Traditional Biographies of Kabir by Samuel C. Mitchell

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TRADITIONAL BIOGRAPHIES OF KABIR
A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE

DIVISION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII IN PARTIAL
FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE
OF
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
IN
HISTORY
MAY 1998
By
Samuel Mitchell
Dissertation Committee:
Jagdish Sharma, Chairperson

Richard Rapson
Peter Hoffenberg
Idus Newby
Rama Nath Sharma
UMI Number: 9829570
Copyright 1998 by
Mitchell, Samuel C.
All rights reserved.
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© Copyright 1998
by
Sam uel Mitchell
iv
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This project ow es a debt to many friends and colleagues who

assisted me over the ten years it took to com plete it. I wish first to
acknowledge the assistance of Shukdev Singh of Banaras Hindu
University, who helped translate the most archaic of the Hindi texts
with which I w orked. Additional translation assistance came from
Awadesh Mishra, form er head of the A m erican Institute of Indian
Studies Hindi L anguage Program, and from R atnesh Pathak,
research assistant extraordinaire. I also thank C hitranjan Datt,
Rashm i Datt, and D inkar Rai. all of the Landour Language School in
M ussoorie, with w hom I discussed this study in its infancy.
A t the U niversity of Hawaii. Rama Nath Sharm a guided the
Hindi aspects of this study. He introduced m e to the m ahant of the
K abir Chaura m ath in Banaras in 1987, and showed me the lanes
across the street from the math in which he used to play as a child.
Jagdish Sharm a served as my mentor at the U niversity of Hawaii,
encouraging m e to continue my studies for the Ph.D. I have twice
had the pleasure of being in India with Professor Sharm a, exploring
the wonders of G arhw ai and Banaras. His careful reading of
successive drafts of this dissertation has shaped the end result
considerably. Idus N ew by earned my respect, for both his
historiography classes and a devastating critique of m y writing in an
early draft of the dissertation, lessons I will rem em b er for years to
com e. Richard R apson and Peter Hoffenberg drew m y attention to
the affinities betw een the events taking place simultaneously during
the European reform ation and the bhakti m ovem ent in India.
During two trips to Aligarh Muslim University I had the
assistance of Irfan Habib in translating and interpreting Muslim
sources on Kabir. Harmohinder Singh Bedi of Guru N anak Dev
University in A m ritsar helped me locate and translate the Miharban
janam-sakhi.
The East-W est C enter funded four years of graduate study at the
University of H aw aii. I have returned there many times during the
writing of this dissertation, and will forever cherish my time in that
diverse and splendid environment. The School for International
Training of Brattleboro, Vermont granted me a sabbatical in 1993-94
which enabled m e to accomplish the bulk of the research for the
dissertation in India. The American Institute of Indian Studies was
helpful in facilitating m y research visa.
In Banaras, L alanji Gopai, Rana P.B. Singh and Kamal Sheel
provided assistance, for which I thank them , as did Yir Bhadra
Mishra, m ahant of the Sankat Mochan tem ple.
My deepest thanks go to my wife Lu Yuan and son Henry, for
sharing India with m e during the research for this dissertation, and to
Pat, for peregrinations along the path.
Finally, I would like to thank the people of Banaras.
vi
ABSTRACT
This dissertation examines the traditional biographies of K abir

(15-16th century), a mystical poet of N orth India whose life is
known through traditional stories. A ccounts of Kabir's life are
found in texts composed by m embers of religious sects which
formed around Kabir, Dadu and N anak, poet-saints associated w ith
the bhakti m ovem ent. A response to brahm anic authority and the
oppressions of the caste system, the bhakti m ovem ent seeks social
and religious reform. Kabir's poetry speaks out against social
divisions created by organized religion and urges his listeners to
seek the divine within their own hearts. The traditional
biographies of Kabir tell us more about the concerns of their
authors th an they do about the poet-saints whose lives they
describe. By exam ining the ways in w hich the authors construct the
life of K abir a picture emerges of the com plex social and religious
m ilieu of m edieval North India.
Most historical writing about this period of Indian history relies
on im perial court records for prim ary sources, producing a view of
the period as viewed by the elite. The sources on which this p ap er
is based are the stories of religious leaders whose appeal was to the
low er-castes from whom they spring. Entertaining as a literary
genre alone, for the historian they offer a rare glimpse into the
lives of the peasants and artisans of the period. These voices are
seldom heard. They resound with strident messages of social and
religious protest.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Acknow ledgem ents.....................................................................................iv

A bstract..........................................................................................................vi
C hapter 1: Introduction.................................................................................1
C hapter 2: The Setting.............................................................................. 33
C hapter 3: Early Accounts of K abir........................................................61
C hapter 4: L ater Accounts of K abir........................................................94
C hapter 5: The Dadu Panth and K abir.................................................150
C hapter 6: The Sikh Panth and K abir...................................................180
Chapter 7: K abir and Islam .....................................................................198
C hapter 8: Conclusion............................................................................. 218
Bibliography..............................................................................................234
1
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
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w hat good is living in forests?
W hat good is incense to gods?
O m y brother?
Why dip in holy pools?
O m y soul, I know you must go—
O child, understand the Invisible.
W hat I see w ill never be the sam e again:
All are in M aya's embrace.
W isemen, thinkers, great teachers,

all are caught in this world's net.
Kabir says,
"W ithout the nam e of the one Ram ,
this world is blind in M aya."1
Traveling and living in northern India today, one conjures up visions of

w hat the place m ust have been like during the 15th and 16th centuries. If
^Guru Graath .R ig Gauri, verse 67, from Varma(1966), p. 70, translated in Dass (1991), p. 97.
one rem oves from the scene such ubiquitous elem ents of m odern life as
blaring m usic and colorful Hindi films hoardings, the railw ay system and
bus lines, and Star TV, the life of rural India today is in m any respects
similar to th at of the distant past.
Then, as now , the vast majority of the population lived agrarian lives,
the order of tim e dictated by the crops and seasons. Cycles of religious
festivals form ed the backdrop to the yearly routine. Years w ere m easured
by means of the constant and certain progression of these seasons, festivals
and holidays, against which the days, years and lives of the people were
ticked off and m easured.
Then, as now , religion pervaded the lives of the people. Festivals and
life cycle rituals relieved the monotony of village life and reinforced in the
minds of the people a traditional religious heritage and culture. Festivals
included perform ances of mythic narratives such as the Ramayan. and the
Bhagavac Puran. The texts used in these perform ances were draw n from
the works of poets such as Tulsidas and Surdas, and enacted in public
performance as lila, just as they are today, while a narrator (vyas), reads
the texts aloud to the audience. The iconography of the im ages and the
colorful costum es of the performers intertwined with the tales and festivals
to produce a rem arkably cohesive cultural structure, within which myth
came to life, as it continues to do in the lilas of today.
In the evenings or during periods of rest stories were told, under banyan
trees and around village hearths, of the lives of saints and sadhus,
dervishes and fakirs, whose spiritual attainments were evident in the
miracles attributed to them . These mystics and renunciates served as
3
reminders th at there were alternative paths to spiritual realization outside

the fram ew ork of organized religious structure. But these mystical
alternatives were difficult, lonely and bewilderingiy uncertain. The perils
of ascetic life were evident in m any who adopted such a path. Often mad,
corrupt or engaged in practices beyond the ken of societal norms, the
sadhu, w hile in some cases upheld as a paragon of the religious ideal, was
at the sam e tim e often found to be a charlatan, m alcontent or object of
ridicule. The mystical poet Kabir m inced no words in criticism of the
tantric yogis and naths who embodied some of these characteristics.
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If by roaming around naked

you can find God,
then all the forest-animals
should have been saved.
4
W hy go naked and w ear skins

w hen you can't see Ram in your own heart.
If by shaving your head

you gain spiritual fulfillment,
why aren't all the sheep saved?
If by holding back sperm

you acquire salvation, m y friend,
why haven't eunuchs achieved
that highest condition of the soul?
K abir says,
'Listen, O men, m y brothers,
who ever achieved salvation
without Ram's n am e?2
Anyone could don the robes of a religious seeker. But people often
discovered the highest spiritual qualities in some of those wanderers as
they passed through th eir towns or villages. T hey m ight stay a few days,
or choose to rem ain nearby, providing advice and counsel that commanded
the respect of the local people. In the words or silence of these holy m en
people found wisdom and solace. Some of these spiritual seekers
exhibited a living vision of a peace that could be achieved within.
The vast m ajority of those that set out upon the path of renunciation and
religious search are lost to hum an memory today. Perhaps the truth hides
itself well. Many who discovered the ultim ate w ithin them selves, who
discovered a link with the absolute, vanished from this world without a
2 Guru Granth, Gauri 4, Ram Kumar Varma, p. 6., translation from Dass, p. 43.
trace, unheralded and no longer rem em bered. But the stories of others
live on in the hearts and minds of those who inhabit the same tow ns and
villages of North India today. This is the case with Kabir.
In this study I have examined them es of social protest and the
construction of caste and sectarian identity in m edieval North India.
These them es are revealed by a content analysis of the hagiographical
accounts which describe the idealized life of Kabir, a poet-saint and m ystic
whose lifetim e straddled the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. These
traditional biographies tell us that K abir lived in Banaras, the holiest of
Indian cities. T h ey tell us that he w as raised a Muslim, but took a
V aishnav Hindu guru and gained an extensive knowledge of Hinduism.
His poem s refute both traditions. He encourages his listeners in m ost
scathing term s to forsake religious ritual and to concentrate on individual
spiritual realization. He rejects the authority of the brahmans as
interm ediaries betw een man and the divine, and criticizes both Hinduism
and Islam for th eir divisive orthodox practices. In this sense K abir falls
within the rubric of w hat is often refered to as the bhakti m ovem ent. The
word bhakti m eans devotion, and the bhakti m ovem ent refers to a loose
grouping of spiritual teachers who represented a heterodox religious and
social reform m ovem ent including low -castes and women.3 Bhakti poets
have sprung from virtually every area of India and composed th eir works
in m ost Indian vernacular languages. Those from the northern regions of
3The grouping of often disparate poets and saatsinto a coherent "bhakti movement'" has now come
under srutiny as an oversimplification created by British scholars and picked up by Indian scholars
themselves that belies the true diversity of beliefs and approaches found within it. SeeKrishna Sharma
(1987).
Reproduced with permission o f the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
6
U ttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, and the Punjab, who spoke closely related
dialects, are known as the sants.
Sants are commonly divided into two not entirely distinct groups, sagun
and nirgun. The sagun sants direct their devotional poetry to a deity with
form and attributes, e.g. Ram or Krishna. They lavish attention on the
iconographical details of the deity, and their verse is replete with lyrical
retellings of the mythological narratives that relate their stories. The
hagiographical accounts of the sants which are the subject of this project
m im ic and emulate this very process. These bhakti heroes have their own
stories and mythologies. Some rise to the level of popular devotion. It is
not at all improbable that oral accounts of heroes from the distant past,
em bellished over time, transformed the heroes Ram and K rishna into the
puranic deities of today.
Im portant sagun sants include Surdas, the blind singer who composed
odes to the child Krishna, Tulsidas, who translated V alm iki's R am a y an into
one of the most highly regarded exam ples of Hindi verse, the
Ram caritm anas , and M irabai, a rare woman poet who sang songs to
Krishna. Surdas and Tulsidas both composed works which serve as texts
for lilas, performance dramas celebrating the lives of Krishna and Ram.
These sagun sants urge their listeners to achieve spiritual release by
achieving union with these known and recognized gods through worship
and devotion.
On the other hand, the nirgun sants worship the divine devoid of form.
N ot concerned with a specific deity, these santsurge their follow ers to
seek the Lord in his ultimate form, beyond the realm of form , story and
7
conception. Their em phasis is on direct experience of the divine,

achieved through m editation and spiritual practice. It is this group of sants
with which this dissertation is concerned. Kabir, Dadu, and Nanak, whose
traditional biographies are discussed in this project, represent the pinnacle
of nirgun bhakti thought in North India. U ltim ately, the sagun and nirgun
streams of bhakti are not in opposition. Rather, th ey are viewed as
different paths by which the spiritual seeker m ay achieve union with the
divine.4
In this study I will exam ine the treatm ent of K abir within the traditions
of three of the nirgun panths, the Sikhs, the Dadu p a n th , and the Kabir
panth itself. All three traditions contain hagiographic stories about Kabir.
Although they differ in both content and purpose, these stories consistently
emphasize the centrality of the figure of Kabir in the em ergence of the
nirgun bhakti sects. This exercise will tell little about the historical Kabir,
but it will provide insights into the vital processes involved in the formation
and early evolution of the nirgun bhakti sects.5 In particular I will explore
the role and function of hagiography within these panths. W hat types of
values are embodied in these religious heros? W hat do their stories tell us
about the times in which they lived? I will also discuss how these three
sects, in different ways, have come to terms, through the use of
hagiographic allusions and conventions, with the figure of Kabir, clearly
perceived as the rule by which other sants were m easured.
4 Formore on the distinctions between the sagun and nirgun streams o f bhakti see Hawley (1988),
Schomer(1987) and Barthwal (1978).
5 For discussions of the historical Kabir see Vaudeville (1993) and Lorenzen (1991).
We m ust also consider the performance elem en t of these texts. T hey
are, at a basic level, more than didactic accounts of saints to be em ulated.
They are fun. Listening to the stories of the lives of these saints provides
a form of entertainm ent for the audience. In this sense the accounts are a
living art form. Crowds of listeners, in w hat is still an overw helm ingly oral
tradition, continue to h ear these tales read out loud to them, as the authors
originally intended. This may take place in a m ath (a center of a
particular sect), in a family's home, or at a busy religious festival. Scholars
are only now beginning to address the perform ance aspect of these texts.6
The texts on their own, or described in the context of an academ ic p aper
m ay at tim esappear dry. When one hears the texts recited w ithin their
natural perform ance context they spring to life and display the v itality they
retain today w ithin the living Hindu tradition.
It is now com m on for works that discuss Hinduism to begin w ith a
disclaim er for the use of the term. As Radhakrishnan writes, "A t the
outset, one is confronted by the difficulty of defining w hat Hinduism is.
To m any it seem s to be a name without any content. Is it a m useum of
beliefs, a m edley o f rites, or a mere map, a geographical expression?"7 It
is crucial to an understanding of Kabir and the sants that we first discuss
the lim itations as w ell as the utility of the term Hinduism before discussing
the individual groups which formed around the figures of Kabir, Dadu and
Nanak. In his insightful book on the form ation of Sikh identity, The
Construction o f R eligious Boundaries, H arjot Oberoi points out that, "It is
6For a recent work which examines the performance aspect of another important text, the Ram ay an, see
Lutgendorf (1991).
7Radhakrishnan, unknown date, lectures originally given in 1926, New York: Macmillan Co. p. 11.
9
all very w ell for historians of religion to think, speak and write about
Islam, Hinduism and Sikhism, but th ey rarely pause to consider if such
clear-cut categories actually found expression in the consciousness, actions
and cultural performances of the hum an actors they describe."8
The languages of the Indian subcontinent contain no words for the
equivalents of the English terms religion and Hinduism. The term
Hinduism w as first used by the A chaem enid Persians to refer to all peoples
living n e a r the river Sindhu, the Indus of today. Thus, the term originated
as a geographical expression, with no religious connotations. L ater, as
Islam gained strength in the subcontinent, the term was applied by Muslim
rulers to the non-Muslim population. However, as Oberoi notes, "It was
not until colonial times that the term 'Hinduism' was coined and acquired
wide currency as referring to a wide variety of religious com munities,
some of them with distinct traditions and opposed practices".9 O riginally a
foreign im port and later a colonial generalization, the term is vague and ill
defined.
W hile scholars have attempted to define Hinduism as those religious
groups w hich rely on the Vedas for authority, it is clear that m any sects
com m only described as Hindu do n ot rely on the Vedas. Among these are
tantric sects and sects that follow the bhakti sants discussed here. Are the
Kabir p a n th is Hindus? Are the Sikhs and Dadu panthis? W hile these
nirgun p a n th s explicitly reject the authority of the Vedas and the brahmans
who are traditionally the sole repositories of Vedic know ledge, they
nevertheless fall within the rubric of w hat I prefer to call the Indie
8Oberoi (1994), p. 1.
9Oberoi (1994), p. 16.
10
tradition. By the Indie tradition I refer to those religious conceptions

which originated in the Indian subcontinent, including Hinduism in its
varied forms, Buddhism and Jainism. W hile the influence of Islam is
evident in all three of these groups, often view ed as syncretic or synthetic
hybrids linking Hinduism and Islam, the K abir, Dadu and N an a k panths
clearly fall more within the Indie tradition than the Islamic. While there is
a striking commonality in the ways mystics of both traditions describe
paths toward the divine, the nirgun bhakti groups do not seem to be forging
a synthesis of the two, but rather express a disregard for the forms of ritual
and dogm a which keep the two apart and ultim ately distract the devotee
from union with the divine.
As Oberoi points out, one can begin to deconstruct these religious
boundaries by viewing religion as a social and cultural process; not
something given, but an activity that is a p art of everyday life. The
symbols, myths, texts and rituals of religion only acquire their meaning
w hen different groups of people interact with each other and are persuaded
that w hat they are doing is of deep significance for the construction or
transform ation of the universe in which they liv e .10 In much the same w ay
Max W eber examined the relations betw een religious ideas and other
spheres of human behavior in developing a sociology of religion11 and
Clifford Geertz discusses religion as a cultural system .12
The compositional period of the poems and hagiographicai texts
discussed, beginning in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, was a tim e of
10Oberoi (1994), p. 23.

n W eber(1922).
12Geertz (1973). "Religion as a Cultural System", in The Interpretation o f Cultures, New York, Basic
Books, pp. 89-125.
11
interaction betw een disparate religions groups. And many, if not most, of
the adherents of these em erging nirgun bhakti sects fell in betw een several
of these categories. Kabir's verses, for exam ple, show the influence of
V aishnav bhakti, tantra and Islam. Sikhs commonly visit Hindu tem ples
and Muslim shrines, and conduct Hindu life-cycie cerem onies. Closer
observation of actual practice makes it obvious th at these religious
boundaries are blurred. The concept of the "naming of religions—
Hinduism, Buddhism, T aoism , Sikhism—only took place in the nineteenth
century... An extralocal reHgious community of Hindus is therefore a
m odern creation; linguistic and historical evidence indicates that it n ever
existed in the past."13 T he term s used to categorize religious practitioners
as Hindu, Sikh or M uslim, obscure the rem arkable diversity of beliefs and
practices that exist in the subcontinent. This is particularly so in the case
of the Indie traditions, tantra, bhakti, Vaishnav, Shaiva, Sikh, Buddhist and
Jain.
Islam , which fits the W estern conception of a religion better than do the
Indie traditions, has nevertheless fallen prey to this same process of
colonial academic generalization. Indian academ ics have continued the
pattern. As Barbara M etcalf writes, "Too often the history of Muslims is
reduced to Islam in the sense of taken-for-granted assumptions in which
words like 'monolithic', 'militaristic', 'simple', and 'egalitarian' resound.
This tex t based, narrowly defined Islam is 'too little' to describe the
com plex and varied practices and loyalties of actual Muslims, y e t 'Islam' is
I3Oberoi (1994), pp. 17-18.
12
made into the single most important causal variable for w hatever M uslims
do. T oo little' in this interpretation becom es 'too m uch'."14
The m ost daunting problem with this categorization of religious b elief is
that, since the nineteenth century, the Indian academ ic com munity, an elite
heavily influenced by colonial scholarship, has adopted these categories
and definitions w holesale. Until recently, academ ics have not com e to
terms with the com plexity of the Indie religious milieu. As Oberoi w rites,
"In the case of history, an acknowledgment of distinctions in the Indie
religious cultures still needs to take firm root. However, the chances of
that look fairly slim at the moment, because of the way historians continue
to conceive of the problem atic of religion."15 In this study, w hen I use the
terms Hinduism, Sikhism and Islam, it is w ith an understanding of the
fragile and artificial nature of these sim plistic distinctions.
As M etcalf has s a id ," A second thicket in pre-colonial history is social
identity and the deep dead-end tracks carved through it by the categories
'Hindu' and 'Muslim'. These are hard routes to avoid; but some rece n t
scholarship is suggestive in showing the significance of ethnicity, ra th e r
than religion p er se, as a category; the presence of a m ultiplicity—n o t a
binary opposition—of competing groups; and, in general, the varied shifts
and contingencies of alliances betw een elite s."16
The fifteenth and sixteenth centuries during which Kabir, Dadu and
N anak lived w ere a period of major change in the subcontinent. T he
Muslim influx into India brought with it Islam and new ideas of social
14Metcalf (1995), pp. 955-956.

15Oberoi (1994), p. 18-19.
16Metcalf (1995), p. 957.
13
order. The new ideas of the equality of m en before God often conflicted
with caste-based Indie social models. Nonetheless, a synthesis began to
develop, and m any writers have attempted to locate Kabir as a mediating
figure betw een Hinduism and Islam.
The first chapter of this study provides a brief overview of the political
and religious structures in p lace in northern India during the fifteenth and
sixteenth centuries. I discuss the introduction of Islam to the sub
continent, first by Arabs, and later by Turks and Afghans. I also include a
brief outline of the dominant religious strands, both Muslim and Hindu,
competing for the hearts and minds of the North Indian population during
this period.
My second and third chapters examine the evolution over tim e of the
hagiographicai accounts of Kabir. The second chapter begins with an
outline of the earliest known collections of Kabir's verses. I discuss the
scattered fragm ents of potentially historical information im bedded in them
concerning the life of Kabir. I then go on to examine the earliest known
texts which discuss the life of K abir and which contain the core of the
Kabir narrative. These include the Parachai of A nantdas and the
Bhaktamals of N abhadas and Raghavdas with their com m entaries by
Priyadas and Chaturdas. T hese accounts form the basis of all of the later
versions to follow. In this section I attempt to analyze the historical,
religious and social significance of these accounts. I am interested in w hat
these stories te ll us about the lives of the audience to whom the authors of
these texts are speaking. To which audience do these accounts speak?
14
What was the caste status of this audience? W hat were their religious
concerns? W hat social problems confronted them ?
The earliest extant accounts of Kabir originated not in the K abir panth
itself but in other sects associated with Kabir, the Ram anandi sampradaya
(sect) and the Dadu panth. Members of the K abir panth, the followers of
Kabir, produced the later accounts I analyze in this study. The Kabir
panth, still strong today, h as an undocumented num ber of adherents,
certainly in the millions. The earliest accounts provide the core of the
Kabir narrative. In the la te r accounts this narrative becomes greatly
expanded.
In m y fourth chapter I look at the changes in these accounts over time.
My sources include the K abir Manshur of Param anandas, the Sadguru Shri
Kavlra Chariturn , the K abir Jlvan Charitr, and the S at Kabir Mah apuran.
A critical study of the significant changes and additions included in these
later account reveals the new concerns of the K abir panthi authors. As
Rupert Snell notes:
...hagiographers are rarely content to facilitate a retrospective

darsana of their subject; their own agenda invariably involves
a certain interpretative elem ent which controls, directs or
otherwise m anipulates the readers perception of the tradition.
Hagiography variously intends to correct, reinterpret,
subsume, authenticate or legitimize the writings of their
forebears.17
17Darsana, the Sanskrit form of the Hindi darsan, may be translated as view, or religious observation,
usually of a deity, Callewaert and Snell (1994), p. 3.
15
We can. identify a seem ingly inevitable tendency towards Sanskritization

