of the heart has crossed all limits ( ajahudh = crossing limits)

Kahate kabir suno bhayi saadho - O good man , hear what Kabir says
Paar uthar gayi sant janaare - the pious have crossed over to the other side

[vgvindan]

The Hindi version of the Song is available in the website - http://kitabghar.in/kabir/kabirbhajan/bitgaye.html
3rd line, it will be 'ghanaare' (no change in the meaning given by Rajni)
4th Line - as per Hindi dictionary 'laahE' means 'wine'. If that is correct, then it will mean 'because of wine you lost the body' (literally 'mUl' means 'capital')
5th line - 'Ajhun na gayi man ki trshnaarE' - 'Even then the desire of mind has not gone'
6th line - 'paar uthar gayE' here refers to the Ocean of Worldly existence.

[rshankar]

In this verse, kabIr is extolling the virtues of saintly people. What he is saying is that even after a mispent childhood, youth and adulthood, one can attain salvation through the guidance of a 'sant'!

lAhE kAran mUl gavAyE = frittered my wealth (mUl) for the sake of wine...

pAr uthar gayE sant janArE - (despite all of these sins), because of the blessings of saintly humans (sant jan), I too can cross this ocean of misery/bhav sAgar/worldy existence.

Hope this adds to the wonderful transaltion of Rajni.

[arasi]

Yes, Ravi.

[vgvindan]

In this verse, kabIr is extolling the virtues of saintly people. What he is saying is that even after a mispent childhood, youth and adulthood, one can attain salvation through the guidance of a 'sant'!

I beg to differ. This song is addressed to the ignorant who are squandering away their time.
The essence is 'You have wasted away the days without bhajan; in the youth you remained conceited; you wasted away your body by drinking; till date the thirst (craving) of mind has not abated; O Dear, listen to kabir; virtuous men have reached the other shore (by performing bhajan)'. Therefore, the lesson is 'mend your ways and chant bhajan by emulating the sants so that you also can reach the other shore'.
It is not correct to say that people, in spite of being drunkards, have become sants. If such a thing is told to a drunkard, he will say 'well let me also drink to my heart's content and then I will become saint'.
In Line 4, it is not 'ajhudh', but 'ajhun' which means 'till date'.
Further, the 'mUl' referred is not 'money'. If money is the only thing that is wasted away by drinking, it is not that serious. But it is ruining of body that is more serious. Assuming one has enough wealth enough to cater for a few generations, what about the body? Will the body also last for a few generations? Therefore, the 'mUl' actually means 'body'.

[Rajani]

Thanks vgvindan and Ravi for the useful additions & corrections

[Nandy]

Hello to Rajani, vgvindan and shankar,

Thank you so much for all the translations and explanations given by all of you.

I am perfectly happy and satisfied and have understood the song really well.

Thank you.

Warm regards,

Nandy.