and religious orthodoxy as these early sects strive for acceptance w ithin
the greater Hindu sphere. Attempts are m ade by the Kabir panthi authors
to obviate troublesome aspects of Kabir's religious affiliation and caste
background.
The focus shifts in C hapter Five to the Dadu panth of R ajasthan.
Beginning with the traditional biography of Dadu, I discuss the close
parallels betw een the stories of Dadu and those of Kabir. W hy do these
parallels occur and w hat do they tell us about the relationship b etw een the
Dadu panth and K abir? In which w ays do the Kabir and Dadu pa n th s
differ?
Chapter Six explores the role of K abir in the Sikh tradition.
Beginning with the traditional biography of Nanak, this chapter goes on to
explore later janam sa kh l accounts w hich describe meetings betw een
Nanak and Kabir. W hat do these accounts tell us about the relationship
betw een the Sikh tradition and Kabir? In w hat ways have Sikhs defined
their communal identity vis-a-vis the Hindu religious m elange? How
does this identity differ from that of the Kabir and Dadu panths?
T hat Kabir was a Muslim is a crucial aspect of Kabir's sacred
biography. The incorporation of elem ents of Hinduism and Islam w ithin
the persona of one sant brings a com plex dynamic to the Kabir story, and
highlights both the existing tension betw een the two groups and the
possibility of communal harmony. In light of the attention paid by scholars
to Kabir's Muslim status and a presum ed "Sufi connection" in the verse of
Kabir, Chapter Seven investigates the basis for assertions of Kabir's
16
Muslim status found in Kabir's verse and the hagiographies which describe
his life. In this chapter I introduce accounts of Kabir drawn from Muslim
sources such as the Dabistan , the A ln -i-A kb a ri of Abu'l Fazl and the
K bazinat-vl-A safiya. Is the often m entioned association of K abir with
Sufic thought valid? What is the role of the mysterious Sheikh T aki in
Kabir's hagiographies? W hat is the significance of Kabir in the communal
struggles th at continue to trouble India today?
The eigth and final chapter suggests a m odel by which we can better
understand the dynam ic elem ents p resen t in the hagiographies of Kabir,
Dadu and N anak. W hat elem ents in the narrative keep the Kabir story
alive? How can an analysis of these dynam ics point the w ay to an
understanding of the social concerns of the tim e? The social inequalities
and conflicts th a t arise from the caste system and religious difference in
India today are rem arkably sim ilar to th e concerns expressed by Kabir and
the nirgvn sants. In closing I explore th e relevance of this study to the
ongoing struggle of the lower castes of India to resolve these conflicts.
The stories of the lives of these m ystics becam e a part of oral, then
m anuscript and, later, print traditions. A n analysis of the discourse taking
place in the hagiographical texts I exam ine reveals that the accounts of
Kabir, Dadu and N anak were com posed by m em bers of the sects which
sprang up around these poet saints. T h e y were intended for the low caste
audience to w hom they speak and by w hom they were written. Through
them we can b etter understand the world view they em body.18 Caste
18Naralie Zemon Davis, in the introduction to her work on French pardon tales,Fiction in the Archives: .
writes, "I am after evidence of how sixteenth century people told stories... how through narrative they
made sense of the unexpected and built coherence into immediate experience.'' Davis(1987).
17
stratification and religious conflict dominate the discourse. Through the

stories presented in these hagiographic accounts voices of social dissent
and reform speak out. These accounts were accepted by th eir low caste
audience because they validated their culture and gave them an increased
sense of self worth. They evoked a feeling of shared com m unity among
their fellows at the bottom of the social ladder. They also helped the
low er castes to understand who they were as a group in relation to various
levels of authority.19 They defined the identity of the particular sect to
whom these texts speak in relation to other sects and spiritual paths.
By m eans of a content analysis of these narratives it is possible to
identify the social concerns that dominate the discourse betw een the
sectarian authors of these texts and their low-caste audience. Lower caste
views about the oppression of the caste system and the politics of religious
difference m ay be clearly identified in these accounts. Reflecting the
views of the disempowered and unheard voices of the com mon man, the
m ajority of the Indian population, this study allows us entry into the minds
of these unrepresented masses and give their voices a long ignored
hearing. As such these texts represent important sources for the social
concerns of the low er castes and classes of m edieval India.
The earliest texts in manuscript form contain the core of the narratives
which describe the lives of these saats. Today various sects publish a
variety of works promoting their respective spiritual preceptors. These
la ter accounts are greatly expanded. Through an analysis of the content of
these expanded narratives and the changes that sectarian authors have
19 The relationships of these early panths reflects the lininality Victor Turner discusses in The Ritual
Process (1969),Chicagcr.Aldiae Publishing, pp.94-130.
18
m ade in these accounts over time it is possible to track the paths that these
sects have taken in th eir growth and development. As these sects struggle
for acceptance and authority within the framework of g reater Hinduism
significant changes are m ade to the texts in order to expand the caste base
from which the sects draw their membership. These texts tell us more
about the sectarian authors and their agendas than th ey do about a
historical Kabir.
I have encountered m any difficulties during the process of translating
these texts. The early texts are written in an archaic form of Hindi, often
known as sant bhasa, the language of the sants, the m ystical poets whose
lives these texts describe. T hey are presented in poetic form which further
complicates the work of translation. While translating the early texts I
worked with Shukdev Singh of the Hindi D epartm ent of Banaras Hindu
University. The la ter texts are in modern, if som ew hat arcane, Hindi, and
are far easier to translate. While working with these texts I was guided by
both Awadesh Mishra, form er head of the A m erican Institute of Indian
Studies Hindi Language Program in Banaras and by R am a N ath Sharma of
the University of Hawaii. In addition to difficulties in translating these
texts I needed to becom e fam iliar with the literary forms and devices that
define the genre of North Indian hagiographical literature. It was
necessary to adopt a m ethodology that allows me to penetrate the mythic
level on which these texts operate and to delineate the objective social
concerns that these accounts express.
Scholars have, until recently, scorned these hagiographical texts as
valid historical sources. The lives of the sants described in these accounts
19
have become garbed in myth, cloaked in the m iraculous. It is difficult for

w estern trained academ ics to penetrate the v eil of myth and m agic th a t
keeps these stories alive and use them for historical purposes. A tension
has always existed betw een sacred biography, as passed down in religious
tradition, and m odern scholarship. It is vital th at we learn to view these
texts in new ways. W e m ust allow for the fa c t th at normative m ay coexist
with functional truth, th at these accounts becom e the truth for listeners who
believe them to be true. The following passage by Rupert Snell sums up
the problems of working with these types of sectarian m aterials.
A feature of the study of religious biography is the gulf

separating the traditional scholarship of the pandita 20 from the
critical scholarship of objective research methods: the one is
characteristic ally reverential, intending to locate the life-
stories of its subjects in a sweep of tim e knowing no
boundaries b etw een the contemporary and the ahistorical; the
other is characteristically referential, intending to dissect the
available d ata and show how the various parts relate to each
other in a strictly chronological tim e-fram e. Thus there are
two conflicting w ays of understanding the process w hereby a
tradition grows and develops: the devotee will see the process
as one of revelation, while the critic w ill see it as a process of
invention — and there is little possibility of compromise
betw een these two positions, each held with equal
vehem ence.21
20Pandita is the Sanskrit form of pandit, a traditional Hindu scholar.

21Callewaert and Snell (1994), pp. 1-2.
20
It is necessary to keep in mind the tension betw een history and faith
w hen working with traditional accounts. W hile skepticism is necessary for
the historian, it is an obstacle for the believer, the bhakta, the devotee. To
be a good historian one m ust be a skeptic. To be a good bhakta one
cannot be. In the hagiographies of the bhakti sants, our notion of historical
truth is superceded by a popular truth based upon faith that better fits the
cultural tradition. W hatever the historical truths, the popular truths which
replaced them b etter fulfill the sants' religious functions as teachers, poets,
and mystics. These popular truths exist because they fulfill the function of
these sants as social paradigms and role m odels for others to learn from
and guide them selves by. They reflect the agendas of social criticism and
protest espoused by these lower caste sants and their traditional
biographers. We can also note the entrance of an increasingly orthodox
tendency in the la te r texts.
These hagiographical works m ake use of literary devices and structural
forms that define a distinct genre of North Indian literature. M eetings and
gosth i (conversations) betw een the sant and figures who represent political
and spiritual authority m ay not be historical. Encounters with puranic
deities and leaders of w estern religious traditions are certainly not. T hey
are set w ithin an ahistorical, mythic fram ew ork. We need not search
unnecessarily for a strictly historical truth lo st in the shadows of history but
contained in these hagiographies. N onetheless, these texts are useful in
constructing a picture of the times as seen through the eyes of the
disem powered castes for whom they speak.
21
History has long been the provinence of the political and econom ic
elite. Much of the history of the Indian subcontinent speaks with the voice
of its conquerers. Muslim accounts of the period in which K abir lived are
textbook exam ples of "history from the top down". British im perial
adm inistrators and Christian missionaries carried out much of the early
w estern research on Indian history. These administrators and m issionaries
saw things through their own cultural lenses.22 The quality of the works
they produced is astounding.23 N onetheless, the nature of colonialism and
"civilizing projects" have severe lim itations on the level of objectivity that
w as achieved by these authors.24 As the Sikh historian Harjot Oberoi
notes, "W ith such an approach we regress to a conventional
historiographical perspective in which people play no role in the m aking of
their own history: all decisive and monentous change filters from the top to
the bottom." However, "much as in other spheres of so c iety -
technological, intellectual or political—the common people did often
contribute to and innovate in religious matters: by founding religious
pilgrim age centres, recognizing the sanctity of holy men, funding religious
charity, developing and illustrating religious literature, participating in
religious riots, choosing martyrs from among those who laid down their
lives while protecting the sacred, and cultivating unorthodox readings of
stories, m yths and religious literature."25 This is the case with K abir and
the other nirgun bhakti groups discussed in this study. Theirs w as a low er
22For more on British views of India see Cohn (1996).

23Excellent exam ples of this type of British scholarship are H.H. Wilson (1862), and Oman (1903),
(1909).
24Guha (1988), Said (1993).
Ô beroi (1994), p. 21.
22
class reaction to rule by the elites, both Muslim and Hindu, and they
played a vital role in reshaping m odern Hinduism.
R ecently historians of India have sought to redress these im balances by
identifying sources that docum ent an appreciation of Indian history as the
com mon people experienced it, far removed from the seats of pow er and
authority. Historians such as R an ajit Guha and Gyanendranath Pandey
have given the moniker Subaltern Studies to the field of historical
endeavor they championed to denote the focus of their work on the lower
classes.26 They have utilized such sources as local accounts, traders'
letters, and British administrative records, and read them with a view to
uncovering the subaltern perspective in order to recover the history of
India from the bottom up. These studies also read as a history of the
bottom. W hile my project lies outside the colonial time frame it does
com plem ent the work that they have done.
On the other hand, the sixteenth and seventeenth century period, during
which the stories examined here were first created,was one of foreign
dom ination by Turkish and Afghan Muslims. The stories vividly illustrate
the pow er imbalances of the tim e. But the power elites the sant heros in
these stories confront are by no m eans all foreign. They also include
brahm ans and upper caste Hindus. An explicit social critique, the
rejection of the right of elites to oppress the poor and downtrodden
resounds in the poetry of Kabir:
3Tt 337cT T « P F T - f = H k l 3T ^TT T T I
26Prakash, Gyan (1994), "Subaltern Studies as Postcolonial Criticism”, American Historical R eview , Vol.
99. No. 5, pp. 1475-1490.
23
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If the Cre ator

had invented caste
Why didn't he m ark the Brahmans at birth
with the triple line?
A Shudra you were bom ,

a Shudra you d ie !
Why do you befool the world
with that contrived ‘sacred thread'?
If you are a Brahm an,

born from a Brahm ani,
Why didn't you enter this world
through a different path?
If you are a Turk,

born from aT urkini,
Why didn't God H im self
circumcise you in the womb?
Says Kabir,
there are no low-born:
This m an alone is vile
who does not invoke R am .27
2 7 Granth&vall 2:182, Bljak, Ramaini 62. Translated in Vaudeville (1993), p. 218-219.
24
The sants and religious groups discussed below are explicit advocates
of social as well as spiritual reform. The compositions examined are rare
sources which express the concerns of the low er castes. In them the
neglected voices of m em bers of those castes speak. As such they
represent an im portant avenue through which the reader m ay gain access
to the lives and concerns of the downtrodden. These accounts represent
an invaluable resource for reconstructing the social and religious m ilieu of
the period. Entertaining as well as literary, they shed valuable light on a
segm ent of Indian society that has only recently begun to be addressed by
Indian historiography. Previously, the lack of translated texts from Hindi
into English and other European languages has prohibited much attention
to these works in the W est. This situation is beginning to change.
R ecently scholars have begun the task of translating the prim ary
hagiographical sources pertaining to the nirgun sants. Winand C allew aert
has translated the earliest hagiographical w ork to narrate the life of Dadu,
the Dadu Janma L ila of Jan Gopal28, W. H. M cLeod has translated various
Sikh hagiographies of N anak, the janam sa kh is 29, and David L orenzen
has translated the earliest known text relating the life of Kabir, the Kabir
Parachai of A nantdas30. David Swain of the University of Chicago has
recently com pleted a dissertation comparing two Kabir pantbi texts31.
Saurabh Dube has also used hagiographical literature to reconstruct the
28CalIewaert (1988). The Hindi Biography of Dadu Dayal, DelhiiMotilal Banarsidass.

29McLeod (1968), Guru Nanak and the Sikh Religion. Delhi: Oxford University Press. Also see (1980)
The B-40 Janam-Sakhi. , Amritsar: Guru Nanak Dev University.
30Lorenzen (1991), Kabir Legends and Ananta-Das's Kabir Parachai. Albany: State University of New
York Press.
3 lUnpublished.
25
history of the Satnam paath of Chhattisgarh32. My own study is particularly

indebted to the essay by Dube which analyzes the hagiographical accounts
of the Satnam paath in order to identify low er caste resistance to the
dominant social structure to which they w ere subordinate.
The hagiographical texts say much about the sants. They say even
more about the concerns of their authors. T hey provide valuable windows
into the tim es, as seen by the low-caste m em bers of the religious orders
that composed them . These works are im portant from the standpoint of
several academ ic disciplines. Students of literature and religion have
prim arily used them in the past. But they are also invaluable sources for
the historian. In m y analysis of the content of these texts I have follow ed
the exam ple of several scholars who have begun to work with these types
of hagiographical m aterials in order to identify the social agendas of their
low er caste authors. Frank Reynolds and Donald Capps, in the
introduction to The Biographical Process, a collection of articles which
discuss sacred biography, note that:
'Sacred biography' refers to those accounts written by

followers or devotees of a founder or religious savior. Such
docum ents are an extraordinary form of biography because
they both recount the process through which a new religious
ideal is established and, at the same tim e, participate in that
process.
P recisely because the sacred biography participates in the
establishm ent of a new religious vision, authors of such sacred
biographies are forced to make difficult decisions.
32Dube (1992), "Myths, Symbols and Community: Satnampanth of Chhattisgarh", Subaltern Scudies VII,
Delhi: Oxford University Press.
26
Determining which biographical facts belong to the em erging

im age is a critical issue and, w here two or more sacred
biographies of the same biographical subject are extant,
marked differences in judgem ent among the early followers
are apparent. Indeed, two m ajo r divisions within sacred
biography can often be discerned, namely, those biographies
which 'humanize' the biographial subject by including episodes
which reflect his common hum anity, and those which
'spiritualize' the subject by expunging references to his hum an
w eakness, m ental lapses, signs of occasional cruelty, and so
on. The central issue here is the relation of biographical fact
to the emerging mythical ideal. Given that the m ythical id eal
rem ains somewhat fluid at the tim e the sacred biography is
w ritten or compiled, the selection of biographical m aterial is
an extrem ely vexing problem. A single reported episode m ay
have a constitutive effect on the resulting mythical ideal.33
In working with the hagiographical texts which describe the lives of the
North Indian sants it is necessary to keep in mind the sacred nature of
these accounts. They do not provide us with a historical biography of the
sants I discuss; Kabir, Nanak or Dadu. They present us an idealized
im age of who the sectarian authors w ant the sant to be, one who em bodies
the religious and social concerns of the emerging sects and the low er caste
audience from which these sects draw their support.
In formulating a new religious and social order the em erging sects draw
from the common heritage of greater Hindu tradition. The world view of
the low er castes revealed by the hagiographical accounts originates in the
same social and religious traditions against which they protest. The
33Reynolds and Capps (1976), p. 3.
27
inability of the new group to develop a world view for them selves
independent of the dominant structure from which they derive produces
inherent contradictions that perm eate the discourse talcing p lace in these
stories. In the attempt to recover and understand the world view of the
low er castes it is helpful to consider the dialectic talcing p lace betw een the
em erging nirgun bhakti sects and the greater tradition of H induism from
which they spring. In the creation of these narratives the sectarian
authors, while rejecting the dom inant structure of Hindu society that
opresses them , make constant use of the literary forms and conventions of
the overarching Hindu system. W hile rejecting certain aspects of the
g reater structure, the authors are still acting within it.
The dialectical tension betw een opposing ideologies em bodied in the
texts I study gives them their power. Internal oppositions in h eren t in the
narrative appeal to the audience for whom they were w ritten beause they
share the same contradictions. In the stories these texts contain we see
the em ergence of new sects, with an agenda of social reform . Y et these
stories are cast within a fram ew ork that derives from the dom inant social
order against which they protest. The stories’im pact on the audience
com es from seemingly polar oppositions embodied in the lives of the sants
they construct. It seems paradoxical. Kabir is a M uslim, y e t he acts like
a V aishnav and has a V aishnav guru. He is a religious m a ste r but he is a
householder. He is of a low c a ste, but he triumphs over all lev els of
28
political and religious power. In the story of his life Kabir embodies all of
the social divisions th at he decries in his poem s.34
Rejecting Hindu brahmans or Islamic m ullas (religious officials) as
m ediators betw een m an and God, the low er caste devotees of the bhakti
sects I study look to the guru as a m eans to experience the divine. D aniel
Gold discusses the increased importance of the guru as a means of
salvation in The Lord as Guru:
Long before the first Hindi sants, the mystery of the guru
was crucial for m any Indian devotees, but it gained added
significance during the epoch in which sant tradition took
shape. The collapse of classical em pire in the middle of the
first m illenium of the common era had already seen the
em ergence of iconoclastic holy m en w ithin Hinduism and
Buddhism. Just as political pow er w as now vested in
individual princes with limited domains, so spiritual power
becam e commonly vested in individual holy m en, at hand and
accessible to disciples. But the em ergence of the Hindi sants
was accom panied by a crucial new cultural and political
factor: the coming of Islam. Muslim princes now ruled
through much of North India, displacing their Hindu
counterparts. Two centuries later the patronage of Mughal
em perors would lead to a flowering of Indo-Muslim culture,
but at the tim e of the early sants both Hindus and Muslims in
India were experiencing the effects of hundreds of years of
political instability and religiocultural confusion. In the m idst
of this period of unsettledness and cultural doubt, the sants
arose from common, unlettered classes to transcend orthodox
doctrines. To those who recognized the received traditions of
34Kabir embodies what Victor Turner refers to as status reversal, when the weak mask them selves in
strength. Turner describes the state of liminality, which for the strong manifests itself in humility, and
for the weak, in strength. See Turner (1969), pp. 166-203.
29
neither Hinduism or Islam as unquestionably tru e, the sants

could present the mystery of the guru as an alternative basis of
faith.35
By relying on the guru as interm ediary betw een the devotee and the
divine, the need to work within the larg er religious structures of brahm anic
Hinduism and orthodox Islam is bypassed. In freeing them selves from the
religious pow er structures that these sects reject the path of nirgnn bhakti
becomes a liberation theology in which the guru becomes the prim ary
focus of devotion. The hagiographies of the nirgvn sants becom e vehicles
for bhakti (devotion) to the guru. Devotion to a low caste sant as guru
necessarily recognizes the divine in all beings and acts as a form of
religious and social protest on the p art of the lower castes against the
authority of the brahmans and the oppression of the caste system.
I am indebted to members of my dissertation committee, particularly
Richard Rapson and Peter Hoffenberg, for drawing my attention to the
striking parallels betw een the social reform of the bhakti m ovem ent in
India and the social dissent expressed during the Reform ation and early
modern Europe. Both movements, at the same time but on other sides of
the world, reflected an attempt on the part of the lower and em erging
middle classes to assume a greater share of both social and religious
power. And both were primarily expressed as protest against entrenched
religious orthodoxy and the power of the religious and social elites. It is
easy w hen studying a society very different than one's own to lose sight of
the larger global context. It is im portant to contextualize the events one
^D aniel Gold (1987), The Lord as Guru , pp. 3-4.
30
studies within the framework of events taking place in other parts of the
world simultaneously. I subsequently was introduced to not only a period
of history with which I was only m arginally acquainted, but with a type of
scholarship entirely different from th at which is generally employed in
Indian historiography. The Subaltern Studies group has begun to adopt
this approach, but with much less creativity than in some of the work I was
introduced to. M any of the studies of European social history utilize far
more obscure source m aterials than the hagiographies with which I had
worked and the issues they confronted were sim ilarly eye-opening. To
m ention only a few of the works I view as potential m odels for a future
reworking of m y dissertation for publication I m ust begin with Carlo
Ginzburg's The Cheese and Che Worms36, which I had read previously but
had not even considered as applicable within the Indian context. Fernand
Braudel's sweeping work Civilization and Capitalism: lSth-18th C en tu ry,
particularly the volume entitled The Structures o f E veryday L ife 37
highlights many seldom explored areas of the hum an experience only
beginning to come under the historical gaze. N atalie D avis’ The R eturn o f
Martin Guerre 38, Robert Darnton's The Great Cat M assacre 39, Steven
Ozment's The Burgermeister's D aughter40, and M arina W arner's From the
B east to the Blonde 41 are but a few of the striking exam ples of this new
approach to using unusual sources as an entry point into a broader
36Ginzburg, Carlo (1980). The Cheese and the Worm: The Cosmos o f a Sixteenth-Century Miller,
Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
37Braudel, Fernand (1979), The Structures of Everyday Life, New York: Harper and Row.
38Davis, Natalie Zemon (1983), The Return o f Martin Guerre, Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
39Damton, Robert (1984). The Great Cat Massacre and Other Episodes in french Cultural History, New
York: Basic Books.
40Ozment, Steven (1996), The Burgermeister's Daughter, New York:St. Martin's Press.
41Warner, Marina (1994), From the Beast to the Blonde, London:Chatto and Windus.
31
discussion of the historical periods they cover and new approaches to

historical scholarship in analyzing them.
I hope that w hile revising the dissertation for publication th at I w ill be
able to place the bhakti m ovem ent within a global historical context and to
have a little more fun with the m aterial itself. The stories are a
fascinating genre, and m ake an interesting read on their own, w ithout
commentary. The earliest and best known of them have entertained and
instructed listeners for over three hundred years. Still going strong, they
are widely known throughout North India today. A m ar Chitra K atha
childrens classic com ics, television serials and popular plays all narrate the
story of K abir to m odern audiences and new generations. First a p art of
oral tradition, then copied in manuscript form, th en printed and now
broadcast, the core stories rem ain much the sam e. And the social
messages and world view expressed are as valid now as they w ere in the
tim e of Kabir.
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Hindus died worshipping idols,

Turks died bowing heads.
T h ey burn, these bury—
neither learned your reality
O m y heart, the world is deep darkness

Ail are caught in Yama's noose.
Poets died reading poetry.

kapris died going to K edara.42
Yogis died matting their long hair—
th ey too never learned your R eality
R ajas died gathering w ealth,

burying hoards of gold.
Pundits died reading the V edas,
w om en died adorning their faces.
All are lost without Ram's n am e—

think about it in your heart:
W ho has ever been saved w ithout Ram's nam e?
That's w hat Kabir is really saying.43
42Kapris are a set of cantric yogis. Kedara is Kedamath, a pilgrimage site sacred to Shiva in
Garhwal Himalaya
43Guru Grancb, Rag Sorath verse 1. Varma (1966), p. 130, translated in Dass (1991) p. 155.
33
CHAPTER TWO
THE SETTING
The encounter between Muslim culture and Hindu India w as the single
most significant fact in m edieval Indian history. The significance of this
contact, betw een w hat are in fact m any different cultures, rem ains
profound today. Striking proofs of this are the partition of British India on
the basis of religious affiliation and the communal violence that continues
to rock the m odern nation-state of India. Although racially the Muslims
and Hindus of India are indistinguishable, the differences in cosmological
views and religious practices betw een the two groups have proven to be
insurmountable.
Religious divisions in India are by no means as simple as this Hindu -
Muslim dichotom y may suggest. M any groups exhibit characteristics of
both traditions.44 There are num erous groups that fall som ewhere in
between. This was true to an even greater extent during the tim e of
Kabir, w hen m any Hindus had only recently converted to Islam and
continued m any of their Hindu rites and practices. Kabir points out to
great effect the differences that separate the two groups. He also
criticises the brahmans, at the top of the Hindu caste hierarchy, and the
Yogis, with whose practices he disagrees. But this is only to dem onstrate
the superficial nature of these religious practices. His true aim is to
awaken his listeners to the com m onality of all hum an beings in the quest
for spiritual developm ent and union with the sublime.
^For a good exam ple see Oberoi's (1994) discussion of the Meherat, pp. 10-11.
34
Fcft ?h°RT ^FT ^T P T T I

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Saints, I see the world is mad.

If I tell the truth they rush to beat me,
if I lie they trust me.
I’ve seen the pious Hindus, rule-followers,
early morning bath-takers—
killing souls, th ey worship rocks.
They know nothing.
I’ve seen plenty of Muslim teachers, holy m en reading their
holy books and teaching their pupils techniques,
they know just as much.
And posturing yogis, hypocrites, hearts cram m ed with pride,
praying to brass, to stones, reeling with pride in their
pilgrimage,
35
fixing th e ir caps and their prayer beads, painting their brow-

m arks and arm-marks, braying their hym ns and their couplets,
reeling. T hey never heard of soul.
The Hindu says Ram is the Beloved,
the T urk says Rahim.
T hen th e y kill each other.
No one knows the secret.
they buzz their mantras from house to house,
puffed w ith pride.
The pupils drown along with their gurus.
In the end th e y ’re sorry.
K abir says, listen saints:
they're all deluded!
W h atev er I say, nobody gets it.
It's too sim ple.45
Despite the difficulty of defining the boundaries that separate Hindus

from M uslims, it is against the backdrop of a perceived cultural chasm that
the figure of K abir looms. The traditional biographies reinforce this
theme. The stories of Kabir's upbringing in a low-caste Muslim
household46 and of his acceptance of m any of the concepts of Hindu bhakti
place Kabir in a pivotal position in the minds of the people. Both Hindu
and Muslim com m unities look to Kabir as representative of a potential
middle ground b etw een the followers of Hinduism and of Islam, a m iddle
ground w hich has y e t to be found by the peoples of the subcontinent.
This chapter w ill locate Kabir within the fram ew ork of his tim es by
outlining the political background and religious structures that w ere in
place during the life of Kabir (c. 1500 AD). In order to appreciate the
*5Bijak, Sabda4, Shastri (1965), p. 100, translated in Hess (1983), pp. 42-43.
46For stories of Kabir's adoption please see Chapter Four.
36
m essage of both Kabir and his religious biographers, an understanding of

the social milieu in which th ey existed is necessary. This background has
profoundly influenced the picture the stories present us of the poet-saint
Kabir in the hagiographic literature, whether composed shortly after his
death or in the present era. T he period in which K abir lived was one of
tumultuous change. In addition to the diverse religious beliefs already
held by what we refer to as "Hindus" in the subcontinent, a new faith had
recently arrived, brought to Indian soil by conquerors from the west.
Historical time is divided into epochs by certain k ey events. Indian
historians define the m edieval era as beginning with the advent of Islam .47
Islam , a faith divinely revealed to the prophet M uhammad in the sixth
century, spread rapidly out of A rabia. Within a hundred years of the death
of the prophet, the new faith had spread, largely through m ilitary conquest,
to present day Syria, Iraq, Iran and North Africa. M ilitary expeditions
reached the shores of Sindh, in present-day Pakistan, by the y ea r 711 AD.48
The influence of Islam in South Asia began sim ultaneously on two
w idely separated fronts. First, by sea, along the coastal areas of southern
India, particularly in K erala, and second, along the M akran coast of
Baluchistan and Sindh.49
Before the tim e of M uham m ad, Arab merchants had sailed to Indian
ports in search of spices and dry goods which they traded throughout the
Arab world and in Europe. A fter the new faith of Islam took hold in
A rabia in the 7th century, these merchants carried th eir beliefs with them.
47Basham (1975). Wolpert (1977). Spear (1961).

48Ikram (1964), pp. 6-7.
49Qureshi (1962), pp. 11-33.
37
Although Islam soon exercised considerable influence in the coastal areas,

the faith does not appear to have made significant inroads into the interior
of the sub-continent until after 1200 AD.
The first m ilitary encounters betw een followers of Islam and the
peoples of the sub-continent occured in punitive raids along the M akran
coast, the first of these led by the Arab general Muhammad Ben-Qasim.
But it was not the A rabs who permanently introduced Islam into India, but
the Turks. Nom adic tribesm en from Central Asia, the Turks were of
m ixed Aryan and Mongol stock. The Turks becam e notorious in the
annals of W estern historiography through graphic accounts of the m ilitary
expeditions of such leaders as Genghis Khan and Timur, known in the
W est as T am erlane.50
In the tenth century the Turks gained increasing influence over the Arab
Caliphate. They w ere instrumental in the conquest of Asia Minor and, in
1076, Jerusalem , the loss of which initiated the Crusades.51 They also
moved tpwards India, taking Ghazni and Kabul, in present-day
Afghanistan. From his base in Ghazni, M ahmud, the Turkish leader,
began to lead raiding parties into northwestern India. The most significant
sites plundered by Mahmud were Mathura, the traditional birthplace of
Krishna, and the tem ple of Somnath, in present-day coastal Gujarat, fam ed
for its enormous w ealth, which was carted back to Ghazni.52
Turkish conquest of the sub-continent w as subsequently led by
M uhammad of Ghor from his base in Afghanistan. His forces supplanted
50For more information on Timur see Qureshi (1962), pp. 89-90, Ikram (1964) pp. 75-76.
51Spear(1961), p. 103.
^Qureshi (1962), pp. 106-107.
38
the G haznavids and led to the foundation of a Turkish empire based in

Delhi in 1206. From Delhi Turkish conquest spread throughout northern
India as fa ea st as Bengal, including B anaras, the home of K abir.53 To the
south, conquest spread to Gwalior and beyond. Historians refer to this
period as the D elhi Sultanate. L iterary evidence of the im pact of Turkish
rule in north India is found in Kabir's verses, in which he refers to all
Muslims as "Turks". It is upon the ruins of the Delhi Sultanate th a t the
Lodis cam e to power. It was this A fghan dynasty that ruled during the
tim e of K abir.54
By the tim e of Kabir, who had a flo ru it of betw een 1500 and 1525 A D ,
the G angetic plain and the area surrounding Banaras came under the
adm inistration of several competing M uslim rulers, both Turks and
Afghans.55 This was a result of the breakup of the Delhi S u ltan a te, ruled
by Tughluk Turks.56 In the later years of the Sultanate, raids by Mongol
forces from central Asia greatly w eakened Muslim authority o v er the
outlying provinces.57 The most devastating of these raids was led by
Timur (T am erlane) in 1398.58 In the afterm ath several provinces seized
the opportunity to shrug off the rule of the Sultanate. Among these was
Jaunpur, w hich had authority over B anaras. Upon the eventual collapse
53Ikram (1964), pp. 37-43.

^ F or more information on the Lodi Dynasty see Haig (1928), in the Cambridge History o f India, Vol. Ill
pp. 228-250.
55The debate over Kabir's dates is endless, some writers ultimately doubting even his existence (Wilson).
The floruit given is that of of Lorenzen. slightly later than those proposed by Vaudeville and Chaturvedi,
but which accords more closely with Kabir panthi tradition. Lorenzen bases his dates in part on
historical synchronicity with Raja Virasimha Baghel of Bagbelkund, a prominent figure inthe
hagiographical accounts of Kabir.
56Ikram(1964),p. 79.
57Spear(1961).pp. 108-109.
5®Timur’s invasion was made famous in the West by Gibbon. For more information see Haig (1928) in
The Cambridge H istory o f India, pp. 195-200.
39
of the Sultanate in 1413 and after a brief period of rule by the Sayyids,
originally appointed by Timur to rule the P u n jab , northern India came
under the control of Afghan rulers belonging to the fam ily Lodi.59
The first of the Lodi rulers, Buhiul Lodi (died 1489), was the former
governor of Sirhind, in present-day Pakistan, u nder the Sayyids. He
replaced the last Sayyid ruler A lam Shah in 1451. A strong ruler, Buhlul
Lodi ruled for alm ost forty years, before being succeeded by his son
Sikander, who reigned from 1489 to 1517. It is this Sikander (a cognate of
the G reek nam e A lexander) who figures in the hagiographical accounts of
Kabir, and who ruled during Kabir's lifetim e.60
Lodi rule regained much of the former territory controlled by the Delhi
Sultanate, after a lengthy process of conquest of the regional kingdoms
which had em erged after the breakup. Some of these kingdoms were
under Muslim and some under Hindu rule. Included among the Muslim
kingdoms was Jaunpur.
Khwaja-i-Jahan, a eunuch who had risen to the rank of w azir under the
Tughluks during the Delhi Sultanate, founded the kingdom of Jaunpur in
1394. He built his capital on the banks of the G omti river, upon the ruins
of the city of R atagarh, known for a temple built upon the site where Lord
Ram slew the dem on K avalavira in the Hindu epicRam ayan. A fter the
destruction of the tem ple Firoz Shah Tughluk erected a fort during the
D elhi Sultanate. A t its peak, the Sharqi (Eastern) Dynasty (1394-1479)
controlled the area betw een K anauj and Bihar, and from the Ganges river
to the H im alayan Tarai. This area included the district of Avadh, with its
59Ikram (1964). pp. 77-79.

60For more on Sikander Lodi see Haig (1928), in The Cambridge History o f India, pp. 245-46.
40
capital at Lucknow.61 As Lane-Poole writes, "Jaunpur.... was the first

M ohammedan stronghold planted in the very m idst of the most Hindu part
of North India." The Sharqi kingdom, built upon a foundation of religious
intolerance, survived until Sikander Lodi brought it under Afghan control.
It is this Sikander Lodi who figures prominently in the hagiographical
accounts of Kabir.62
The historical records of the period do not m ention a meeting with
Kabir. It is known th at Sikander Lodi spent several years at Jaunpur,
from 1495 to 1499.63 Now a sleepy town on the rail line between Banaras
and Lucknow, Jaunpur w as then the administrative center of the region.
Sikander Lodi took control of the nearby city of Banaras in 149564, but we
have only the hagiographies to support a m eeting betw een the two. In the
hagiographical literature of the period m eetings betw een holy m en and
powerful rulers of their tim e locate the saint w ithin a historical context and
increase the saint's status. Although the location of Kabir within the reign
of Sikander Lodi (r. 1489-1517) may aid historians in dating Kabir, the
desire of traditional biographers to associate K abir with Sikander Lodi m ay
alternatively be viewed as a generic convention rather than as historical
fact.65
61Stanley Lane-Poole (1903), M edieval India under Mohammedan Rule , London: T. Fisher Unwin Ltd.
1923, first edition 1903. pp. 166-172.
62For more information on the Kingdom of Jaunpur see Haig (1928), in The Cambridge History o f India,
Vol. Ill, pp. 251-259.
63Haig (1928), pp. 238-240.
^H aig (1928). p. 238.
^ I t has been shown thac Sikander was quite bigoted against those who deviated from Islam. This is
discussed in Haig (1928), p. 240. Thus the character of Sikander fits in well with the hagiographical
accounts.
41
Upon his death in 1517, Sikander Lodi w as succeeded by his son

Ibrahim. U nder Ibrahim (r. 1517-1527) internal rivalries b etw een Afghan
ruling nobles intensified. As the situation deteriorated, D aulat K han Lodi,
uncle of Ibrahim and ruler of the Punjab, extended the now fam ous
invitation to Babur, the ruler of Kabul66 to intervene in the struggle for
power. A fter conquering Delhi and A gra following his victory at Panipat,
near Delhi, in 1526, Babur quickly brushed aside his hosts to establish the
Mughal empire (1526-1857), which dom inated the subcontinent for three
hundred years.67
During the lifetim e of Kabir the political control over North India was in
the hands of various Muslim groups, both Turks and Afghans, often at war
with each other. The kingdom of Jaunpur was the locus of M uslim power
in the region surrounding Banaras. It w as, however, at the furthest extent
of Muslim power, surrounded by petty Hindu kingdoms, who often allied
themselves with Muslim rulers when it w as to their advantage. Muslims
rulers, as w ell,allied themselves with Hindu rulers when necessary.
Banaras, the center of Hindu religious culture for thousands of years in the
area, was thus fully immersed in the ideological and political struggle
between Hindu and Muslim cultures.
As I have argued in my introduction, the division betw een M uslims and
Hindus is by no m eans clearly delineated. Although many academ ics, as
well as the peoples of India themselves, have become accustom ed to the
use of this facile dichotomy, the reality is far more complex, w ith m any
66Babur was originally from Ferghana in modern-day Uzbekhistan and a descendant o f both Genghis
Khan and Timur. He wrote his own memoirs, arguably the most impressive and well written of the
Mughal chronicles, translated into English by Annette Susannah Beveridge (1922) as The Babumama,
67Spear (1961). India.A M odem History, p. 120.
42
groups straddling the Hindu-Muslim fence. This was even m ore true
during the tim e of Kabir.
The hagiographical narratives place Kabir in a decidedly ambiguous
position in relation to his religious identity. In this regard he becom es a
m etaphor for the Indian situation as a w hole, caught in the m iddle of
com m unal strife and sectarian difference. The fact that this rem ains a
crucial struggle for modern-day India enables the story to retain relevance
and pow er. In a way the m odern Indian is Kabir, from a m ixture of
origins, d ealing with opposing religious orthodoxies, and struggling to
achieve b alance within a diverse social and religious environment.
The hagiographies tell us th at K abir was raised in a household of
julahas (w eavers) in Banaras, on the bank of the Ganges river in w hat is
now the state of Uttar Pradesh. Banaras was then, as it is now, the most
prom inent Hindu religious city and a m ajor pilgrimage site for religious
minded p eople of all castes and sects. W eaving, particularly of silk,
continues to be a major occupation of the city. Most of the artisans today
are M uslim , although Hindu w eavers are also present.68 In the tim e of
Kabir conversion to Islam was still a recent phenomenon.
The term generally used for the w eaving caste is julaha, although
Kabir, in his verses, also uses the term korii. The two terms are
equivalent, although the julaha derives from Perso-Arabic roots w hile koci
is from Indie languages. Risley suggests that these w eavers represent an
exam ple of groups who had recently converted to Islam in hopes of
68Kumar (1988). pp. 49-50.
43
escaping their caste status within the Hindu social heirarchy.69 In

retrospect, one can say th at the attempt proved to be only m arginally
successful, as w eavers w ere still regarded as low castes at the turn of the
20th century and w ere the butt of many jokes of a deprecatory nature.70
Perhaps on account of this stigma, the w eavers of Banaras have now
abandoned the use of the term julaha (although others continue to use it in
reference to them), and currently use the term ansari when identifying
them selves.71
The association of K abir with a Hindu guru,Ram anand, strikes at the
religious boundaries th at divide India.72 A t the same tim e, Kabir is
outside the Hindu social p ale as a iow-caste w eaver. These social
dynam ics have enabled the Kabir story to endure, as these basic divisions
and stratifications continue to dominate the Indian scene.73
Then, as now, we can identify several g en eral trends in religious belief
and philosophical orientation which serve as a backdrop to Kabir's life and
poetry. One is Islam, whose rulers, mostly from Turkish and Afghan
stock, form ed the noble classes. The influence of these ruling classes
m ay, how ever, have had little impact upon the hearts and minds of the
m asses of Indian peasantry. A t the low er caste level the struggle was not
for political control but for the support of the common people. The bhakti
and Sufi literature explored in this study dem onstrates the important
69Risley, H.H. (1915), The People o f India , reprint, Delhi: Oriental Books Reprint Co. (1969), p. 122.
another example of this type are the Thelavalas of the Punjab, half of whom claim to be Muslims and
half who claim to be Hindus.
70ibid, pp. 136-137.
71Kumar, Nita (1988), The Artisans o f Banaras, pp. 49-57.
^For a discussion of Kabir's initiation by Ramanand see Chapter 2.
73For more on the caste system and Indian social stratification see Louis Dumont (1980), Homo
Heirarchicus and M.N. Srinivas (1962), Caste in Modem India.
44
changes taking place, as the accounts presented in this study will show .74
For m any lower caste groups .already oppressed w ithin the Hindu system ,
conversion to Islam offered both political and social advantages.
The egalitarian principles of Islam, proclaim in g all m en as equals, w ere
an important elem ent in the dynamics of religious conversion. Sufis and
wandering fakirs (Islamic ascetics) served as im portant com municators
betw een the two cultures. Often blurring the religious boundaries betw een
Hinduism and Islam, religious teachers, poets and mystics such as K abir,
N anak and Dadu appealed to the masses through the adoption of com m on
symbols and religious lifestyles that had long b een a part of Indian society.
Much historiographical debate has centered around the m eans by which
Islam spread in the sub-continent. Some scholars lean towards a theory of
forcible conversion, while others lean toward a theory of voluntary
conversion by iow-caste and other marginalized groups.
W hatever their stance on this, historians agree that the influence of
Islamic Sufis was instrum ental in the conversion to Islam of vast sections
of the Indian population. Sufism embodies the m ystical elem ent w ithin
Islam. Unlike Hinduism, Islam has an established orthodoxy religious
leaders (theullama), who interpret the shari'ah, the Islamic text that relates
to proper belief and practice. Alongside this conventional strand of Islam
exists the path (tariqa) of Sufism (tasawwuf). M ystical elem ents have
always been a part of Islam ic tradition. T h ezvhhad and bakka'un
ascetics saw the body itself as evil and undertook austerities as penance.
Sufis often interpreted their faith in very different ways from the orthodox
74For an excellent work on the spread of Islam into the subcontinent see Murray Titus (1929), Indian
Islam, reprinted as Islam in India and Pakistan (1990), Karachi: Royal Book Co.
45
uUama, and this often led to charges of heresy. One of the first w ell
known Sufis, M ansur Hallaj (858-922), was executed for his fam ous
statem ent "I am the Truth". O ther notable Sufis from the early period
were al-Qushairi (986-1074), Im am Ghazali (1058-1111) and ibn ‘A rabi
(1 165-1240).75 Unorthodox and inclusive of a wide variety of thought and
religious expression, Sufism did develop loosely knit orders in W est Asia.
Before the introduction of Sufism in the Indian sub-continent, several such
orders {silsiUahas), whose m em bers lived communally in hospices
(khanqahs), developed in Persia. Prom inent among these w ere the
Chistis, which arose around the figure of Khwaja Abu Ishaq of Chist (d.
940), the Qadiris, established by Shaikh Muhiyuddin A bdul Q adir (1077-
1166), the Suhrawardis, founded by Shaikh Shihabuddin U m ar Suhraw ardi
(1145-1234), and the Naqshbandis, founded by Shaikh Baha'uddin
Naqshband (1317-1389).76
Often w andering fakirs (the Sufi equivalent of the Hindu sadhu), acted
as missionaries of Islam who, by th eir ascetic behavior, conformed to
established m odels of saintliness in the sub-continent. By freely
interacting w ith the common people during their travels and
communicating with them in vernacular languages, the Sufis w ere the most
successful m issionaries of Islam in the subcontinent.77
Prominent Sufis began migrating to India in the eleventh century.
Sheikh Mu’i nuddin Chisti established a center at Ajmer, still one of the
most important Sufi shrines in India. The Chisti sect becam e popular,
75For more information on Indian Sufis of the period see Mujeeb (1967), pp. 113-167.
76Ibid. pp. 115-116.
77See Qureshi (1962). pp. 51-55.
46
under Mu'inuddin Chisti's successors, Khwaja Q utbu'd-Din Bakhtyar Kaki

(d. 1236) and Baba Faridu'd-Din G anj-i-Shakar (d. 1265), whose shrine in
Pak Pattan, Pakistan remains an im portant pilgrim age site for Muslims.78
D elhi also becam e a center of the Chisti order under Sheikh N izamu'd-
Din A uliya (d. 1325).79 Advocating asceticism, seclusion (chilla ),
m editation, breath control (pas-i-anfas) and the recitation of religious
songs (sama ), the Sufis were sim ilar to Hindu ascetics in th eir religious
practice and lifestyle. It is easily understandable how the Sufi message
becam e accepted by the form erly Hindu masses.
If the Chistis presented an ascetic m odel with little em phasis placed on
form al conversion, the Suhrawardi were proselytizers. Sheikhs
Baha'uddin Zakariya and Jalal T abrizi of the Suhrawardi order attracted
m any converts to their fold.80
The Qadiri, founded by Shaikh Abdu'l Qadir Jilani (1077-1166), becam e
popular in Punjab and Sindh in present-day Pakistan. T he m ost famous of
their num ber was the celebrated M iyan Mir (1550-1635).81
Throughout the history of Sufism in the subcontinent there existed a
tension betw een orthodox elem ents and the Sufis within the Islamic
community. This tension existed betw een the Sufis and the ullama, the
established clergy, particularly w ithin the Sunni sects. W ithin the Sufi
orders as well, there was a tension betw een those who upheld conservative
interpretations of the sharia and those who located the source of religious
78For more information on the Chisti order see Qureshi (1962), pp. 64-65. For more information on
Faridu'd-Din Ganj-i-Shakar see Haig (1928), pp. 94,196.
79For more on Nizamuddin see Mujeeb (1967), pp. 127-136.
80Mujeeb (1967), pp. 115-116.
81Ikram (1964), p. 187.
47
truth in personal experience and communion with the divine (the Sufi path,
tariqa ).82 These oppositions illustrate the continuing struggle of M uslims
to establish a system of internal discipline to distinguish them selves from
the Hindu masses. It is not surprising that the facets of Sufi practice that
most resem bled those of Hindus, such as asceticism , m editation and an
ecumenical spirit, cam e under attack by those trying to draw lines betw een
the two religious traditions. Religious groups, like ethnic and political
groups, define them selves in relation to an "other". Many Sufis,
especially those in the Chisti order, found them selves challenged because
they blurred the boundaries between Muslims and Hindus.
Indifferent to the distinctionsessential to religious expansion into new
areas, the Sufis often drew chargs of heresy.83 Yet, it was the qualities of
tolerance and inclusion that enabled Sufis to convert Hindus to Islam .
Although a close connection between Kabir and the Sufis does not
withstand close scrutiny84, there are sim ilarities betw een the thoughts of
Kabir and the Sufis. Both stressed the value of personal experience over
doctrinal belief. Both were at times deemed heretical by the established
orthodoxies. Both strove to reach a higher ground upon which external
sectarian practice and dogma falter and become irrelevant.
In contrast to Islam , Hinduism has no founding prophet, definitive
scripture or an ordered teleology. Its origins lost in antiquity and its
82Mujeeb (1967). pp. 114-115.

83The most famous example being Al-Hallaj, see Qureshi (1962), pp. 130-131.
^For more on the "Sufi connection" please see Chapter 7.
48
cosmology grounded in no single authoritative text, Hinduism is better

viewed in the plurality it allows than as an ordered, defined entity.85
Betw een 2,500 and 1,500 BC a m ajor civilization arose in the Indus
valley. H istorians know little about this civilization, which included the
cities discovered at Harappa and Mohenjo-daro, except that its cities and
w ater systems w ere extensive and sophisticated. We know little about its
religion, although some scholars have speculated about them on the basis
of a num ber of clay seals, whose language they have not deciphered.86
Around 2,000 BC, m igration brought the Aryans, or Indo-Aryans, to the
subcontinent. For unknown reasons these migrants left their hom elands in
northern Iran and the Caucasus, while others moved westward across Iran
(the nam e itself is a cognate with Aryan) and Turkey and into E urope.87
Today, descendants of the latter groups speak Italian, Greek, G erm an,
Celtic, Iranian, and English,88 while those who entered the Indian sub
continent developed Sanskrit. The earliest known texts of Hinduism, the
Vedas, originally preserved through oral tradition are in an early form of
Sanskrit th at spaw ned many of the present day Indian vernacular
languages, including Marathi, Sindhi, Gujarati, Punjabi, Kashmiri, Bengali,
N epali and Hindi. It was in an early form of Hindi that Kabir com posed
his verses th at established him as one of the first major Hindi poets.
*-*For general discussions of Hinduism see Sen (1962). Hinduism, and Sanna (1945), What is Hinduism ?
Also see R.C. Zaehner(1962). Hinduism.
86For more information about the Indus Valley Civilization see Wheeler (1966), Civilizations o f the
Indus Valley and Beyond, Shedge (1977), Civilized Demons: The Harappansin the Rgveda, and
Kosambi (1966), A ncient India and a History o f Its Culture.
87For more information on the Aryans see Childe (1926), The Aryans.
88Stanley Wolpert (1977). A N ew History of India, p. 24. The theory behind the Indo-Aryan language
f a mi l y was worked out by 19th century philologists led by Prof. Max Muller.
49
A multitude of religious orientations and means of expression exist

within the g reater fold of Hinduism itself. Besides the com m on division of
Hinduism into Shaiva and Vaishnav, reflecting worship of e ith er Siva or
Vishnu, other paths refer to the type of worship practiced. Prom ininent
among these are tantra, practiced by the yogis, and bhakti, the path of
devotion. K abir, Dadu, N anak, M irabai and Tulsidas are proponents of
bhakti. Alongside these paths rem ained the brahmanic priesthood,
traditionally the repositories of V edic knowledge, who served as
interm ediaries betw een the gods and m an, and who presided over life
cycle rituals (samskaras). Rifts betw een these different forms of religious
expression w ere often as vast as the differences betw een them and Islam.
Finally, it is important to note the influence of Buddhism, by this time
virtually gone from the Indian scene, but whose heterodox m essage of
reform influenced both the practitioners of bhakti as well as, in its tantric
forms, the naths and yogis. The non-violent and vegetarian principles
practiced then, as now, by the substantial Jain community in India89, are
also echoed in the bhakti m essage of Kabir.
The roots of brahmanic Hinduism stretch back to the arrival of the
Aryans. The Aryans brought with them a patriarchal and p atrilin eal
tradition which continues to characterize Hindu society. T hey also brought
with them a social system divided into classes—priests, w arriors and
commoners. T hese divisions expanded and developed into the caste
system. The scholars and priests (brahm ans) were responsible for
m ediation b etw een mortals and gods. In order to accomplish this, a large
89The Jains are the foUowers of Mahavira, a contemporary of the Buddha (c. 500 BC).
50
num ber of rituals came into practice, m ost notable of these being the Vedic
fire sacrifice. The brahmans were responsible for the oral transmission of
the V edas and ritual texts, and thus w ere the sole repositories of religious
know ledge and authority.90 To this day brahm ans are essential for the
perform ance of life-cycie rituals as w ell as for the casting of astrological
horoscopes and the fixing of auspicious tim es for cerem onies. At several
points in tim e brahm anic authority w as challenged, and various streams of
religious p ractice came into being which em phasized the role of the
individual, including those of the low er castes and wom en. The first and
most fam ous of these heterodox reactions to brahm anic orthodoxy was the
m essage of the Buddha (c. 500 BC).91 A later reaction to religious and
social control by the brahmans was the path of bhakti and the bhakti
religious m ovem ent, of which m em bers of the low er castes and women
were also a part. Kabir is associated with this strand of the Hindu fabric.
The B hagavad Gita, is the earliest textual source for the origins of
bhakti. T h e G ita describes three different yogas (paths) by which humans
m ay strive fo r m oksa (liberation). These yogas are
karm a, the p ath of action, jhana, the path of wisdom, and bhakti, the path
of devotion.
It is difficult to imagine India without bhakti, the path of devotion. It
is this m ean s of individual expression of love for the divine th at dominates
the visual landscape of human activity in India today. The act of puja, or
worship, to deities at temples or sm all wayside shrines, to lingams, sacred
90For more on the brahmans and the evolution of the caste system see Padma Misra (1978), Evolution of
the Brahman Class: In the Perspective o f Vedic Priesthood.
91For more information on Buddhism and its origins see Pande (1957), Studies in the Origins of
Buddhism. Also see Rhys Davids, Buddhist India (1903).
51
to lord Shiva, to nature spirits embodied in trees or rocks, is omnipresent.

Pervasive everyday devotional activity provides one of the keenly felt
impressions brought aw ay by anyone who has ever glimpsed India.92
Bhakti, the path of devotion, represented a m ajor shift in the religious
and social environm ent of India. Brahmanic ritual, still essential for life
cycle rituals, was gradually supplanted by individual forms of religious
expression. Personal com m union with the divine supplanted much of the
ritual function of the brahm ans as interm ediaries betw een the gods and
man.
On a mythic literary level, the bhakti stream within Hinduism reflected
a shift away from, although by no means an abandonm ent of, the Vedic
and Upanishadic classics. The epic Krishna found in the Mababharat
gave way to the earthy hero of the Harivamsa and the Bhagavat Puran.
The stories of Krishna as a child and of his youth in Gokarna among the
cowherds, as popularized in works by the bhakti poets Surdas and M irabai,
live on in the minds of the Indian people. Ram, the hero of the R a m a ya n,
rises to the forefront of the Hindu pantheon, inspiring a devotional fervor
that is exploited today in politics, as Hindu revivalists seek a return to an
im agined, mythic past. This mythic past of Hindu perfection, expressed by
M ahatm a Gandhi, is know n as Ram Rajya. The pow er of the story of
Ram is strong today, as dem onstrated in the popular m edia by the appeal
of the television serial Ram ayan.
Împortant works on bhakti and the bhakti movement include, Friedhelm Hardy (1983), Viraha Bhakti:
the early history o f Krsna devotion in South India., Susmita Pande (1989), The Medieval Bhakti
Movement: Its History and Philosophy, and David Lorenzen, ed. (1995), Bhakti Religion in North India:
Community Identity and Political Action.
52
Bhakti breaks down into diametric oppositions it poses to the previous

standards of the brahm anic system. The vernacular languages of the
subcontinent served as the primary vehicles for the spread of bhakti
devotional literature. Tulsidas, Mirabai, Surdas and K abir all composed in
early forms of Hindi. D adu’s verse contains influences from Rajasthani,
as Nanak's contains elem ents of Punjabi. N am dev, Tukaram and Eknath
all used M arathi. In contrast, Sanskrit, the classical language considered
the strict provenance of the brahmans, rem ained to them , while the thrust
of bhakti poetry and literature reached the common people in languages
that they could com prehend. Bhakti was by and for the masses, while the
brahm anical system rem ained the domain of brahm an priests. Caste
barriers were challenged and rejected, in stark contrast to the strict
heirarchy imposed under the brahmanic ideal. Lofty philosophical debate
gave way to ecstatic communion with the divine, m anifested in kirtan, or
group singing.
Poetry, set to different rags, according to the season or emotion evoked,
becam e the chief m eans of transmission, as w andering minstrels and
mystics carried the m essage of bhakti throughout the land.
Since the British era, when administrators and missionaries attempted
to make sense out of the endless diversity th at m ade up the Indie or Hindu
system, scholars have delineated a progression and expansion of bhakti
sentiment over tim e. A commonly held belief holds th at the "bhakti
movement" originated in the Tamil lands of South India in the seventh
century, first occuring in the devotional T am il poetry of the Shaiva
53
Nayanars and the V aishnav Alvars.93 Passionate and sensual, rep lete
with erotic im agery, A lw ar poetry is sim ilar to the later bhakti literatu re of
the North, particularly that which describes the amorous adventures of
gopala Krishna (Krishna in his mythic youth as a cowherd) at p lay w ith the
gopis (milk m aidens).94
The m eans by which the supposed new sentim ent of bhakti spread from
southern to northern India is not clear. According to conventional
schemas, most clearly articulated by Hardy, mystics and religious leaders
began to accept the new devotional ideas of bhakti, beginning w ith
Shankara (800), R am anuja (d. 1137) and M adhva (K annada)(l 197-1276),
Nim barka (Telugu)(thirteenth century) and V allabhacharya (Telugu)(1479-
1531).95
V ernacular literature and bhakti spiritual lineages sprang up in all the
linguistic regions. Prom inent among these were the M aharashtrian saints
N am dev (1270-1350), Jnanesvara (1271-96), Eknath (1533-99) and
Tukaram (1598-1650). T heir sect, known as the Varkaris, worship a form
of Vishnu known as Vithoba, with the tem ple at Pandharpur as the m ajor
sacred site.96
Vaishnav devotion flourished in Bengal, exemplified by the G ita
Govinda of Jayadeva, which emphasized the sensual and m ystical
relationship b etw een R adha and Krishna. Krishna devotionalism reached
93See Indira Peterson (1989), Poems to Siva: The Hymns o f the Tamil Saints. See also Hardy (1983),
Vicah a Bhakti: the early history o f Kcsna devotion in South India.
^Bhakti poetry does appear in Sanskrit, with the Gita Govinda of Jayadeva representing a prominent
example. See Lee Siegel (1978), Sacred and Profane Dimensions o f Love in Indian Traditions A s
Exemplified in the Gita Govinda o f Jayadeva.
95Friedhelm Hardy (1983), Viraha Bhakti: the early history o f Krsna devotion in South India..
96For more information on the Marathi saints and their poetry see Tulpule (1979), Classical Marathi
Literature.
54
its m ost dynam ic form under the charism atic saint Chaitanya (1485-1533),
from whom the Krishna Consciousness (Hare Krishna) m ovem ent draws its
inspiration.97
In the m iddle Gangetic plain and the Hindi-speaking areas, Che
devotional em phasis was upon Ram, another incarnation of Vishnu and the
hero of the Hindu epic Ramayan.98 The R am ayan , arguably the m ost
popular of all the puranic works, tells the story of the exile of R am and his
wife Sita from the kingdom of Ayodhya, the abduction of Sita by R avan,
king of L anka, and the battle to locate and free her. The story read s well
as a m etap h o r for A ryan expansion and conquest southwards over the
entire subcontinent, with the indigenous, dark-skinned population depicted
as m onkeys, bears and so forth. The R am ayana(c. 500 BC), attributed to
Valm iki, w as first written in Sanskrit, but becam e popular as a vehicle for
bhakti in different regional vernaculars. Versions of this classic w ork
arose in all of the m ajor linguistic regions. By far the most prom inent of
these w as the Hindi Ramayan of Tulsidas, one of the finest literary
m asterpieces in Hindi, and one of the best known works of Indian
literature.
All of these forms of bhakti em phasized personal, spiritual union w ith a
m ythically and iconographicaliy defined deity, worshipped by people
fam iliar w ith their stories and the established forms in which they w ere
portrayed. T his type of bhakti is referred to as sagvn, worship of a deity in
the form of an idol with recognized attibutes. Simultaneously, another
97See Charles Brooks (1986). Changing Realities in an Indian Pilgrimage Town: Symbolic Interactions
between the p eo p le o f Vrindaban and Hare Krishna D evotees.
98For more on the Ramayan please see Paula Richman, ed. (1991), Many Ramayanas: The diversity of a
narrative tradition in South Asia..
55
type of bhakti arose that encouraged mankind to seek union with the
ultim ate, and which encouraged m editation as a means of achieving this
union. This type of bhakti is nirgvn , worship of the divine beyond form.
Kabir, Dadu and N anak are nirgvn. bbaktas.
In recent years, the presentation of bhakti as a new and radical
innovation w ithin Hinduism has b een questioned, as w ell as the linear
chronology commonly ascribed to it." It is quite likely that undocumented
bhakti strands have existed from the earliest beginnings of Indie culture.
The "bhakti movement" is a simplistic concept that breaks down upon
closer exam ination100. It seems likely that forms of bhakti or devotional
expression on the part of the common people have been a p art of Indie
culture from the pre-historic tim es of indigenous animist belief, and have
resurfaced and risen to prominence at moments when brahm anic authority
becam e too stringent.
One can see the influence of Buddhism in the emphasis of bhakti on
personal experience and its non-theistic stance. Alongside the influence
of Buddhism, particularly in regard to the meditative component, we can
see the influence of tantra, both Buddhist and Hindu, and the yogic
techniques practiced by followers of these paths.101
W estern and Indian scholars alike have regarded tantra as decadent
forms of both Hinduism and Buddhism. With an emphasis on m agic and
yogic techniques, including those of a sexual nature, tantra .viewed from
"Krishna Sharma (1987), Bhakti and the Bhakti Movement: A New Perspective, Delhi: Munshiram
Manoharlal.
100For an extended discussion on this subject see Krishna Sharma (1987), pp. 1-109.
101For a discussion of the role of Buddhism and the nath yogis on Kabir see Vaudeville (1993), pp. 72-
78.
56
the orthodox perspective, was an aberrant and decadent path that defied
decency. In recent years, largely due to the popularity of Tibetan
Buddhism, with today's largest community of tantric practitioners, the
significance of tantra is now becoming a part of academ ic discourse on
both Hinduism and Buddhism .102
The path of tantra, like that of bhakti, dates back into Indian pre-history.
S eals from the Indus V alley culture show a figure sitting in w hat appears to
be a m editative pose. This figure bears a striking resem blance to modern
iconographicai depictions of Lord Shiva, the em bodim ent of the tantric
id e a l.103
T antra became identifiable as a major trend after the Gupta period
(320-540) and the death of Harsha in 647, as Buddhism began to decline in
India.104
W hat is tantra? In its simplist form, tantra employs yogic and
m editative techniques in an attem pt to free, perhaps ev en over the course
of one lifetime, the individual from samsara, the cycle of death and rebirth.
In order to accomplish this, tantra often includes extrem e forms of
asceticism, including m ortification of the flesh, in order to free the adept
from worldly attachments. Dynamic polar oppositions, m ost prominently
th a t betw een m ale and fem ale, generate the powers (siddhls) necessary to
bring about rapid spiritual developm ent.105
102See Aghehananda Bharati (1965), The Tantric Tradition.

103 Basham (1954), The Wonder That Was India, Plate IX.
104de Bary, ed. (1958), Sources o f Indian Tradition, pp. 190-202.
105See Herbert Guenther (1972), The TantricView of Life. pp. 57-78.
57
Tantra has its philosophical roots in the distinction between purusa and
prakrti, studied in the Sankhya system attributed to the sage K apila and the
related philosophical system of Yoga, attributed to Patanjali.106
Central to tantric practice is the concept of mantra , mystic syllables that
contain power and which can be used in m editative practice. M andalas,
geom etric and iconographic images representing various human and
spiritual forces and qualities, aid the process of visualization, through
which the practitioner becom es himself, the em bodim ent of these various
qualities107. Yoga and m editation, practices aimed at mastering the body
and mind, help to b reak the bonds of hum an existence.108
As the simple act of puja (devotional offering) is the visual hallm ark of
bhakti, the barely clothed tantric sadhu, engaged in asceticism and yoga, is
one of the most poignant symbols of Indian spirituality. Emulating the
mythology of Lord Shiva as embodied in such literary Sanskrit
m asterpieces as the Kumara-sambhava of K aiidas (c. 400 AD), the
wandering sadhu often covers himself with ashes from funeral pyres, takes
bhang (m arijuana) and m editates in order to detach himself from the
m aterial w orld.109
Tantric practice began within the Hindu system, but quickly becam e a
part of Buddhism during the years of its decline in the subcontinent after
the first m illenium AD. T antra arose during a period of decline, and this
has added to its decadent reputation. T antra, however, reached high
levels of philosophical sophistication, particularly in Kashmir, under such
106de Bary. ed. (1958), Sources o f Indian Tradition, pp. 301-302.

l° 7For more on mantra see Bharati (1965), The Tantric Tradition, pp. 101-163.
108de Bary, ed. (1958), Sources o f Indian Tradition, p. 302.
109Kalidasa, Kumara-sambhava, trans. by Heifetz (1985).
58
figures as A bhinavagupta in the 10th century.110 Tantra w as also strong in

Bengal, w here it embodied the idea of shakti (fem ale energy and power)
in tantric goddesses such as Durga and K ali, who rem ain im portant there
today.111
Spreading w estw ards from Bengal, tan tra becam e popular over much of
north India and from there it traveled northwards into Nepal and T ibet,
where it achieved its greatest success.112 M any tantric texts, originally
written in Sanskrit, are lost in India itself, but still exist in T ibetan
translation. K nown as Vajrayana, the thunderbolt path, T ibetan Buddhism
is the third m ajo r branch of Buddhism, alongside the Theravada and
M ahayana traditions.
Although tan tric practitioners are often wandering sadhusw ith no
organizational affiliations, many established tantric orders exist. The
majority of these sects trace their lineage to Gorakhnath, a shadow y figure
whose dates are speculative (10th-12th century)A D .113 G orakhnath, in
turn, traces his descent from M atsyendranath, an even more obscure
reacher who has reached semi-divine status. The Newar com m unity
worships M atsyendranath today in festivals held annually in the
Kathmandu v a lle y .114 Associated with Gorakhnath and M atsyendranath
are the nath orders, which spread through North India. The a a th sfigure
1 Basham (1954). The Wonder That Was India, p. 335.

^ F o r m o re on worship of the goddess see Dulal Chaudhuri (1984). Goddess Durga: The Great Mother.
112For an interesting account of the spread of Buddhism and Buddhist art from Bengal and Bihar to
Nepal and Tibet see Susan Huntington (1990), Leaves From The Bodbi Tree: The A rt o f Pala India.
113 For information on Gorakhnath and the yogis of his sect the best reference is G. W. Briggs (1938).
Gorakhnath and the Kanphata Yogis, reprint ,1973, Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass.
114For more on Matsyendranath and his cult please see John Locke (1973), Rato Matsyendranath of
Patan and Bungam ad. Kathmandu: Tribhuvan University Press.
59
prominently in the history of the Dadu panth of Rajasthan. Other

important tantric sects include the K apalikas and K alam ukhas.115
Tantric yogis w ere common during the time of Kabir, and his verses
revile them with the same scorn with which Western academ ics have
treated them in the past. Ironically (and this demonstrates the pervasive
nature of tantric thought), Kabir utilizes tantric im agery and symbolic
language in his verses. Kabir considers m editation the highest of spiritual
pursuits, as do the tantrics. Although he criticizes the outward features of
the tantric path, he has imbibed heavily of its philosophy and thought. The
hagiographical accounts of Kabir include several encounters with
Gorakhnath, in which Kabir bests Gorakhnath in religious debate as well
as in miracle displays.116 It is clear from both the hagiographies and
Kabir's verses th a t the tantric naths and Yogis were held in high esteem
during Kabir's historical period and th at Kabir was their vigorous opponent.
Kabir, along with m any bhakti sants, saw the path of devotion as superior
the tantric schools.
TO=T T fT O T O ^ ^ W t\ ^ I
T O TrfcS ftcSt, T O TOft ^ II
Gorakh w as Yoga's connoisseur.

They didn’t crem ate his body.
Still his m e a t rotted and mixed
H5por more on these sects please see David Lorenzen (1972), Kapalikas and Kalamukhas: Two Lost
Saivite Sects, New Delhi: Thomson Press.
116See Chapter 5. Kabir and the Dadu Panth.
60
with dust. For nothing

he polished his body.117
This chapter has sought to provide entry into th e chapters concerning

the traditional biographies of Kabir which follow. The cultural m ilieu in
which the Kabir narrative takes place was com plex, as India rem ains
today. Although the general classifications I h ave utilized in this
introduction are subject to debate, they help to p lace Kabir within the
social framework of his tim es. And what of K abir? Given a lack of
historical inform ation, much of what is known of him emerges from his
verses. There is also an untapped wealth of hagiographicai information
concerning Kabir, which I discuss in the following chapters.
117BijaJc, Sakhl 43. Translated in Hess (1983), p. 94.
61
CHAPTER THREE
EARLY ACCOUNTS OF KABIR
355ftT w f r ^ , 3T tT%.^5- I
TF# 3F£TFT # , 8^5 ^ 3 T ^ y ||
Says Kabir,
all these are but vain tales:
Far beyond such fables
is He who pervades the universe.118
"I think it n o t at all improbable that no such person as Kabir ever

existed,"H.H. W ilson wrote in 1846, "and th at his nam e is a m ere cover to
the innovations of some free-thinker am ongst the Hindus."119 E ven if such
a person did exist, W ilson suggested, the nam e Kabir was but a ta k h a llv s
(pen nam e). W hile few scholars today agree with Wilson, the historical
Kabir rem ains an elusive figure. W hat is certain is the centrality of K abir
in the sane tradition generally, and among the nirgvn sants specifically.
Any discussion of sources must begin with the extant collections of
verses attributed to Kabir. While there is a multitude of verses collected
and uncollected in the ongoing oral tradition of North India, three
collections stand out as most authentic. These three collections are a p art
of the sacred literature of the three sectss discussed below, the Sikhs, the
Dadu panth and the Kabir panth.
l l &Bijak, saichi attached to Ramaini 75, Shastri (1965) p. 83, translated in Vaudeville (1993), p. 149.
u9Wilson, H.H. (1861), A Sketch o f the Religious Sects o f Che Hindus, reprint, Calcutta: Sushil Gupta,
p. 36, footnote.
62
The earliest of the three is the A d i Granth of the Sikhs. Compiled in

the Punjab in 1604 by order of Guru Arjun, the Sikh guru, the A d i Granth
or Guru Granth Sahib contains, in addition to verses of N an ak and of the
Sikh gurus them selves, verses of the bhagats (bhaktas), including those of
Sheikh Farid, Ram anand, N am dev and Kabir. Of the verses not attributed
to Sikh gurus, those attributed to Kabir are the most num erous.
The second collection of Kabir's verses are from the R ajasthani
tradition of the Dadu panth. This tradition includes the S arvangi and later
Pahcvani collections. The earlier of the two, the Sarvangi, w as compiled
by R ajjab, D adu's foremost disciple. This compilation is also called the
Kabir G ranthavali. As in the Sikh A d i Granth, besides the verses
attributed to D adu Dayal, the verses of Kabir are the m ost num erous.
The third collection of Kabir's verses is the Bijak, the com pilation
accepted and revered by the Kabir panthis. Vaudeville refers to this as
the "Eastern recension", to distinguish it from the "W estern recensions" of
the R ajasthani and Punjabi traditions mentioned above. Containing only
verses attributed to Kabir, the B ija k displays more significant differences
than the D adu panthi and Sikh accounts. Although no m anuscripts of the
Bijak have b ee n found that are as old as the two other collections, the
Bijak com es from the region closest to Kabir's reputed hom e in Banaras,
the area encom passing Eastern U ttar Pradesh and Bihar to d a y .120 The
lack of an early m anuscript copy of the B ijak is one of the g reat puzzles in
Kabirian studies, and the search continues. Like Kabir him self, the origins
120Charlotte Vaudeville and Linda Hess have both discussed in detail the differences between these
three collections. Vaudeville (1993), A W eaver Named Kabi r, pp.131-147. Hess (1987), in "Three
Kabir Collections: A Comparative Study", in K. Schomer and H. McLeod, The Sants: Studies in a
Devotional Tradition o f India. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, pp. 111-142.
63
of the panth which bears his nam e are lost in obscurity. Future manuscript
discoveries may lead to a b etter knowledge of the early K abir panth.
It is symptomatic of the emphasis on texts that only one w riter has
em phasized the "fourth tradition" of Kabir's verses. V inay Dharwadker
accurately notes the im portance of the vast corpus of verses attributed to
Kabir in oral tradition.121 This tradition, very much alive today, represents
the form by which the g reatest number of people are fam iliar with "Kabir's
work". The Kabir in these verses is in many ways the m ost interesting,
and certainly the most vital, incorporated as he is w ithin folk and musical
tradition.
The verses contained in the three traditional collections tell little
about the historical Kabir. In m any cases, the verses them selves
are of such questionable authenticity that they are best rejected as
sources of historical truth. Several verses found in the collections,
however, have some claim to credence, on the basis of the known
date of their compilation as w ell as their style.122
cjf^ t*rfcr # F trr i

^ fr q r f t F F ft f a f o p tt ^ tr r u
sft F?t FRTT «>m F, d U t TT?T iff F F fjT tTITT II
FFiTT F t F R T 3 F % F t eft TFT II
F F ^ T F t FT W f F t , F c ? FTcftcT TFT $ TFFT I
«HTI dsltfl F F T FFTTT 3TTT, s f t t iJSTI TFT F F FTT II
^TT ft cFT e f t F5S&T, eft TFT% F 5 H f^ fT T II
I21Vinay Dharwadker (1995), "Kabir", in Donald Lopez, ed. Religions of India in Practice, (Princeton:
Princeton University Press), p. 78.
122 Vaudeville (1983), p. 56
64
As w ater m ixes with water,

so will K abir mix with dust.
If M ithila be your true home,
Let your death be at Magahar.
He who dies at M agahar becomes an ass, they say:
so, have you lost faith in Ram?
Dying in M agahar, you won't know death,
Dying elsew here, you'll put Ram to sham e.
W hat is K ashi? W hat is the barren land of M agahar,
so long as R am dwells in your heart?
If Kabir le av es his body at Kashi,
what honour w ill he render R am ?123
Dharwadker's fourth tradition, the oral one, includes many verses that
refer to Kabir's life, and one can assume th at these derive from the
hagiographical tradition.
Even if verses fail to yield the historical Kabir, imbedded in them lies
the reason for all this Kabir chasing. They are the best guide to the mind
of the poet, the form in which we know him best. This corpus of work,
both oral and w ritten, demands a description of the m an behind it, or, to
paraphrase Rumi, the "worker hidden in the workshop". The early
hagiographers provided this figure. A nirgun deity m ay be difficult to
discern, y et it seem s a nirgun san d s intolerable.
Within a century after the death of Kabir, there appear hagiographical
verses which record and extol the lives of fam ous sants. They provide an
outline of the narrative of Kabir's life which serves as functional truth for
million of Indians today. These are believers' tales, recorded not only
that the lives of these sants be not forgotten, but to serve a didactic
123 Bijak, Sabda 103, from Singh (1972), p. 145, translated in Vaudeville (1993), p. 156.
65
purpose. Hearing or reading these accounts, an audience draws inspiration

from the lives of the bbaktas (devotees) and m ay seek to em ulate them . It
is understandable why exact dates, so im portant to historians, are absent in
popular works whose function was inspirational. However, given the
continuing importance of the guru/shishya (master/disciple) relationship
and the authority conferred by the param para (religious lineage), a
presentation of the spiritual teachers of these saints and their designated
disciples is a central concern.
These works are in manuscript form on pages betw een w ooden covers
in sm all volumes designed for recitation. The reader typically sits in a
cross legged position, with the tex t p laced on a small stand in front of him.
Due to clim atic conditions and the presence of paper eating insects,
these manuscripts have limited life spans, and usually exist as copies
transcribed from earlier ones. It is perhaps because of the im pact of the
monsoon season in the east that no ea rly copies of the B ija k have b een
discovered, while the collections found in the West, where conditions are
drier, are earlier.
The earliest hagiographical work w hich discusses the life of K abir is
the Kabir Paracbai of Anantdas. T his work, recently translated into
English by David Lorenzen (1991), represents the core of the K abir legend.
It seem s to be the foundation upon w hich all later accounts rest.
A nantdas, of the Ramanandi sect, lived in the R aivasa ashram
(religious retreat) located in the tow n of Sikar in Rajasthan. L orenzen
suggests that the earliest recensions of the Kabir Paracbai are parts of
66
collections belonging to the Dadu and Niranjani panths , 124 A nantdas is the
author of m any parachais (traditional biographies) which narrate the life
stories of im portant figures in the bhakti sane tradition. Among these are
parachais of Namdev, Pipa, Dhana, Trilochan and Ravidas. According to
Lorenzen, the earliest recension of this text was produced in 1636 from a
now lo st earlier text.125 T hese dates suggest that the initial Kabir
Parachai w as produced w ithin a century of Kabir's death, giving A nantdas's
work considerable authority, since it contains the earliest account of
Kabir's life .126
A nother early hagiographical source of the Kabir narrative is the
B haktam al of Nabhadas. This account, in v erse, of the lives of bhakti
saints, including Kabir and Ravidas, is roughly contem poraneous with th at
of the Amantdas account. D ating from the beginning of the 17th century, it
gives b rief descriptions of the lives of about 600 sants and bhaktas.127 It is
found coupled with Priyadas's Bhaktirasabodhini com m entary (1712).
N abhadas, like A nantdas, was a m em ber of the R am anandi sect.128
A ctually, N abhadas gives only one short verse about Kabir, translated by
V audeville this way:
K abir refused to acknowledge caste distinctions or to

recognize the authority of the six Hindu schools of philosophy
nor did he set any store by the four stages of life ( asramas)
I24Lorenzen (1991), pp. 75-77.

125Lorenzen (1991), pp. 73-75.
126For an excellent analysis of the subject of authority of medieval bhakti texts, see Hawley (1988),
"Author and Authority in the Bhakti Poetry of North India," Journal o f Asian Studies 47. 2:269-90.
127For more on the dates of Nabhadas and his works see J.N. Farquhar (1967), An Outline o f the
Religious Literature of India, p. 317.
128Lorenzen (1991) includes a useful spiritual genealogy based on their works. In his words, Nabhadas
is Anantdas’ spiritual "uncle".
67
prescribed for Brahmans. He held that religion (dharma)

without devotion (bhakti) was no religion at all ( adharma) and
that asceticism, fasting and alms-giving had no value if not
accompanied by adoration (bhajan). By m eans of ramainis,
sabdls, and sa kh is, he im parted religious instruction to Hindus
and Turks alike. He showed no partiality to either but gave
teaching beneficial to all. W ith determ ination he spoke and
never tried to please the world. K abir refused to acknowledge
caste distinctions and the six systems of philosophy.129
The bulk of the hagiographical story line comes from Priyadas in his
tika (commentary) on Nabhadas. Priyadas follows closely the account
given in A nantdas in the KabirParachai . However, Priyadas’s com m ents
do not always correspond to the verses above them. Priyadas zigs and
zags rather independently of the N abhadas text. In Shukdev Singh's
words, Priyadas is a "reckless" com m entator. It is im portant to note th at
Priyadas exhibits a need to set Kabir firm ly within the greater Hindu, even
Vedic, tradition. This trend continues in later works on Kabir, but first
appears here.
The Bhaktam al of Raghavdas is the next hagiography which discusses
Kabir. Winand C allew aert dates this m anuscript to 1720.130 R aghavdas
was a m em ber of the Dadu panth. This w ork gives short verses covering
the lives of over 1200 sants and bhaktas. Like the Nabhadas Bhaktam al,
it includes a tika (commentary), by Chaturdas, dated to 1800. The K abir
narrative is retold in this commentary, with the same story line found in
I29Nabhadas, Bhaktamal (m u l), chappay 60, p. 479. From Vaudeville (1993), p. 43.
1 Winand Callewaert (1988), The Hindi Biography o f Dadu Dayal, Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, p. 14.
68
both Anantdas and in the Priyadas commentary on the Bhaktam al of

Nabhadas.
Lorenzen (1991), has suggested that xheNirbhayajhan m ight prove to be
another early m anuscript source for tracing the evolution of the K abir
narrative.131 This text, of unknown authorship, is first m entioned by
Kedarnath Dvivedi as existent in an early manuscript found in the N agari
Pracharini Sabha at V aranasi. Lorenzen was unable to locate this text, but
did turn up w hat he thought to be a complete version in the K abir Chaura
math (religious center) while cataloguing their manuscripts in 1994. I
worked on this version with R atnesh Pathak, one of m y research and
translation assistants. The m anuscript bears no date. It contained only
the stories of Kabir's persecution by Sikander Lodi and the resurrection of
Kabir's adopted son Kamal. T he text is interesting in that it portrays the
emperor in a favorable light. He is personally supportive of Kabir, and
only takes action against K abir on the advice of brahm an pandits and
Sheikh Taki, Sikander's p lr (Islam ic religious teacher). Significantly, it
also uses the clearly Muslim term dervesh (dervish) for Kabir.
As Lorenzen notes, the fact th at this is an early D haram dasi text, as
well as Dvivedi's statem ent th a t the only text he actually saw w as dated
V.S. 1856 (A.D. 1799) almost certainly dates the origin of this te x t in the
eighteenth century. The language and style of the text also lead to the
concusion th at the Nirbhayajhan is a product of the late eighteenth or early
nineteenth century. It m ay represent a link between the early
hagiographic accounts of K abir and later Kabir panthi texts such as the
131Lorenzen (1991), p. 9.
69
A nucag Sagar and Bodh Sagar, which go beyond the simple narrative of
the early works and develop a new cosmology around Kabir.
Another work which describes the life of K abir is from the
M aharashtrian sane tradition. This is M ahipati's Bhaktavijaya.
According to Justin A bbot132, M ahipati was a brahm an from a small
v illa g e , T aharabad, in the A hm ednagar District of M aharashtra. He
w rote the Bhaktavijaya in M arathi in 1762. M ahipati’s other works
include the Santalllam rta(l757), the Kathasaramrta (1765), the
BhaktalUamrit (1774) and the Santavijaya (date unknown). A disciple of
the M arathi poet-saintT ukaram , M ahipati belonged to the Pandharpur-
based Varkari cult of V itthaia or Vithoba, a form of Krishna. Major poet-
saints of this sect include N am dev, Eknath, T ukaram and Jnandev.
A lthough predom inantly a sagun form of bhakti, which worships the divine
in the form of a m anifest incarnation, such as R am or Krishna, this sect
shows respect for the nirgun (worshipping the divine without form) poet
Kabir.
In the Bhaktavijaya, M ahipati credits as sources accounts by N abhadas
and Uddhav Chidghan of M andesh. M ahipati also drew from the gathas
(poem s) of N am a Vishnudas and the abhangs (verses) of both Kanhoba
(Tukaram 's brother) and Ram eshw ar. B eautifully w ritten in verse form,
M ahipati's Bhaktavijaya provides an understanding of how the fam e of
K abir spread to other regions of North India and how he came to be
included in the traditions of other heterodox sects. This account also
132Justine E. Abbot's translation of the Bhaktavijaya was first published in 1933 as Stories o f Indian
Saints. The edition used for this study was published by Motilal Banarsidass in Delhi in 1988. Abbot
gives the dates for Mahipati as 1715-1790.
70
contains significant variations from, and additions to, the Kabir legend
discussed below.
These works are all w ritten by poet hagiographers, operating w ithin the
sphere of North Indian sampradaya or panths (organized religious
lineages). They narrate the lives of im portant saints as role m odels for the
religious community to whom they speak. Although an oral tradition of
hagiographies preceded the emergence of these texts, the significance of
these texts today lies in the fact that they w ere w ritten down. Such texts
provide some of the earliest sources on the lives of the sants, as w ell as on
the evolution of their individual hagiographies over time.
These early hagiographical compositions provide clues for those
searching for the historical Kabir. Yet we m ust exercise caution in the use
of these texts, for the social and sectarian agendas of their authors
dom inate the discourse. For this very reasons they are central to a g reater
understanding of the early panths (sects) that produced them. T hey
reflect im portant shifts th at took place during the evolution of these panths.
In this study I seek to bring out the changing concerns of these panths
through an analysis of the narratives these accounts contain.
These tales are important, for they provide insights into the social,
religious and sectarian concerns expressed by their authors, if not
necessarily those of K abir himself. It is because the stories in these
narratives discuss issues im portant to their authors that they created them
in the first place. Because these issues and concerns rem ain relev an t to
those who read and h ear them read, they have survived into the present.
71
Beyond th e ir utility for the historian, they have even greater value as
representatives of literary and perform ance genres still exist today. Few
students have understood these works in the context of their perform ance.
Yet Kabir's verses and the stories of his life come to life only w hen recited
or sung.
The ea rliest accounts of Kabir's life incorporate the core of the K abir
narrative, upon which all succeeding accounts are based. These accounts
contain a consistent narrative, with the im portant exception that early
manuscripts of w hat Lorenzen refers to as the N iranjani panthi recension
of the K abir Paracbai omit the story of Kabir's initiation by Ram anand.133
This om m ission has important implications for the question of w hether
Kabir w as in fa c t a disciple of Ram anand. It also has relevance for any
discussion of the assimilation of K abir into the greater Vaishnav tradition.
With this im portant exception, the early accounts contain identical
narratives, which break down into the following sections.
The A kashvani
Kabir's Initiation by Ramanand
Kabir G ives his Cloth Away in the M arket
Kabir Feeds the Shudras, while God (Hari) Provides for the Brahmans
Kabir and the Prostitute
Kabir Saves the Pandit of Jagannath Puri
The Persecution of Kabir by Sikander Lodi
The Brahm ans D eclare a Feast in Kabir's Nam e
l33Lorenzen (1991), p. xii.
72
K abir’s T em ptation
The Division of Flowers
L et us exam ine these stories, which form the core of the K abir
narrative and serve as bases for the expanded accounts in la te r K abir
panthi literatu re. The stories provide our best source fo r inform ation
concerning the life of Kabir. Unverifiable and m iraculous, unbelievable
yet sacred, the tales take us into the shadows that surround K abir's life.
T hey also stand as outstanding exam ples of the hagiographical genre, in
the North Indian sant tradition and in larger mythic patterns.
In Indian tradition, all g reat stories begin with a prophecy. The
akashvani or "sky voice" is a fam iliar feature in the hagiography of North
Indian sants and has antecedents in ancient Indian literary traditions.
Typically, at the beginning of the tale, events to come are foretold or
initiated by a divine voice from the sky. This functions to rem ind the
audience th a t this is no ordinary tale. Rather, it is know n to the heavens,
which orchestrated the scenes to come. In this exam ple, K abir as a boy
hears from the akashvani th at he will not receive the darshan (vision) of
God unless he becomes a V aishnav and wears the V aishnav m ala
(garland) of prayer beads and the distinctive forehead m arkings. Kabir, a
m em ber of a low Muslim caste, has no hope th at he can accom plish these
things, b ut the sky voice instructs him on how to fulfill the com m and from
heaven th a t he do so.134 To do this Kabir m ust find his guru.
134Anantdas, KabirParacbai, 1: 1-4, translated in Lorenzen (1991), p. 93.
73
T he story itself is charm ing and simple, and one of the best known
about Kabir. Anyone who has ever been to Banaras has seen the ghats,
the g reat stone steps along the banks of the Ganga that are home to the
dhobis (washermen), w ater buffaloes, pandas (priests)and a host of the
holy and those seeking it. One of the apartm ents in which I lived in
B anaras was in a narrow lan e beside the Ganga at Tulsi Ghat, surrounded
by clanging temple bells and larcenous sim ians. A t three-thirty in the
m orning the sadhus (ascetics) begin to pass by, their staffs clattering on the
flagstone pavem ent. T hese early risers w ere heading down to the banks
of the river to bathe and m editate for hours before the sun rises over the
sandy shores of the opposite bank.
This is a scene little changed from the tim e of Kabir, when this same
dram a was enacted daily in the holiest city of India.
In the story, the young julaha (Muslim w eaver) Kabir contrives his
initiation by the g reat Hindu Vaishnav, R am anand, on the steps of
Panchganga Ghat. In a trickster role, in the pre-daw n darkness, K abir lies
down upon the steep steps down which R am anand m ust go on his w ay to
take his ritual bath in the G anga. When R am anand's foot unexpectedly
strikes the prone body of K abir, Ram anand exclaim s the name of "R am ",
which Kabir takes as his m an tra of initiation by the guru. Adopting the
V aishnav habit of w earing tila k (forehead m arkings) and m ala (a garland
of beads), Kabir begins to act in the m anner of Hindu sant. By doing so he
outrages the Muslim com munity, including his own family, who cannot
understand why he has abandoned the w ays of their religion. They go and
com plain to Ram anand, asking how he could give Kabir initiation. W hen
74
Ram anand summons Kabir to question him, Ramanand refuses to m e et the

m lecch (impure one) and will speak to him only from behind a purda
(screen). K abir then tells him the story, demonstrating his true spirit of
bhakti. R am anand then accepts K abir as his disciple.135
W hat has m ade this story controversial among scholars is that it raises
fundam ental questions concerning the historical Kabir. W hat was Kabir's
caste? Was he a Muslim? Did he becom e a Vaishnav? Did he have a
personal guru? Was he initiated by Ram anand? These are im portant
questions. But w hatever the facts, it is these irresolvable questions that
give the story, and the entire K abir narrative, its power and vitality. The
story plays upon basic tensions in Indian life, then as now. The conflict
betw een Muslims and Hindus, the constant struggle betw een personal
choice and fam ily and caste responsibility and above all the overriding
quest for the spiritual.
W hat gives the story special potency is the Hindu/Muslim caste
elem ent. Stories abound in India of gurus posing challenges before
granting initiation. What m akes this story special is that Kabir, in this
telling, is a Muslim julaha who m ust play a trickster role in order to win the
holy m an's favor.
Scholars have puzzled over the fact that some of the earliest recensions
of the earliest extant Kabir narrative, Anantdas's KabirParachai, do not
l35In the Bhaktamal of Nabhadas, Kabir replies to Ramanand that: "Ram's name is the mantra written in
all the systems. After opening the door you get the true path. Keep it in your he art".
In Anantdas, the text reads: Kabir said, “If the guru and Gobinda show favor and one meets the satguru,
then nothing is difficult. Everything is easy and spontaneous. This is what aU the sants say." (Anantdas
vs. 14-15, trans. Lorenzen (1991), p.95.
Raghavdas closely follows Nabhadas.
75
include this story, which forms the first chapter of later hagiographies.
Those recensions attributed to the Dadu panth do not include the tale w hile
the N iranjani panthi versions d o .136
Although historians know something about the early Dadu panth, w hat
com plicates matters is that they know little about the early N iranjani panth
apart from the fact that they had an ashram at Didwana, in Rajasthan,
close to the m ajor center of the Dadu panth at Jaipur. Shukdev Singh
claim s that, as their nam e suggests, they shared with the m odern Kabir
panth the concept of a prime m over named Niranjan. T heir founder w as
Haridas, a disciple of the tantric yogi Gorakhnath. They organize
them selves, like wrestlers, into akharas (clubs/gangs). Today, the
N iranjani panth includes tantrics of the wildest sort.137 It is worth noting
that this is the type of yogi K abir himself condemns even as he uses much
of their tantric term inology.138
W hy the two panths differ on their inclusion of this story is impossible to
determ ine. But the ramifications of the difference are significant. It is
tem pting to see in this story an attem pt to insert the heretical figure of
Kabir into the greater Hindu fold through an association w ith Ram anand.
Yet it is hard to explain why the Dadu panthis, who also claim spiritual
136 For a discussion of this issue and the manuscript evidence, see Lorenzen, (1991) pp. 73-83.
137I visited a math (center) of the Niranjani panth in Banaras situated between Assi and Harischandra
ghats (steps leading down to the river), but could gain little useful information concerning the early
origins of the panth or its important texts today. Marijuana appeared to be their major sacrament.
138 Mark Tully, longtime correspondent for the B BC in India, writes in his recent book No Full Stops in
India of a visit to the 1988 Kumbh Mela at Allahabad, where he draws a contrast between the extremes
he found among the various groups of sadhus at that largest of Hindu gatherings. Significantly, the
Kabir panth is present, and Tully contrasts their ecumenical spirit and demeanor with the tantric rages of
the Niranjani akhSras.
76
descent from R am an an d 139, would want to excise the story unless they
knew it to be a fabrication. The position of the story at the beginning of
the work, where m ost textual mischief takes place, m akes the story more
suspect.
W hat is certain is th at for a successful assim ilation of K abir into
Hinduism, particularly as a Muslim, he must have a Hindu guru. In Indian
tradition, for spiritual progress to occur, a guru is essential. The principle
of guru/shishya (teacher/student) relationship underlies not only the
concept of the path to the spirit, but to m astery in any field of education or
training. Of course, it also bolsters the higher position of the brahmans in
society, secure in th eir role as teachers. W ithout the guru/shishya
relationship, the w hole house of cards can collapse, or at least that is the
fear of the brahm ans. Those great figures who have broken the mold and
established heterodox traditions, notably the Buddha and Mahavir, have at
tim es alm ost brought down the brahmanicai structure. Kabir's appeal is to
the same audience as those figures, those at the bottom , those most
disenchanted with the system. If Kabir has no guru, why should others
have one? Although Kabir extols the company of sants, he never mentions
belonging to a specific group or having a particular guru. Although he
often uses the term guru in his verses, it seems to refer to the ultimate
vehicle of enlightenm ent and transformation itself and not to a human
being. If K abir has no guru and belongs to no sect, then why should
anyone becom e a R am anandi, or a Kabir panthi?
139T w o verses attributed to Ramanand appear in the Dadu panchi collection, the Sarvangi, composed by
Dadu's disciple Rajjab.
77
As a wise m an of ill repute once said, "If you w ant to be a Buddha, you
can never be a Buddhist. If you w ant to be a Christian, you can never be a
Christ". Following this logic, if you w ant to em ulate Kabir then why
become a Kabir panthi?
It appears that K abir, though enjoying the com pany of other seekers,
found spiritual guidance through m editation on the nam e of Ram and not
from a hum an guru. The hagiographers seem to h a v e , as Vaudeville puts
it, "filled the gap" by assigning a guru to him. For nirgvn sants to have
Ram anand as a guru is alm ost a convention for their hagiographers. In the
hagiographies Kabir, Pipa, Ravidas, Sain and D hanna all have R am anand
for a guru. This m akes the stories more convincing in the telling, but
makes the historical argum ent less plausible.
The present-day R am anandi sampradaya is happy to accept the
connection. The R am anandis have recently built a new math at
Panchganga Ghat, w here Kabir’s initiation takes place in the Kabir story.
M ah ant Ram N aresh A charya views Ram anand as the greatest guru of the
m edieval period, and suggests that Ram anand responded to the tim es by
teaching in the vernacular and accepting low -castes and women as
disciples. This would have been quite revolutionary . "Actually, there is
no Kabir panth," R am N aresh Acharya says. "He never said to build a
tem ple to him . He w as against this hypocrisy." The m ahant is content to
have others see K abir as a disciple of R am anand, but not to see him as
separate or more im portant than Ramanand.
In the next story K abir weaves cloth and chants the name of God (Hari
in the Anantdas and R aghavdas accounts). In the bazaar to sell the cloth,
R eprod u ced with permission o f the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
78
Hari (Vishnu), in disguise, begs K abir for the cloth. Kabir gives all he has
to him .140 Hiding himself in em barassm ent, he does not return hom e for
three days. M eanwhile, at home, his m other, his wife and his son go
hungry. Taking pity on Kabir, God brings supplies of jaggeri (brow n
sugar), w heat and ghee (clarified butter) to Kabir's house. T hey find
Kabir and bring him home.
Kabir then decides to hold a feast fo r the sants, mostly low -castes.
W hen the brahm ans hear of this, they becom e angry and go to Kabir's
house to dem and their share. But by this tim e Kabir has already g iven all
of the food away. In a reprise of this story, Kabir says that he w ill go and
bring food for them , but runs off and hides again. Hari appears as Kabir,
and distributes food and pan (betel nut) to the brahmans, who go aw ay
happily.141
This is a tale told of many sants. It shows the young Kabir's spirit of
non-attachm ent to m aterial goods, and his selfless devotion to the poor and
needy. It also shows disregard for Kabir's fam ily, who suffer from his
generosity to others. Earlier models fo r this type of story are abundant in
Indian oral and literary tradition, including the holy man V isvantara, who
even gives his wife away142, and the Buddha in previous incarnations, who
starving anim als to ea t him.
l40In the Anantdas account the cloth is given to God (Hari) himself. Kabir Paracbai section 2: 4,
Lorenzen (1991). p. 96. In Mahipati in place of the god Hari. Kabir gives his cloth to both a poor
brahman and a Muslim holy man.
14lIn Nabhadas other practitioners of bhakti bring the food, which Kabir immediately recognizes as
Hari’s lila (play).
142Forthis story see Basham (1954), p. 287.
79
But this story is important, as it provides the context and sets up the
internal dynamic that gives the entire Kabir narrative its p ow er.143 The
narrative tells that Kabir is a w eaver, that he lives in Kashi (Banaras), and
that he has a family. More im portantly, a clear picture em erges of the
hostility that existed betw een brahm ans and the sants, with the brahmans
eag er to ensure that their caste based rights and privileges rem ain
respected. We also learn that K abir and the sants present an alternative
path to the brahmanic m odel, and that, of course, God is on their side. In
this story the power im balance betw een the brahm ans and the lower
classes is clearly delineated, and this theme is repeated throughout the
rem ainder of the narrative.
It is important to note that some later Kabir panthi accounts of this tale
either om it the story altogether,144 or soften its strong anti-brahm anical
stance. Although brahmans have often been the butt of jokes throughout
Indian literary tradition, this story was clearly aimed at the low-caste
groups attracted to sects like the Ramanandis, or the Dadu and Kabir
panths. There is a strong triumph of the underdog m otif present in this
story which continues throughout the narrative.
In the next story, in an attem pt to shrug off some of the popularity that
has come his way, Kabir visits the home of a prostitute. Going out on the
streets with his arm around her, people see Kabir drinking w hat appears to
be to be liquor. Everyone ridicules Kabir, using this incident as proof that
low -caste persons can never becom e good bhaktas. Kabir enters the court
143It should be remembered that, in the Dadu panthi version of the Kabir Paracbai, this story makes up
the first chapter of the narrative. and not the story of Kabir's initiation by Ramanand. It makes sense
that this chapter would set the stage for what is to come.
144Brahm alinamuni, Param anand ad as, see also Lorenzen (1991), p. 29.
80
of the king, who once g reatly respected him. But, after drinking with the
prostitute, the king ignores and criticizes him.
Of course, the authors of the tale are careful to te ll th eir audience that
Kabir is just putting on a show for the people. A gain assuming the role of
trickster, Kabir has not slept with the prostitute, and it is not wine he has
been drinking but holy w a te r.145
While this story is itself unique, and appears to occur only in the Kabir
narrative, sim ilar them es occur elsewhere in the literature of the sants. In
the hagiography of Dadu by Jan Gopal, the author refers to this story, and
uses it as an apologia for Dadu's own low caste status. Jan Gopal claims
that Dadu spends his tim e with the low-caste dhuniyas (cotton carders) not
because he is one him self (which he appears to have been), but in order to
deflect attention from him self.146
The underlying them e, central to the low-caste ideology presented by
Kabir and the other sants, is that appearances are deceiving. A m an or
woman m ay seem to be a low-caste and to exhibit low ways, but this
external view fails to rev ea l the holiness within. K abir dem onstrates his
spiritual pow er in the following miracle story, in which K abir saves the
pandit of Jagannath.
While in disgrace a t the court of the king in B anaras, K abir pours the
w ater that people thought was liquor upon his feet. In answering why he
has done this, Kabir am azes the gathering. He explains th at a panda
(priest) at the famous tem ple of Jagannath Puri in O rissa has smashed a pot
of boiling rice on his fe e t, and Kabir has m iraculously cooled his feet and
145Lorenzen (1991), pp. 29-30.

146Callewaert (1988), p.42, verse 3.1.
81
saved them from being severely burned by spilling the water in Banaras.
Doubting Kabir's story, messengers are sent by the king to the tem ple at
Jagannath Puri, m any days journey away. W hen they arrive, the panda
confirms the account, saying that Kabir him self poured the w ater on his
feet and saved him . The messengers return to Banaras with the story, and
the king im m ediately runs to apologize to Kabir. In doing so the king
abases him self by carrying an axe and a bundle of straw.
Again, in addition to being a m iracle story, the story reiterates the
theme of the futility and worthlessness of caste and class differentiation.
The king, in order to w in Kabir's forgiveness, enacts a role reversal by
carrying the axe and straw of an humble laborer. Kabir tells him to throw
down the straw, saying, "For me there is no question of either hatred or
love, nor any difference between king and com m oner."147 Lorenzen
suggests that ev en the role the prostitute plays in this story is reversed, in
that she is in this instance a chaste w om an.148
In the story above, Kabir already knows the king of Banaras. To
apologize for having misjudged Kabir, the king must show his devotion to
the low-caste m ystic. But to further prove the extent of Kabir's spiritual
abilities he m ust m e et the most powerful tem poral figure of the tim e , in
this case the Sultan Sikander Lodi (d. 1512).149
The hagiographers demonstrate a saint's importance through his
success in debate with other important religious leaders. In the same
147Lorenzen (1991), p. 30, from KabirParacbai of Anantdas verse 6: 2.

148Lorenzen (1991), p. 32.
149No evidence exist of a meeting between Kabir and Sikander Lodi. It is known, however, that
Sikander did visit Banaras, and that he known for his opposition to those who deviated from orthodox
Islam. For more on this see Haig (1928), in A Cambridge History o f India, p. 240.
82
manner, contact with the court and kings allows religious and popular
figures to gain credence in the minds of the people. Examples of this
phenom enon are the tales of Birbal, the brahm an advisor to the M ughal
em peror A kbar whose stories are popular throughout India today.
But such an am icable association cannot work for m any of those saints
whose popularity lies in their reformist positions, which place them outside
the religious m ainstream of the period. Such figures, as is the case with
Kabir, still b enefit from their contact with powerful men, often through
encounters involving conflict with them.
During a tour of his domains, Sultan Sikander comes to B anaras. By
now Kabir, through his apostasy from both the Brahmans and the ka zis
(orthodox Muslim spiritual leaders), has incurred the wrath of both. The
arrival of Sultan Sikander presents Kabir's opponents with just the
opportunity they have been waiting for. Even Kabir's aggrieved m other
joins in the appeal. Petitioning the sultan, the Brahmans and m ullas
(Muslim priests) claim that people do n ot respect their positions in society
as long as K abir is teaching the path of bhakti in Banaras. This them e,
present in all of the stories above, now reaches its fullest expression.
K abir is summoned before Sikander. But, entering his p rese n ce, Kabir
refuses to bow before the Sultan. Enraged, Sikander attempts three tim es
to have K abir killed. First, Kabir is bound with heavy chains and tossed
into the G anga. But he escapes unharm ed. Next, the Sultan has him ,
depending on the account, imprisoned in a house which he orders set on
83
fire l5°, or put into a pot of boiling w ater151. In either c a se , he again

escapes unharmed. Finally, the Sultan orders him throw n in front of an
enraged elephant to trample him.. This time God (Hari) appears in the
form of a lion betw een Kabir and the elephant. The elep h an t does not
attack Kabir and, in some accounts, even bows down before him . At this
point Sikander gives up and recognizes the spiritual greatness of Kabir.
The sultan bows before the julaha., who had refused to bow before him.
This type of story is common among the hagiographies of the North
Indian sants. N anak w atches the sack of Saidpur by Babur, and Dadu
m eets the Mughal em peror Akbar. In Dadu's case there is historical
evidence of the meeting. Not so in the case of Kabir. Although there are
historical records of Sikander Lodi's reign, they contain no m ention of
either Kabir or of Lodi's visit to Banaras. He did, how ever, reach nearby
Jaunpur, a place associated with Kabir, so there is a chance th at an
encounter between the two took place. But providing historical fact is not
the function of this story in the K abir narrative. The function is to have
the m ost powerful figure in the land bow down before the hum ble weaver.
It adds to Kabir's stature that he could arouse the wrath of som eone so
im portant. The m iracles Kabir displays in escaping Sikander's
persecutions demonstrate his spiritual powers which are ultim ately greater
than the temporal powers the em peror wields. Again, in the case of
Kabir's encounter with Sikander Lodi, historical truth is superseded by the
150Anantdas, Kabir Paracbai.

151 Nirbhayajnan.
84
requisites of sacred biography, a popular truth that fits an established

hagiographic pattern.
The Nirbhayajn.au and the Kabir Manshur accounts feature slightly
different versions, w herein Sikander arrives in B anaras suffering from a
fever and headache. The ru ler asks if anyone in the a re a is capable of
curing him. The sultan is im m ediately referred to K abir, who comes and
effects an im m ediate cure. In these versions of the story, Sikander is
sym pathetic to Kabir at the beginning. But, ultim ately, the ministrations
of the brahm ans and ka zis (M uslim priests), and in particular, Sikander's
own religious adviser, Sheikh T aki, force Sikander to punish Kabir. The
figure of Sheikh Taki is an interesting and even perplexing one. Although
som etim es seen as a teach er of K abir152, more often he appears as he does
in these accounts, as a m alicious adversary of Kabir. L orenzen notes that
la ter K abir panthi interpretations of Kabir's life, which often display a
m arked shift in the direction of Vaishnav Hinduism, h av e turned the figure
of Sheikh Taki into that of the arch-enemy of Hinduism, the evil Muslim
k a z i.153
Both the Granthavail and the Guru Granth collections of Kabir's verse
contain an interesting p a d (verse) that refers to the story of Kabir's trials at
the hands of Sikander Lodi:
ftcJT 35fT STftSTt I

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152Westcoct (1953), pp. 39-41.

133Lorenzen (1991), p. 35.
85
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If the soul stands firm ,

can the body trem ble?
My souid rem ained absorbed
in his lotus feet.
Deep, fathom less

is the holy Ganga:
On its bank, in chains,
Kabir was m ade to stand.
The waves of the G anga

broke off his chains
154Guru Granth, Gaund 4, From Varma (1966), p. 167.
86
and Kabir em erged seated

on a deer skin.
Says Kabir,
neither com panion nor escort have I:
On land or in water, my sole Protector
is the Lord.
O Yon, m y Lord,
the strength is Yours:
In vain did th at Qazi shout:
'Let loose the elephant!'
Arms bound, I was cast down like a ball,

whilst to infuriate the beast
they b eat him on the head.
But he ran away, that elephant, trum peting loud:

to that holy beast, I pay my hom age!
'O M ahant! I'll cut off your head!'

Apply the goad
and m ake him run forward!'
But the elephant won't m ove,

he is in deep meditation,
for in his h ea rt dwells the Lord.
W hat harm had he done, that holy m an,

to be thrown like a bundle
before the elephant's feet?
The elephant pays homage to the bundle-

but even then the Qazi, in his blindness,
understands not!
T hree tim es did the Qazi repeat the test:

so hardened was his heart,
87
he could not believe!
Says Kabir: O my Govind!

You keep the soul of your devotees
on the Highest stage.155
This verse represents an interesting example of how hagiographical

accounts composed after the death of K abir can rebound into the accepted
corpus of his verse. Logical and historical inconsistencies are irrelevant.
The story is reinforced by casting it in poetic form attributed to Kabir. The
story is thereb y invested with the authority of Kabir himself.
In the n ex t story the brahmans devise a plan to ruin K abir’s reputation.
Disguising them selves as sants, with beads and forehead m arks, they
spread over the land and invite sants and sadbus to a feast g iv en by Kabir.
Kabir, m e an w h ile, knows nothing of this. When the guests begin to arrive,
in w hat is by now a fam iliar th e m e, K abir runs away and hides, allowing
for the entrance of God.
The num ber of guests was so g re a t th at camps arose along the banks of
the G a n g e s in m uch the same w ay as m ela s (festivals) of sadbus occur
today. God (Keshab) appears, this tim e in the form of m any different
Kabirs. The food is abundant and the feast continues for several days.
E ventually K abir himself returns and m eets his guests.
This story again sets up the opposition between the low -caste sant Kabir
and the brahm ans. Kabir's popularity threatens the traditional status and
respect accorded to them. This them e displays the central thrust of the
155Granthavall2:23, Guru Grantb Gaund 4. from Vaudeville (1993), pp. 211-212.
88
bhakti m ovem ent itself, within which even low -caste persons, including
w om en, m ay strive for personal connections w ith the divine and achieve
recognition for their spiritual achievements by the m asses.
The story also reprises the them e of intervention by God to save Kabir
from an otherwise difficult and embarrassing situation, which could have
resulted in the brahmans' goal of ruining his reputation. Again, this direct
intervention reflects Kabir's spiritual power and achievem ents. But it also
serves the vital function of linking Kabir narratively with the popular
Hindu pantheon. Although the names used for the deity vary in different
versions of this story156, the purpose of the stories is the same. The gods
honor and accept Kabir. Kabir is a great sant who exhibits elements of the
divine within him. But without the support of the popular deities, and
Vishnu in particular, he cannot earn a place in the hearts of the people. In
this sense these hagiographical stories provide a glance at the religious
environm ent of the times. In his verses K abir strives for a nirgun.
conception of God, rejecting by name the popular pantheon. He is
nonetheless, from even the tim e of the earliest accounts, pulled back into
the system he seem ingly rejects. Hinduism continues to assimilate
heterodox elem ents today.157 But it is vital to note the significant shift
b etw een the earlier accounts and later K abir p an th i accounts, in which
K abir is clearly asserted to be superior to the puranic deities, to whom he
personally gives instruction and teachings, and who concede and recognize
156Hari, Keshab, etc.

157 For an excellent example of how recent religious and political figures have been coopted by the
’’Great Tradition" of Hinduism, please see Shahid Amin, "Gandhi as Mahatma", in Selected Subaltern
Studies, ed. by Guha and Spivak, (Oxford: Oxford University Press) 1988, pp. 288-348.
89
Kabir's superiority. Y et, even in the early accounts, K abir has the
attention of the gods, who test him
Kabir's m oral ch aracter by is tested by Hari (Vishnu), who sends an
apsara (celestial m aiden) to tem pt Kabir. Kabir steadfastly refuses the
advances of the celestial beauty, claiming that his h eart belongs only to
Ram (Hari). E ventually she returns to heaven and informs Hari of Kabir's
actions, or, more accurately, non-actions. Hari is thus convinced of
Kabir's spiritual earnestness. In reward Vishnu grants Kabir darshan (a
vision) of his full m ajestic form.
This type of story abounds in Indian literature, and contains two m ajor
them es. The first revolves around an ascetic gaining such spiritual repute
that he attracts the attention of the deity. This goes back to antecedents in
the stories of ascetics whose Capas (austerities) cause the god Indra's
throne to h eat up.158 T he implication is that others whose spiritual pow er is
greater m ay overthrow the god themselves through their austerities. To
avoid this the gods respond by severely tempting and testing the ascetics in
order to destroy the fruits of their tapas. The authors avoid the suggestion
of a rivalry betw een K abir and Vishnu through Kabir's claim that his h ea rt
is only with the deity. This type of story fits a genre fam iliar to the Indian
audience. Affairs b etw een courtesans and ascetics occur frequently in
Indian literature. The pow er of these stories lies in the essential tension
betw een worldly desire and the quest for the spiritual. They also
represent a potential union of social polar opposites, one who loves, y e t is
shunned by society, another who is respected but who shuns society.
1S8At the time of Kabir's death. Indra offers him his throne. Anantdas 13:8.
90
The second them e lies with Kabir's rew ard, a vision of the deity in his
full form. Although seemingly out of place in a legend concerning a
nirgun sant, this them e is also fam iliar to Indian audiences, most notably in
Krishna's rev elatio n of himself to A rjuna in the Bhagavad-Gita on the
battlefields of Kurukshetra. The description of the iconographic features
of the deity in the context of a story about Kabir links the the sane and the
deity irrevocably in the listener's mind. In one sense, through the
connection of K abir with the image of the deity, Kabir becomes Vishnu in
this tale. The easiest way in the V aishnav tradition to deify Kabir is to
portray him as an avatar (incarnation) of Vishnu himself.
According to the hagiographies Kabir lived in Banaras throughout m ost
of his life. Banaras has, since time im m em orial, been renowned as the
holiest of cities in India and, in turn, one of the holiest lands in the world.
Banaras, m oreover, is a place where the old and the sick come to die, for
Hindus believe th at those who die within the holy precincts of the city w ill
im m ediately g ain m oksha, release from the karm ic cycle of death and
rebirth.159 Yet, w hen Kabir realizes th at his end is near, he instead
chooses to trav el to Magahar, located outside Gorakhpur. As a famous
sabda from the B ijak relates:
People, you are fools!

As w ater m ixes with water,
so will K abir mix with earth.
159For more on the sacred city of Banaras see Diana Eck (1982), Banaras: City of L ig h t, New York:
Knopf.
91
If you are a true scholar of M ithiia160.

why don't you go and die in M agahar?
Dying in M agahar, one becom es an ass, they say:

So, have you lost faith in Ram ?
Dying in M agahar, you won't know death,
dying elsew here, you'll put Ram to shame.
W hat is K ash i?161 What is the w asteland of M agahar

if R am dw ells in m y heart?
If K abir dies in Kashi,
w hat honour w ill he bring to R am ?162
Kabir's point is obvious. Just as the practice of pilgrim age to holy sites
is fruitless, so is death at Kashi. To prove the point Kabir le av es Banaras
to die at M agahar.
In India, perhaps m ore than in any other culture, the concept of place
holds g reat spiritual im portance.163 Some locations are auspicious, others
function in a reverse m anner. Some are inhabited by m alevolent demons.
For Kabir to leav e Banaras to die is to violate, and by so doing abnegate,
this conception, prized by Indian society.
Yet this is n o t the only opposition in the tale. Again the M uslim/Hindu
split that defines K abir in the hearts of the people is central to the story’s
impact. A fter Kabir's death at M agahar, this crucial tension in the K abir
I6°rhe city of Mithiia. in present day Bihar, was reknowned as place for pandits to receive classical
brahmanic education.
l6lKashi is an ancient, yet still well known, name for Banaras, which has yet another modern name.
Varanasi.
162 Bljak, sab da 103, translation from Vaudeville (1993), p. 160.
163For more on the importance of the place, or site (sthana) in Indian culture see Stella Kramrisch (1981),
The Presence o f Shiva .
92
story is in the the forefront of a dispute over the proper m an n er in which to

dispose of Kabir's remains. According to their respective traditions,
Hindus wish to cremate the body, while Muslims favor burial. Mourners
cover the body with flowers. Y et w hen they search b eneath the flowers,
Kabir's body has miraculously disappeared! The Hindus and Muslims
divide the flowers and dispose of them in place of the m issing body of
Kabir. The Hindus crem ate the flowers while the Muslims bury them.
In this final story, included in all of the early accounts, the two central
them es of the Kabir narrative are stressed by the hagiographers. Kabir is
portrayed as a debunker of religious superstition on the p a rt of both Hindus
and Muslims, and the story underlines the senselessness of religious
divisions.
This is one of the most widely known stories about Kabir. This tale is a
perfect exam ple of how the hagiographers of various N orth Indian sants
borrow freely from each other. It reappears later as the la s t episode in the
hagiography of Guru Nanak.
This chapter has presented and analyzed the content of the earliest
accounts of Kabir's life, representing the core of the K abir hagiographical
narrative. They serve as the basis for all future accounts of Kabir, and are
w ell known to adherents of the other nirgun santpanths. T hese stories
rem ain relevant to their Indian audience today. Surprisingly, the earliest
extant accounts do not derive from spiritual lineages directly connected to
Kabir. Rather, they were w ritten by followers of other sects and panths.
The authors Anantdas and N abhadas were both m em bers of the
R am anandi sampradaya, which benefits from an association th at
93
acknow ledges Ram an and as Kabir's guru. Raghavdas was a m em ber of

the Dadu panth who include K abir as a member of their own lineage from
R am anand, and who have clearly based Dadu's own hagiography upon the
K abir account. No texts as early as these exist which derive from the
K abir panthi tradition. Because of the lack of such texts the origins of the
K abir panth remain a m ystery. In the seventeenth century, however, a
num ber of Kabir panthi accounts were written which greatly enlarge upon
the lim ited narrative of his life contained in the accounts examined in this
chapter. Radically different in tone and cosmology, they represent a
unique and sharp variance from the paths taken by any of the other nirgun
bhakti panths.
94
CHAPTER FOUR
LATER ACCOUNTS OF KABIR
The previous chapter reviewed the earliest hagiographic accounts of

Kabir in the works of Anantdas, N abhadas and Priyadas. These narratives
contain the core of the Kabir narrative. This chapter will examine th e
later accounts of Kabir and discuss the changes which have taken p la ce in
the tale over tim e. These changes by no m eans reflect an em pirically
"true" historical reality. Rather, the story becom es more fantastic as it
grows. It becom es more complex and less internally consistent, as n ew er
accretions to the narrative reflect changing views of the Kabir panth and
the Kabir panthi authors. The later accounts of Kabir's life reveal m uch
about the religious, social and historical context in which their authors
composed them. They provide substantial inform ation on the evolution of
the Kabir panth and the changing audience to whom their authors speak.
The later accounts of Kabir display a notable shift towards Sanskritization
and orthodoxy w ithin the larger Hindu com m unity.164
There are few changes in the fairly consistent narrative of the e a rly
accounts of K abir until the emergence of the various branches of the K abir
panth. The origins of this panth are unknown to historians today. O nly
through the various hagiographical accounts that have been passed dow n
us by the Kabirpanth can historians attem pt to reconstruct the history of the
sect which bears K abir’s name.
164see Lorenzen (1981), “The Kabir Panth: Heretics to Hindus". in Religious Change and Cultural
Domination. Mexico: El Colegio de Mexico, pp. 151-71.
95
In the Kabir panthi accounts there is no longer a question of occasional

interpolations and changes to the original core of the K abir legend. The
accretions them selves dominate the hagiographies. The K abir of the early
accounts becom es but a small p art of an expanded cosmology. The
previous stories now are viewed as just those events that took place during
the 14th incarnation of satpurush (K abir as the ultimate). The earliest
stories told by Anantdas and N abhadas are now submerged in a sea of
miraculous tales of Kabir's past and future incarnations.165 T he la ter
accounts of K abir shed light on the changing nature of the K abir panth as it
moves tow ards a degree of g reater independence from the m ore orthodox
Vaishnav sects while sim ultaneously seeking their acceptance.
The texts I have used as sources for this chapter are the Anuragsagar
(date and author unknown), the K abir Manshur of P aram anandadas (1887),
the S at K abir M ah apuran (1977) , by M ahant Sukrit Das B arari, the
Sadguru srikavira caritam of Brahm alinamuni (1960) and the K abir Jivan
Caritr of G angasharan Shastri (1976). All of these accounts w ere
published during this century, the Kabir Manshur apparently serving as the
model for the others. This is no m inor point. As the previous oral and
m anuscript traditions give w ay to published media, factions of the Kabir
panth are able to employ these new m edia in the prom ulgation of their own
sectarian or factional concerns. The Dharamdasi branch of the K abir
panth has published most of the im portant literature of the p a n th , thus
g aining an e nhanced degree of tex tu al authority.
165While arguable, it is possible to compare the evolution of these stories with the development of the
Jataka tales in Buddhism and the corpus of stories that accompanied the emergence o f Mahayana
Buddhism.
96
These tales greatly expand on the core presented in the previous

chapter. As accurate historical data on the life of K abir they are woefully
inadequate. For insights into the concerns of the early K abir panth,
how ever, they are a gold m ine of information. T hey also provide us with
an invaluable picture of the social and religious m ilieu of the centuries in
which they were composed (1 7 -19th centuries). For exam ple, we can
discern, through the historical figures that occur in these tales, the major
rivals, as well as allies, that the nineteenth and tw entieth cemntury panth
perceived in their im m ediate religious environment. W e can also identify
sectarian splits within the early K abir panth. Increasing pressure from the
orthodox brahm anical structure begins to have effects upon the earlier
stories, and we begin to see the influence of Sanskritization in the changes
m ade.
Stories are altered in order to "improve" upon some of the less
acceptable elements contained w ithin the early versions of the Kabir
narrative. Increasing deification of Kabir becomes obvious, even explicit.
In these later versions of the narrative, Kabir is gradually elevated above
the status of a holy m an or saint. He becomes increasingly depicted in
puranic fashion as an avatar (incarnation) of the divine.
The narrative becom es g reatly expanded, and through these accounts
K abir becomes linked with virtually every religious figure in world history
known to the authors. Of m ore interest to the historian, he is also matched
in stories with m any of the im portant political rulers of the tim e, on both a
pan-Indian and local level. Finally, an elaborate theology emerges,
created by the Kabir panth, w hich places Kabir in the role of paramatma,
97
or suprem e soul, who assumes the role of prim e m over of the universe, to
whom all other gods are subservient.
The first of the K abir Panthi accounts of K abir is the Anvragsagar,
which appears to date from the late eighteenth or early nineteenth century.
It represents a radical departure from the early hagiographical accounts
outlined in the previous chapter. The A nvragsagar describes in detail the
elaborate cosmology that remains central to the beliefs of the Kabir panth
today. Very different from anything created by other panths such as the
Dadu panth or the Sikhs, the Anvragsagar outlines the scope of Kabir's
powers as master of the universe, the supreme deity. Although the author
of the tex t remains unknown, it is clear that b y the tim e of its creation the
Kabir panth had developed a collective identity that m arked them as an
increasingly independent sect within the w ider fram ew ork of Vaishnav
Hinduism.
T heK abir M anshvr (1887) is a lengthy volum e, also issued in abridged
form, attributed to Param anandadas. It is a product of the Dharamdasi
sect, who are responsible for the vast m ajority of Kabir panthi literature.
An im portant text for the Dharamdasis, this volum e represents the m ost
extended version of Kabir's mythology. An interesting aspect of this
creative account is th at both the long and short versions of the Kabir
M anshvr were translated from an original w ritten in Urdu in 1887. D avid
Swain, a fellow graduate student working on K abir, has identified a
m icrofilm copy of this Urdu original in the collections of the University of
Chicago. It would m ake a fascinating study to com pare the Hindi and
Urdu versions of the Kabir Manshvr. The long version (over 1355 pages),
98
translated by M adhavacharya, was published by the Lakshm ivenkateshvar

Steam Press of Bombay. Although the first publishing date of this volume
is unknown, the te x t used in this study was printed in 1984.
The Kabir M anshur raises the story of Kabir to the status of a full
cosmology, with Kabir, in his previous incarnations, appearing in all of the
previous yu g s (Hindu eras). In these incarnations Kabir m eets with and
gives teachings to such important religious figures as N anak (1469-1539),
the founder of the Sikh tradition, the nath yogi Gorakhnath (10-12th
centuries) and various figures from puranic and western religious
traditions.
The Sadguru srikavlra caritam (1960), composed by Brahm aiinam uni,
is an interesting text, the verses of w hich are in Sanskrit with a Hindi
commentary. This recasting of the K abir narrative in Sanskrit clearly
demonstrates the desire on the part o f segments of the m odern K abir panth
to gain greater acceptance within the greater Vaishnav fold. This
rendering of the K abir narrative also reveals Brahmalinamuni's rath er
conservative views concerning caste and Islam. Brahm aiinam uni views
Kabir as a full avatar (incarnation) o f Vishnu.166 It is ironic th at this
version uses Sanskrit, the language of the brahmans rejected by K abir
himself, to bring the presumed authority of orthodoxy to the K abir story.
The Kabir JIvan Caritr( 1976), by G angasharan Shastri, the current
M ah ant of the K abir Chaura math in Banaras, is a m odern and less
fantastic retelling of the Kabir narrative. This text represents a reaction
on the p art of its author to increased academ ic attention to the K abir story.
166Lorenzen (1991), p. 31.
99
It tends to minimalize sectarian controversy and downplays some of the

more fantastic elem ents found in such works as the Kabir Manshur.
The S a t Kabir Mahapuran (1977), by M ahant Sukrit Das B arari, is one
of the m ost recent versions of the Kabir narrative. In this chapter I include
several examples from this text. It represents an excellent exam ple of the
hagiographical account of K abir accepted by the m odern K abir panth. A
further development evidenced by this text is its placem ent w ithin a
puranic form. The puranas are the repositories of the accounts of the
Hindu deities, and thus Kabir's divinity is asserted through this casting of
the K abir narrative in puranic form. This underscores the shift of the
m odern Kabir panth away from a "heretical" stance and tow ards the more
traditional and orthodox forms of V aishnav bhakti.
L et us now examine some of these later accounts and attem pt to
identify the subtexts im bedded in them. The first m ajor changes occur in
stories which tell how Kabir cam e to be adopted by the Muslim w eavers
Niru and Nima.
The early accounts of Kabir's birth state that he was of the julaha
(w eaver) caste. Even today it is commonly believed that K abir was a
Muslim who became a g reat sant and a Vaishnav. In the la te r accounts
these stories are elaborated upon and changed in order to m ake K abir
more acceptable to the g reater Hindu fold. It is believed m ore acceptable
to the Hindu population, from which the Kabir panth draws its following,
for Kabir's Muslim heritage to be played down. It is better if his natural
parents and, in some accounts, even his Muslim adoptive parents are high
100
caste brahm ans. These changes are effected through a num ber of recent
publications that include stories of Kabir's adoption.
As Lorenzen points out, there are several variants on this them e. The
first account of Kabir's adoption appears in Raghavdas' Bhaktam al (c.
1720). In the Raghavdas account Kabir is found beneath a tree by his
adoptive father, identified as a Muslim, who takes him home to his wife:
There appeared in the eastern region, the m an (jai1) Kabir,

a devotee of the Absolute without attributes (nirgun bhagat).
One day a Muslim w eaver went outside of Kashi on his w ay
somewhere. U nder a tree someone had left a child who was
calling out. The w eaver took it hom e with him and entrusted
it to his wife. All th eir clansmen w ere called, and a big
celebration was held. When Kabir had grown up, he
worshipped Ram and had no attachm ent to anything else.167
In the Kabir Panthi versions the story is further expanded. These

accounts place the adoption of Kabir at L ahar Tara, a tank outside of
Banaras, and his adoptive parents are identified by name as Niru and
Nima. In the Kabir M anshur version of this story, Niru and N im a w ere
form er brahm ans who had converted to Islam . They find the infant Kabir
floating among the lotuses in the tank and N im a, the wife, takes him home
despite the objections of h er husband Niru.
The literary style of the composition requires a brief explanation. The
story is first told, then sum m arized in a brief poetic stanza.
167Raghavdas, Bhaktamal (1965). p. 177, vs. 349. Translated in Lorenzen (1991), p. 44.
101
The julaha Niru lived in Kashi. One day he was coming

from his wedding and his wife N im a accompanied him. T hey
arrived at L ahar Tara. When they happened to pass the pond
Nima becam e thirsty and went to the tan k for some w ater.
After drinking w ater she raised her glance and gazed at the
tank. As she looked she saw a beautiful child resting upon
the petals of a lotus. Seeing the child she entered the w ater
and picked it u p , placing it in her lap. Emerging from the
w ater she w ent to Niru.
A w eaver nam ed Niru was returning from his wedding with

his wife. His w om an had great luck. She was greatly
blessed to find a boy in the w ater
Niru asked 'Whose child have you brought here?' W hen

Nima told him th a t she had found him in the tank Niru said,
P ut this boy back wherever you have brought him from. Do
you know whose boy he is?' Then his w ife said, ‘I won’t
abandon such a beautiful child.' Niru said that he would not
accept the child because people would laugh at him and
ridicule him (not believing the child w as truly adopted).
When N im a refused to listen he came out of the w ater and
was about to b e a t her. At once the boy himself spoke out,
'Hey Nima! Because of great devotion in your previous life I
have come to your household. Don't abandon me. Take me
to your house. If you will accept me as your guru and do w hat
I say, I will give you that word through which you will n ev er
again be trapped in the snare of kal (life and death) and I will
remove all of your suffering'.
Then the Sahib (Kabir) roared, T ake m e to your home. I will

give you the m essage of salvation. This is what I came to
accomplish. You were a brahm an in your previous life. But
102
you forgot me. It was due to your previous affection th at I am

revealing myself to you'.
W hen the child spoke in this way, Nima, listening to his

words, w as no longer afraid of her husband. Niru said no
m ore.
S eeing her and the child, Niru gets mad, asks h er to abandon
the child, for the entire clan will laugh at him and his fam ily
w ill rebuke him."
T h en they took the child hom e.168
In the D haram dasi accounts, produced by that section of the K abir panth
which claim s spritual authority through Kabir's disciple D haram das, Kabir
is not born through human reproduction at all. He is view ed as an avatar
of the divine, descending from a beam of light,appearing m iraculously
upon a lotus in the Lahar T ara tank:
"In V.S. 1455 (A.D. 1398-99), on the full moon day of

Jyestha (the 3rd month in the Hindu calendar), a M onday, the
light of Satpurush (the ultim ate) descended in a beam of light
from Satyalok (the realm of truth) into the Lahar tank in
K ashi. From heaven to earth, all was illum inated. A t that
tim e a V aishnava named Ashtanand was sitting by the pond.
It w as r aining. Because there was an overcast sky, darkness
h ad spread, and thunder was resounding. As soon as the light
descended into the pond, the entire body of w ater b ecam e
dazzling. The light becam e fixed over the pond. It was
b rilliant in every direction. Having seen that astonishing
168 Kabir Manshur, pp.231-32.
103
light, Ashtanand becam e wonder-struck. A t th a t tim e , the

light in the Lahar tank w as spreading. Peacocks and chukoors
were crying, birds w ere chirping, fireflies w ere m eandering
and the lotuses w ere blooming. The bees w ere humming. It
was at this m om ent th a t the light becam e fixed over the pond
Ashtanandji, w hen he com prehended that light, reported the
whole description to (his guru) Ram anand. "I w as greatly
astonished to see th at light descending from the sky and
becoming fixed over the pond. W hen the light descended into
the pond the entire pool was illuminated." H earing this
Swami Ram anand said to Ashtanand that, “T he fruit (result) of
the light which you saw w ill soon becom e know n to you. It
will have a great effect (on the world)." T hen the light,
assuming the form of a hum an male child appeared atop the
petals of a lotus floating upon the surface of the w ater. Like
all m ale children he started flailing his arms and legs. T hat
boy child, with divine beauty, appeared lovely. Subsequently,
indeed as Swami R am anand had said to A shtanand, this boy
was to have a g reat effect on the entire w orld.169
Far from m ere stylistic changes, these conflicting accounts are tak en as
serious doctrinal issues by m em bers of the K abir panth today. These
differences in interpretation continue to create problem s today. W hen a
serialized television account of Kabir's life, directed by Anil Chaudhury,
w as televised in 1987, a court case was filed at A hm edabad on behalf of a
D haram dasi group protesting the depiction of Kabir's adoption. T hey
argued that it was incorrect, ev en profane, to portray K abir as being of
hum an birth, as the K abir C haura branch of the K abir panth believes.
T hey insisted that he be depicted as an avatar of the divine. Their attem pt
169Kabir Manshvr, pp. 258-59.
104
to halt the serial w as unsuccessful, but proves the currency of such

distinctions in the m inds of members of the Kabir panth today.170
Avatars are com m only associated w ith Vishnu, and through this device,
Kabir rises above hum an status to becom e an incarnation of the divine. In
an ironic refutation of Kabir's own strictly nirgun. bhakti stan ce, such
changes in the narrative accounts bring K abir into the realm of a puranic
deity him self, with an ever expanding m ythology, if not established
iconographic features and images.
This last, w ell developed account is one of the most interesting. Kabir
is now fully divine, the fourteenth incarnation in the Kali Yug (era) of
Satpucush (True Being). Before Kabir appears from the light of
Satpurush, the stage is set, the flowers bloom and the birds begin to sing.171
The site of his appearance from divine light is identified as the L ahar tank,
and the event is observed by a holy m an. It is typical in Indie literature
that g reat events be foretold or observed by a sage, in this case Ashtanand.
Significantly, A shtanand a is identified as a Vaishnav whose guru is
Ram anand. This device establishes from the outset a relationship
betw een K abir and R am anand, traditionally regarded as his guru. Kabir's
links with V aishnav tradition are also stressed. In later accounts, the
death of Ram anand is recounted, and, after Kabir himself declines,
Ashtananda is appointed to be the spiritual successor to R am anand.172
In the last chapter we discussed how, in the case of Kabir's encounter
with the Sultan Sikander Lodi, identification of the sant (holy m an) with
170India Today, June 30, 1987, p .164, Hindustani, June 20, 1987, p. 5.
171This is also a common convention in Indie literature. For an excellent example see Kali Dasa’s
Kumara-sambhava.
172Kabir Jivan Caritr, p.63-65.
105
the supreme political leader of the tim e lends status and recognition to the
sant. In the la te r accounts Kabir m eets with a variety of lesser known
local kings and governors as well. In addition to these political figures,
Kabir m ust also m eet with im portant religious leaders of his tim e whose
names w ere known to the audience for whom these stories w ere intended.
When I say, "of the tim e", it should be clear that this is not historic time.
In m ost cases these "meetings with rem arkable men" could not have
actually occurred. They nonetheless fulfill the functional requirem ents of
the hagiographic process as perceived by their authors. In the case of the
Kabir M anshur , Paramanandadas goes so far as to have Kabir m eet with
such diverse and culturally disparate religious figures as the Buddha,
M uhammad, Jesus and even Moses. Little regard is paid to the
geographical or chronological possibility of these encounters actually
having taken place. But who cares? Once again, these authors are
engaged in a myth making process; not writing history. Much as in a
m odern-day Hindi film, everything is possible within this type of narrative
framework. A nod is given, how ever, to those who do take such issues
into consideration. Through such devices as meetings which take place in
Kabir's past lifetim es, or by m eans of m eetings with Kabir's astral body,
which can appear anywhere in space and tim e at will, to the devout such
historical considerations are rendered irrelevant.
In essence, the inclusion of these m eetings in Kabir panchi texts is about
power. T h ey are intrinsically about establishing and affirming, in the
minds of the listeners or readers, Kabir's spiritual authority over the figures
he m eets. W h at is significant about the stories of these encounters is that
106
they present us with a vivid picture of the religious forces at work during
the period of their creation. T hey inform us clearly as to who the Kabir
panth saw as competitors for religious followers. Thus, they delineate the
dom inant religious trends prevalent at the tim e. T hey also provide the
historian with valuable inform ation about the lo cal political and religious
leaders of the period in the area surrounding B anaras. Let's look at a few
of these stories.
In addition to the account of Kabir's encounter with Sikander Lodi
included in the previous chapter, Kabir's traditional biographies contain
m any other accounts of his m eetings with other im portant political figures
of the time. Prom inent among these are R aja Bir Singh, Bijali Khan
P athan and M uhammad 'ud Daula.
Several of the m ost significant stories concerning Kabir's m eetings with
political authorities and rulers revolve around Kabir's relationship with
R aja Bir Singh Baghel. R aja Bir Singh appears in the hagiographical
narratives variously as the R aja of either Banaras or Bagheikhand, an area
south of Banaras nam ed for the family. One of the areas known to have
been given to R aja Bir Singh, presumably by the M ughal emperor Babur,
is the fort at Bandhogarh.173 This is important because Bandhogarh is said
to be the home of Dharmadas, the most im portant of Kabir's disciples, and
thus an early connection betw een the Kabir panth and the region can be
established from an early date. Lorenzen (1991) has identified R aja Bir
Singh as a historical figure, and has used this legendary association as
support for his dating of K abir174. Since accounts of R aja Bir Singh and
173 Lorenzen (1991), p. 15.

174Lorenzen(1991), pp. 14-18.
107
Kabir appear as far back as the earliest know n K abir narrative, the K abir
Parachai of A nantdas, the connection seem s historically quite plausible.
It also appears evident th a t the Baghel fam ily were for several generations
supporters, if not m em bers, of the Kabir Panth.
While the connection of R aja Bir Singh with Baghelkhand is more
likely, we can see how placing him as the R a ja of Banaras works b etter in
terms of narrative structure, and he appears as such in several of these
accounts.
One of the m ost im portant, and certainly the most cited of the
Kabir/Raja Bir Singh accounts is the following:
Once R aja Bir Singh asked K abir to spend a few days with
him in the deep forest. Kabir agreed and, along with a host of
the king's attendants, journeyed to the forest. They m arched
on and on and soon lost their way. T h ey were extrem ely tired
and thirsty from th eir long and arduous journey. They were
tired and could n ot march on. They stopped in the forest to
rest for a while and began a desperate search for water. The
king sent his attendants and soldiers in every direction but to
no avail. The m en and the animals in the king's party were
out of breath and w ere dying for lack of food and water.
Then K abir m iraculously created a pond surrounded by an
orchard a short distance to the north. K abir asked the king to
send his m en in th a t direction to look for w ater. The king said
that he was w ell acquainted with th at place and t h a t , since
there w ere only b arren hills and m ountains to the north, any
chance of finding w ater there was futile. But the king's
m inister who w as accompanying them urged him to follow
Kabir's advice. T he king also did n o t w ant to ignore Kabir's
advice and so he sent his m en to the north. To their surprise
108
they saw a pond of fresh water surrounded by an orchard full

of fruits. T h ey ate the fruits, drank the w ater and w ere
satisfied. The k i n g expressed his gratitude by prostrating
before Kabir.
Kabir told the king that he had to return to Kashi (B anaras)
and was read y to depart. No sooner did Kabir turn his back
on them th an the pond and orchard vanished, leaving behind a
trail of billowing dust and dirt. Now the king understood that
it was K abir who had saved their lives by providing them with
fruit and w ate r in the forest. He then asked Kabir to
accom pany him to his palace and Kabir agreed. A t the
palace the king narrated the entire incident to his queen. The
king expressed his desire to become Kabir's disciple. K abir
accepted him and gave him a string which signified initiation
into Kabir's sect.175
Another story included in the Sat Kabir Mabapuran describes a ritual

performed by K abir in order to liberate R aja Bir Singh's ancestors from
hell.
Once R a ja Bir Singh asked Kabir to grant salvation to his

ancestors who were living in hell after their deaths. K abir
told him th a t the task was very difficult but that, moved by his
passionate appeal, he would do something. Kabir asked the
king to prepare an A ja r Chauka ritual. Kabir also told him
about an old brahm an woman who lived in his kingdom alone
with her daughter. She wove a dhoti (lower garm ent) which
took one y e a r to complete. This was because she planted the
seeds of the cotton herself, reaped the harvest, and then spun
the cotton yarn on spindles. Kabir asked the king to bring him
175Sac Kabir Mabapuran, pp. 316-18.
109
th at dhoti, saying that the m an that performs the A jar Chauka

cerem ony should w ear it.
T he king, along with his attendant, went to the old brahm an
w om an and asked for the dhoti. The woman told the king that
she had promised to offer th a t dhocl to Lord Jagannath and
th at she would not give it to him even if he were to have her
beheaded.
T he king was disappointed and told all of this to Kabir.
K abir asked the king to send someone to follow the w om an to
the tem ple of Lord Jagannath on the day that she w ent there.
A m an was appointed to this task. On an auspicious day the
old brahm an woman w ent to offer the dhoti to Lord Jagannath.
As soon as she had offered the dhoti to the god it was
suddenly flung back at her. A voice emanated from the
im age of the god. The voice told her that the lord Jagannath
could not accept that dhoti because she had refused to give it
to the one for whom the dhoti was intended.
T he brahm an woman cam e to Kabir and touched his feet.
She begged his pardon for refusing to give the dhoti to K abir
and urged him to accept it. Kabir put on the dhoti and
perform ed the five day ritual of A ja r Chauka . On the fifth
day all the 21 ancestors of R aja Bir Singh, who were in hell,
appeared before Kabir. K abir redeem ed their lives from hell
and granted them salvation.
R a ja Bir Singh was happy. Kabir gave instruction to the
king and queen and blessed them . Then Kabir left for Kashi
(B anaras).176
This la te r tale is significant in several respects. First of all, the entire

episode revolves around the perform ance of an. Ajar Chauka ritual.
176Sar Kabir Mahapw&a, pp. 322-324.
110
W hile this ceremony, a scaled down fire ritual, is one of the only rituals
perform ed by the Kabir panth, it remains ironic, as K abir, in his verses, is
quite clear about his rejection of such rituals. But the K abir panth, in its
m ovem ent towards the g reater Vaishnav tradition, h as adopted a few,
including the chauka ritual. This paradox aptly illustrates the manner in
w hich previous Indie tradition has superseded the clearly expressed
sentim ents of Kabir. As tim e goes on, the Kabir p a nth adopts more and
m ore of the ritual forms common to greater Hinduism. Lorenzen (1981)
outlines this trend clearly in an article entitled “The K abir Panth: Heretics
to H indus".177
Secondly, as in the early account of the pandit at Jagannath, the famous
V aishnav pilgrim age site is invoked to provide added em phasis to the
account. Again, Kabir is clear in his rejection of pilgrim age as a means of
gaining salvation. N onetheless, the reference to Jagannath Puri is
included, in part to em phasize that Kabir should now be view ed as a
V aishnav, the role in which the Kabir panthis clearly see them selves.178
Finally, the social role of the brahman caste is critiqued in the role
reversal which has the brahm an woman bow down to the fe e t of Kabir.
R aja Bir Singh appears again in later accounts of Kabir's death. In
these accounts R aja Bir Singh is inserted as the Hindu king who quarrels
w ith the Muslims over how Kabir's body is to be disposed of in the final
story of Kabir's death at M agahar presented above.
177In Lorenzen, ed. 1981. Religious Change and Cultural Domination. Mexico: El Colegio de Mexico,
pp. 151-71.
178Thac the Kabir panthis should be regarded as Vaishnavs was affirmed to me in an interview with the
M ah ant of the Kabir Chaura math, Gang ash aran Shastri, May 7, 1995.
I ll
In addition to these accounts of the relationaship of Kabir with R aja Bir

Singh BagheL Kabir also encounters powerful local Muslim political
figures, and wins them over to the path of bhakti. T he following accounts
detail Kabir's meetings w ith Bijali Khan Pathan and Muhammad 'ud
D aula.
The Satguru (K abir) w as in his ashram giving teachings.

At that time Bijali K han w as ruling the district of Basti179 and
M uhammad 'ud D au la w as ruling in A yodhya.180 Both
happened to come to Kashi (Banaras) to see the Satguru.
T hey sat down after prostrating at his feet. T he Guru inquired
as to their welfare and asked them to stay w ith him for some
tim e. They enjoyed the company of the Guru and they lived
together for some tim e. T hey both had Sufi p irs (teachers),
but their pirs had n ev er instructed them about Brahma and had
never asked them to refrain from eating m eat. Therefore
Kabir, in his teachings to them , insisted that th ey practice good
conduct, vegetarianism and non-violence. He taught them
about the real Self th a t is the absolute truth. He urged them
to accept the Satguru (Kabir) as their guru with a true heart.
Only then would th ey be able to find protection. O therw ise,
they m ay not achieve salvation, even after a m illion attempts,
because it is very difficult to find a real guru in this world.
Thus, both the naw abs (Muslim rulers) cam e to Kabir
Swami and, accepting him, pleaded with him to accept them
as disciples. The Satguru told them, 'If you renounce violence
in all your relations w ith people, I will give you diksa
(initiation), otherwise not.
179Basti is the location of Magahar, linked to Kabir as the place of his death.
180Ayodhya is a famous site associated with the birth of the Hindu deity Ram in northern Uttar Pradesh.
It coincidentally was the site of the destruction of the Babri Masjid by Hindu fundamentalists in 1990.
112
Hearing this both the nawabs swore to God that they would
forsake violence and give up eating m eat. The Satguru gave
them initiation and ordered them to consider everyone as
equal, regardless of their caste or creed. He requested th at
they rule by considering everyone equal and that they never
eat m eat or drink wine. He urged them to help the poor and
the sants and to follow the path of m editation and devotion.
A fterwards, both the nawabs worshipped the Guru in these
ways. Bijali Khan asked Kabir, 'Satguru, people think that
w hoever dies in m y kingdom will be reborn as an ass. Please
tell m e if this is true.' Kabir replied, T h a t will be shown at
the proper tim e."181
Later, after paying their respects to Kabir, both the nawabs
returned to their kingdoms.182
In much the sam e m anner in which the accounts of Bir Singh Baghel
link Kabir with a prom inent local Hindu ruler this account serves to link
Kabir with local M uslim rulers. The story locates Kabir in space and in
time vis-a-vis these figures. More important, however, is that they are
Muslims who accept Kabir as their guru. T hey also agree to accept tw o of
the most im portant precepts of the Kabir panth, vegetarianism and n o n
violence. On these points the verses of Kabir testify to his full
concurrence on these two related principles.
Violently they kill living beings

and they call it lawful!
W hen the A ccountant asks for the accounts,
181 This refers to Kabir's refutation of this by choosing Magahar as his own place of death, in order to
disprove the belief.
*82Brahmaiinamuni, Sadgvcu -Srikavira -caricam, pp. 245.
113
w hat w ill be their plight?183
spSftT *=TFTT SffacJ cSPJ I

Tfift <=bK^ 7To5r =t3<il5 =bdPl II
Kabir,
boiled rice with lentils,
seasoned with tasty salt,
is the b est of foods:
I cannot slit throats
to have m eat with my bread.184
Several of the Kabir stories revolve around his encounters with fam ous
religious figures. In the stories presented below , Kabir m eets with N anak
(1469-1539), the founder and first guru of the Sikh tradition, and with
Gorakhnath (10-12th century), the m ost fam ous of the tantric yogis. These
type of stories included in the later accounts of Kabir seek to establish, on
K abir panthi term s, the relationship betw een the Kabir panth and other
m ajor religious groups of the period such as the Sikhs and the nath yogis.
In the first of these stories, discussed in g reater detail in chapter 6,
K abir m eets with Guru Nanak, the founder of the Sikh tradition, referred to
in this account as N anak Dev. In the S a t K abir Mabapuran a brief
version of Nanak's traditional biography is given, followed by this account
of Kabir's miraculous meeting with N anak.
Once, in V.S. 1554, when he w as 28 years old, N anak cam e

to bathe in the river Beas. The Satguru (Kabir) appeared
183 Btjak, sakhl 21. Vaudeville (1993), p. 199.

184Guru Graach, sloka 188, Dass, p. 300.
114
before him telepathically. Nanak asked him, P le a se teli me,

w hat is your nam e and where have you come from ? Why
have you come here?" Kabir re p lie d ,' My nam e is K abir and
I have come from heaven to teach people. Just now I have
com e from Kashi (Banaras) to instruct you.' N an ak had heard
of K abir but had not m et him. Now, upon seeing and hearing
him , he realized that this was the Kabir of whom he had
h eard . Noble thoughts arose in him and he bow ed at his feet.
K abir said, 'You have forgotten the special duty for which you
have com e into this world. You must be freed from the
darkness of delusion.' N anak asked, P lease accep t m e, Oh,
o cean of compassion.'
T he Satguru (Kabir) instructed N anak on the subjects of
know ledge, devotion and transcendence and w as praised by
him , they both stayed there for three days. N an ak learned
dhyan (m editation) under Kabir's guidance and experienced
bliss.
N an ak praised the Satguru. Pleased, the Satguru provided
him w ith santvesh (holy m an’s garments) and asked him to
chant satyanam (the true nam e) reverentially. N an ak becam e
transcendent and, overjoyed, he started praying to the Satguru.
After lecturing N anak on religion, Kabir urged N anak n ot to forget the way
of dhyan.....
T ra v e l throughout India and devote yourself to the

b etterm en t of jlvas (creatures).'
K abir began to leave. Nanak held his fe e t respectfully and
asked w hen he could see Kabir again. Considering this Kabir
asked him to come to Kashi (Banaras) and then disappeared.
N an ak w as senseless for some time, still em otionally affected
by the guru. His outward senses were gone. T h en the
Satguru told him by m eans of anakashvanl (sky-voice),
115
■Nanak, I am alw ays with you. Abandon sorrow and be

prepared to em bark upon the task I have set for you.' Hearing
this from the Satguru, N anak accepted the task and came out
of the village to a mango grove and began to m editate there.
His fam ily m em bers came there and saw him dressed in the
clothes of a sant. T hey tried to convince him to return h om e,
but their efforts w ere fruitless. Where there is light, there is
no place for darkness.
Later, N anak acquired many disciples by m eans of his
sermons. His disciples were called Sikhs and N anak was
their guru. He spread his teachings in the Punjab. It is
evident (from these stories) that N anak w as a disciple of
Kabir.185
In another fam ous story, this time from the Kabir Manshur, Kabir
miraculously produces sesam e milk for a gathering of sadhus.
Once N anak Shah, Kabir Sahib and several siddhas (tantric

yogis) gathered together. A m oneylender, who was an
acquaintance and follower of Nanak, arrived. He thought to
himself, "It is n o t proper to visit saints and gurus without
bringing a gift." He put his hands into his pockets but could
not find anything to give. After searching through his clothes
thoroughly he found one sesame seed. He presented this
sesame seed to N an ak Shah. N anak said to Kabir, "How can
I distribute this one seed to so many sadhus?" Kabir said,
"Mix this seed w ith w ater and then distribute that w ater to
everyone." T h en N anak said, "there is no w ater here. How
can I miv it? K abir, only you have the pow er to do this. You
distribute it."
l85Sat Kabir Mabapuran, pp. 530-532 .
116
There was a dry river and K abir caused it to flow. He

drew w ater from this river, m ixed it with the sesame seed and
offered it to the sadhus. A fter drinking it the sadhus w ere
delighted. The sadhus told Kabir, W hatever you ask for w e
will give you." Kabir said, "You all seem to be paupers.
W hat can I ask for and how can you give it to me?" The
sadhus insisted, "Ask for anything and we will give it to you."
Kabir asked them for five p a isa 186 worth of poverty. The
siddhas talked this over and realized that they did not have the
power to do this. They thought, T his is impossible because
we are so proud of our siddhis (powers) and our jap and tap
(repetition of the name and austerities). Let's go to Brahm a
and ask for poverty worth five paisa." They did this and
Brahm a replied, "I don't have any poverty here. In fact, I am
proud of the fact that I am the originator of the universe."
Then the 9 naths and 84 siddhas w ent to Mt. Kailas and
presented their request to Shiva. Shiva gave them the sam e
reply, saying, "There is no poverty here and actually I am
proud of the fact that I am the destroyer." They searched
here and there but couldn't find any poverty anywhere.
Finally, they went to Vishnu and asked for poverty. Vishnu
said, "Oh, siddhas and sadhusl I don't have poverty worth
five paisa. Only he who sent you to me has true poverty. I
have only three paisa worth. By virtue of having that I am
called the preserver of the universe.187 All poverty lies in
Kabir Sahib himself and no one else has it."
T hen the siddhas and naths returned to Kabir Sahib. T hey
prostrated before him, circum am bulated him and told him the
whole story. Kabir said, "I told you already that you people
are paupers. What can I ask of you?" From this the
conclusion was reached that everyone is caught up in ahahkar
I86xtie paisa is the smallest coin in the Indian, monetary system.

187In Indie mythology there exists a "trinity" of major gods. Brahma the creator. Vishnu the preserver
and Shiva the destroyer.
117
(egotism). Poverty and politeness are indeed special

qualities. Because of this egotism, Jivan fell from his original
form and becam e a g reat shaitaa (devil) and naraki (denizen
of hell).
Because of egotism gods like Harut and M arut were locked
up in the well of Babil (Babylon). Because of egotism
mankind has been placed under bond forever.188
In another story about K abir and Nanak, K abir requests milk from
Nanak.
Kabir w ent to the Punjab to see N anak Shah. N anak

welcomed him, paid his respects to him and told Kabir,
"W hatever you require of me I will do". K abir Sahib
requested him to m ilk a five-day old she-calf and fill his
kamaadal (brass begging pot). N anak Shah asked, "How can
a five-day old calf give milk?" Kabir told him, "If you want
to serve me this is m y request." So N anak searched for a
five-day old she-calf. He finally found one and brought it to
Kabir. N anak attem pted to milk it, but the calf kicked him
and ran away. K abir told him, "Go after it. Put m y
kamaadal under h er teats and ask for milk in m y name."
Nanak did as K abir asked. From the teats of the calf milk
began to flow and the kamaadal was filled. Kabir told
Nanak, "Nanakji, you prayed a lot but your rewards were not
great enough. If you start your own paath there will be m any
people who will obey your commands and it will be very
successful in the future." Kabir told N anak m any things like
that and in this granth (the Kabir Maoshur) there is a prophecy
about N anak Shah. "The religion of N anak has been
described in details which will take place in the future. There
188 Kabir Manshur, pp. 324-325.
118
is a sa k h lnam ed 'Kabir starts mixing the sesam e seed.' In

this place is the following verse.
Satya Kabir is such a great benefactor,

he m akes the dry river flow.
He feeds kh ic (rice pudding) to the hungry
and gives clothes to the naked.189
In these three accounts of Kabir's m eetings w ith N anak, Kabir is clearly

shown to be the spiritual superior of the two sants. He predicts the
establishm ent of the Sikh panth and assumes the role of spiritual preceptor
of all Sikhs. Kabir's spiritual authority is thus inferred over the larg est of
the bhakti sects. A t least this is true to the satisfaction of the Kabir
panthis. As I discuss in a later chapter, Sikh tradition contains very
different telling s of the imagined encounter, m anipulating the telling in
such a w ay that the tables are turned and K abir accepts N anak as his
superior and bows to him in hom age.190
In the following accounts Kabir m eets the g re a t tantric yogi

Gorakhnath:
a m n tt i
# ■mf ^ 1
3TRT^ dfT. efcH. «(c(3. |
f*RT lllll
189 Kabir Manshvr, pp. 325-326.

190For more on this story see Chapter Six.
119
fas i
# # ^rfrr 11211
A staff, earrings, patched cloak,

and a begging pouch—
you're w andering in superstition,
dressed up as a yogi.
Forget your yogic posture, fool,

and leave breath-suspensions.
Leave this chicanery and worship Hari.
The thing you beg for

are the leavings of the three worlds.
Kabir, say, "Only Keshava
is the real yogi."191
Gorakhnath (10-12th century?) is popularly recognized as the m ost

prominent of the teachers of tantric yoga. A yogi known for the
performance of Capas (austerities), G orakhnath is a sem i-legendary
character about whom, like Kabir, little is known. His spiritual te ach e r
was M atsyendranath, who has acquired semi-divine status in N ep al among
the Newars of the Kathmandu valley. Gorakh's followers, know n as
Gorakh panthis, represent one of the larg est groups of naths or yogis in
India today. T h ey are often described as kanphata (split-ear) yogis, for
their practice of piercing the ear lobes and w earing large earrings. The
town of G orakhpur in northern U ttar Pradesh is named for Gorakh and a
191 Guru Granth . Rag Bilawal 8, Vanna( 1966), p. 159, translated in Dass (1991), p. 180.
120
large tem ple dedicated to him is there. Gorakh panthis are associated
with and patronized by the royal fam ily of Nepal. T hey m ay be found
residing at m any sites in Nepal, including the town of Gorkha, the ancestral
home of N epalese nobility. The tow n of Gorkha, from which the British
derived the nam e "gurkha" for their N epali soldiers, is alm ost certainly
derived from the same nam e, G orakh.192 Although a few verses attributed
to Gorakhnath are found in the Guru Granth, their authorship rem ains far
from certain. A shadowy figure, Gorakhnath continues to be regarded as
the forem ost of the nath yogis. The popularity of G orakhnath and the path
of the yogis is evidenced by the inclusion of the following story in the Sat
Kabir M ahapuran.193
Having heard of the fam e and popularity of Kabir, G orakhnath

was quite jealous and antagonistic. One day Gorakhnath
cam e to Kashi to hold a debate with Kabir and to challenge
K abir’s knowledge of the m ystery of God and the best m eans
to achieve direct communion with him .194 Arrogant and
supercilious, Gorakh at first w anted to speak with Kabir's
m entor Ram anand, as he deem ed Kabir to be younger and
inferior to him . Gorakh thus attempted to hum iliate Kabir, but
a day w as fixed for a debate betw een them on the condition
th at w hoever was defeated would slit his ears.195
The day came and they sat face to face on separate
platform s. Kabir said that the place was unsuitable for such a
192Briggs (1938), pp. 78-79.

193 A slightly different version of this story from the Kabir Manshuris presented in Lorenzen (1991), pp.
54-55.
194It is clearly the intent of the author/s of this story that the path of bhakti be recognized as the
appropriate path and not Gorakhnath s path of tantric yoga.
195This is an obvious reference to the single most identifying mark of the kanphata (split ear) yogis, who
trace their spiritual lineage back to Gorakhnath.
121
discussion as a large crowd of people had gathered to hear

them. He suggested that the debate should take place in the
sky. Saying this, K abir drew a cotton string from his side knot
and fastened one end of it by a nail to the earth. He tossed
the other end of the string into the sky and mysteriously the
whole thread stood up straight and erect. Kabir climbed up
the string until he disappeared from sight. He started shouting
to Gorakh to come up and debate.196 Gorakh was astonished
and soon adm itted defeat.
But this incident did not deter Gorakh from continuing to
challenge and test the knowledge of Kabir. Another day was
chosen for a debate betw een them. T he next morning Gorakh
w ent to the riv er to take his bath. W hile he was taking his
bath he was amused with the idea that, had Kabir been there,
he would have taken revenge on him. M eanwhile, Kabir
appeared on the scene. Gorakh invited K abir to a game of
w ater tag in the river. Gorakh challenged Kabir to catch him
and turned him self into a frog. K abir caught Gorakh, who had
transformed him self into a frog, by the leg and tossed him out
of the w ater upon the shore. As soon as Kabir threw Gorakh
upon the ground, he im m ediately returned to human form.
Many people who were watching all of this burst into
hysterical laughter. Now it was Kabir's turn to dive into the
water. He challenged Gorakh to catch him. Kabir had
dissolved his body into the w ater and started shouting to
Gorakh to catch him. Since Kabir had dissolved his being into
the w ater, Gorakh could not look for him . He ran after
Kabir's voice but could not see Kabir. Tired and despondent
he em erged from the water and with hum ility bowed down at
Kabir's fe e t.197
196note the inclusion here of the fabled Indian rope trick.

197Sat Kabir Mabapurin, pp. 295-297. A similar story also appears in the Kabir Mansbur. pp. 327-328.
122
This account of an imagined m eeting betw een Kabir and G orakhnath

illustrates the im portance of G orakhnath and his tantric yogi and nath
followers during the period in which these accounts were w ritten. One of
the common denom inators that link the nirgun bhakti poets is the fact that
they all include a large amount of nath vocabulary and concepts in their
verse. It is obvious from the inclusion of these accounts in the
hagiographical narratives that yogis and nath sects were at the tim e
considered a m ajo r alternative to the various bhakti cults, including those
of the nirgun sants Kabir, Nanak and D adu. Thus, they come in for severe
criticism from the early Kabir panthi authors of these later accounts, who
were stru gglin g to expand the m em bership base of the panth.. Kabir,
although he incorporates many tantric concepts and them es in his verses, is
nonetheless a strident critic of the tantric approach, as evidenced by the
following verse:
5^1 3TT£ntt I
# H if I
d ji 35fr I
f^cT ^ *cr* m u
5
fa t? 'MHft I
# # s rfn 11211
A staff, earrings, patched cloak,

and a begging pouch -
you're w andering in superstition,
dressed up as a yogi.
123
Forget your yogic posture, fool,

and leave breath-suspensions.
Leave this chicanery, fool,
and worship Hari.
The things you beg for

are the leavings of the three worlds.
K abir says, "Only K eshava
is the real Yogi".198
The K abir panchi authors, as demonstrated in the above stories, assert

the superiority and power of K abir over Gorakhnath. Thus, by extension,
the path of bhakti triumphs over the path of tantra. The addition of these
stories to the original core of the Kabir narrative highlights the popularity
of the tantric path of the yogis and its rejection by the K abir panth.
The la ter Kabir panchi accounts draw from puranic tradition and link
Kabir with figures from Indie religion that are well known to their
predom inantly Hindu listeners. Included are the gods Shiva, Ram and
Krishna, as well as prom inent figures from Indie mythology and the epics.
Episodes found in these later accounts link Kabir with Prahlad, N arada and
the Pandavas, as well as historical religious figures such as Shankaracarya
and Ram anuja. Recent accounts in the Kabir Manshur ev en link Kabir
with leaders of the independence movement, such as Lokm anya Tilak.
In the la ter accounts of Kabir, the narrative expands to encompass even
the m ajor puranic deities of Hinduism, those most popular today. Not
surprisingly, Kabir is seen as beyond them, serving as their teacher. He
198Guru Granth, Rag Bilawal: 8, Dass (1991), p. 180.
124
appears to aid and assist them in the context of the stories by which they
are known. In this case the context for the story is the famous epic
R am ay an.
Kabir Sahib taught M aharaja Shri R am chandraji (Ram) all

the yogas and other practices. W hen Sita was stolen a great
problem arose. It w as very difficult to cross the ocean (to
Lanka, where S ita w as being held captive by R avan). Kabir
Sahib felt com passionate towards Ram chandraji. He wrote
on stones the nam e Satyaram (the true R am ). Because of this
many m ountains and stones started floating and there was a
bridge. Because of this compassionate act of K abir Sahib,
Ram conquered L anka and happily returned hom e.199
In this story Kabir is inserted into the Hindu epic R am ayan to save the
day by assisting R am chandra in his successful attem pt to win back Sita
from the demon R avan of Lanka. Through the m anipulation of the
Ramayan, arguably the m ost renowned of all Hindu epics, the Ram ayan
itself is effectively coopted by the Kabir panth as a vehicle for the
promotion of Kabir. K abir is once again shown to be the supreme force,
through whose intervention Sita is regained by Ram . A n additional result
of the inclusion of this story is Kabir's increased association with Ram and
the greater Vaishnav tradition.
Similarly, it is clearly stated that Kabir is g reater than Lord Krishna.
Singling out one of the qualities by which Krishna is best known, his flute
playing, Kabir is said to have been better.
199 Kabir Manshvr, p. 326.
125
K rishnachandra used to charm the hearts of the gopis

(m ilk-maidens) by playing his flute. But, when Kabir Sahib
played his flute, the three worlds w ere charmed. The living
and non-living both were charm ed. The w ater of the Jam u n a
river stopped flowing. Everyone w as delighted. No one
could play the flute as he played it. People thought th at it was
played by Krishnachandra. The gopas and gopis had b ee n
longing to h ea r this flute playing because this time the person
playing the flute was Satpurush (Kabir) himself, who lives in
im pregnable truths.200
These and other accounts of Kabir's suprem acy over dieti.es of puranic
literature nonetheless link Kabir with them in the minds of the audience.
By m eans of this device Kabir enters into the realm of the Hindu pantheon.
He is m ade m ore accessible to the Hindu m asses. Through his inclusion
w ithin the sphere of g reater Hinduism K abir becomes less of a h eretical
and figure vis-a-vis that tradition. He becom es an active participant
within the puranic m ythic structure and in doing so is assimilated into it.
By his inclusion w ithin the Hindu puranic system Kabir is by no m eans
lim ited to it. T he K abir pantbi authors of these later accounts, and
Param anandadas in particular, spread their nets further into the s e a of the
world's religious systems, in order to attract followers from those traditions
and to dem onstrate th at Kabir’s status, ultim ately, is above theirs.
In the S a t K abir Mahapuran version, K abir appears on earth as the
Buddha. In his third incarnation, "Seeing the sorrow of the w orld, K abir
appeared as the Buddha. As Hari took incarnation in the three ages, now
200Kabir Maashuc, p.327.
126
Kabir took the form of Buddha in the Kali Yug" 201 In this w ay the Kabir
panchi authors attem pt to portray the Buddha and his teachings as
stemming from Kabir.
The later accounts also fill in missing elem ents regarding K abir’s
family. Despite attempts by his hagiographers to separate K abir from the
tem poral life of a householder, his status as a fam ily m an rem ains a central
them e of the narrative of his life. His adoptive m other and father, Niru
and N im a, are described, as are his adoptions of a son and a daughter,
Kam ai and Kam ali. Through the process of adoption the sexual elem ents
in these relationships are m itigated. Y et the fam ily rem ains essential to
the K abir story. It is the very fact that Kabir does have a fam ily th at
grounds him in the minds of the low caste groups to whom K abir and his
hagiographers speak. Kabir's followers who choose to em ulate his life
gain respect for the vital role of the householder, and in the process reject
the ascetic paths promoted b y both the tantric yo g is and the V aishnav and
Saiva sannyasins (renunciates).
3TFT H’Hd I
'dl'H tTT^ sfm IIT^ ^TPT I
cTOft ^ I
HlrtMr ^5T3ft | I
h im i (^ ) m r t r t t m ic t i
^ 5 ( ^ ) 3KTt 3 T ^ oc^ k I
^ <+>fc5 Mtc^ UMl ^ I
?RT SrT 6TO O T H it? m ^ I
^ # am m ^ tt*t m i
According to Hindu conceptions of time, the current era. Kali Yug, is an era of decline.
127
They all w ent mad,

none of them keeps aw ake,
While the T hief is plundering the house!
The Yogis w ent mad

with their concentration-
and the Pandits too,
reading their Puranas.
The ascetics w ent m ad,

with their austerities-
and the Sannyasis
with their T hat-am -I’!
God Shankar w ent m ad,

serving the Lord's feet-
And in this Kali ag e,
N am a and Jaidev.
Full of impure desires

is th at fickle Mind:
Says Kabir,
"worship the Name of Ram".202
In the Kabir Manshur account Kabir's adoptive parents, Niru and N im a

are clearly identified as brahm ans who lived in a place called Chandvar
202Granthavall2:198; Guru Granth: Basanc 2, Bijak: Basant 10. translation from Vaudeville (1994), pp.
232-233.
128
before coming to Kashi (Banaras) and becoming julahas(weavers), thus

losing their caste.203
It is essential to Kabir's non-sectarian appeal that he live the life of a
householder (grhastin.), with a wife and fam ily. His situation, that of an
enlightened householder, places him outside the normal pattern of
asceticism and m onasticism for saints both w ithin and beyond the Indian
context.
In the early sources, it is clearly indicated th at Kabir did have a fam ily.
B utin the later accounts, as the influence of the K ab irpanthi begins to be
felt, all m ention of Kabir's family is constructed in piatonic terms. This is
not surprising, as the celibate members of the panth would have their Kabir
free of any taint of sexuality. In those texts deriving from the D haram dasi
sect of the K abir panth, K abir is regarded as an avatar (reincarnation) of
the divine. For the Dharamdasis, claims that he was even born from the
womb of a m other, much less that he married, are firmly rejected.204 In
the early accounts the subject is treated in a simple fashion.
In Priyadas' com m entary on the Nabhadas Bhaktamal, in the story of
Kabir hiding after giving away his cloth in the m arket we find the
following verse:
His w ife, son and m other were waiting for him. How long will
he rem ain in the bazaar? When will he return? Thinking
that bhakti-bhav (feeling of devotion) is the truth, he was very
203 Kabir Manshur, p. 259.

204Gangasharan Shastri, M ah ant, Kabir Chaura Math, personal communication. May 5,1994.
129
wise. The treasure of compassion (Kabir) w as concerned for

his home at evening tim e.205
In Chaturdas' com m entary on the Bbaktamal of Raghavdas, we find:
The m other, the wife and the son (of Kabir) are dying of
hunger at home, and he hides himself som ew here, no one
knows the place.206
Similar indications are found in verses attributed to K abir in both the

Rajasthani Grantbavali and the Sikh A di Granth collections207. In a verse
from the A d i Granth , apparently in reference to the same story, Kabir's
wife laments:
The threads are broken, the size has run out,

The reeds are shining outside the door.
The poor brushes have fallen into bits.
Death has lighted on the head of this boy (Kabir).
This sadhu (my husband) has wasted all his m oney.
Their visits have exhausted m y patience.

He never speaks of his beam and shuttle.
His mind is imbued w ith the name of God.
Our daughter and sons have nothing to eat,
But the sadhus are fed every day to their satisfaction.
One or two are sitting in the house, one or two are on their
way to it.
They g et charpais (beds) and we sleep on straw.
205priyadas commentary on the Nabhadas Bbaktam&I, p.134.

206Chaturdas commentary on the Raghavdas Bbaktam bl.
207Lorenzen (1991), p. 18.
130
With books in their waist-bands they rub their heads with their
hands.
We g et parched gram . They g et bread.
These sadhus and m y husband have becom e one.
To which Kabir replies:
These sadhus are the support of the drowning.

Hear, O blind and guruless Loi!
Thou also shouidst take shelter with these sadhus, saith
Kabir!208
A pparently on the basis of the above verse, tradition assigns the nam e
of Loi to the wife of Kabir. Kabir panchi literature contends that the nam e
"Loi" comes from the old Hindi word for blanket. In the following account
from the Kabir Chaura branch of the Kabir panth, we are given a different
etymology. This branch is not adam ant about Kabir's celibacy, and we are
given the following story of how Kabir and Loi cam e to be married.
In the Vikram e ra 1495 (1437-38) , w hile Kabir was

wandering along the riverside, he reach ed a secluded place
w here he found a h u t m ade of leaves and mud. The hut was
situated in pleasant surroundings, surrounded by green plants
and flowers. There lived a brahm an g irl nam ed Loi. She
lived alone and served the sants and sadhus who would
occasionally pass through.
Kabir saw the girl and asked h er nam e. In return Loi put
the sam e question to Kabir. Kabir answ ered, 'My nam e is
208Guru Granth, Gond Kabir 4:3:6, trans. by Jodh Singh, pp. 11-12.
131
Kabir'. T hen she asked his caste, and Kabir answered again
'Kabir'. Thereupon Loi asked his religion and sect. A gain
the response was, 'Kabir'.
M eanw hile, a few sants had arrived. Loi was happy to see
them, asked them to rest and offered K abir and them some
milk. T hey drank the milk and were content. But Kabir did
not drink his. Instead he put it under a tree. Loi asked K abir
why he did not drink the milk. K abir replied that he did so
because som eone hungry m ight pass th a t w ay and with the
milk he could quench his thirst and hunger. Loi was pleased
by Kabir's answer.
All the sants bathed and recited prayers. When Loi recited
some words of her own teacher, the sants were curious to
know the nam e of her guru. Loi told them that a noble sant
had lived there named Bankhandi (forest-dweiler). One day,
while bathing in the river and worshipping, he noticed a
bundle floating upon the surface of the water. He picked it up
and opened it. To his surprise he found a baby girl. Since
the child w as wrapped in leaves of w hite rose, he gave her the
name Loi. He brought the child to his hut and raised her.
While still young, she asked Bankhandi, who was upon his
deathbed, who would take care of h er after his death?
Bankhandi told Loi that one day a sadhu would come there
whose caste, nam e and religion would be one and the same
and that th at sadhu would adopt her and provide for her.
Loi told K abir that, ever since the death of Bankhandi, she
had b een w aiting for such a person and that now she had
found th at person in Kabir.
She begged Kabir to take her with him , but Kabir was
hesitant. T hen the other sants urged K abir to adopt Loi. In
the end K abir agreed and accepted Loi. After a few months
Kabir m arried Loi.209
209Sac Kabir Mah&pvran, pp. 363-367.
132
A sim ilar story is found in the Dharamdasi text, the K abir Kasauti, but
in this version, a platonic relationship between Kabir and Loi is implied
through the device of having Kabir's father Niru ask w h y K abir has
married her, since they did not live together as m an and w ife.210
Notice th a t these later accounts paint a rather harm onious picture of the
relationship betw een Kabir and Loi. The two are said to have lived at
Kabir's ashram , the site of Kabir C haura today, from th e n on. This is in
striking contrast to the earlier narratives, which portray Kabir's unnamed
wife as a nagging obstacle to his spiritual pursuits.
Tradition has come to accept that K abir had two children, a boy, Kamal
and a girl, K am ali. Again, these stories make it clear th a t both children
were resurrected from the dead and then adopted by K abir, elim inating
any trace of sexuality.
Kamal's story is set in A llahabad (Prayag), the site o f the confluence of
the rivers G anges and Jamuna. A llahabad is one of th e holiest sites for
Hindu religious pilgrimage in India and the site of the Kumbh M ela, the
world's larg est religious gathering, held every 12 years. E ven though
Kabir argues against the efficacy of pilgrimage, the fam ous pilgrim age site
is nonetheless invoked, structure and antistructure. In th e K abir narrative,
this story takes place after Kabir's persecution by S ikander Lodi. After
m iraculously surviving the ordeals put to him by both S ikander and Sheikh
Taki, often depicted as Kabir's prim ary opponent and accuser, his
210Westcoct (1907), pp. 12-14.
133
miraculous powers are affirm ed and he is invited to the royal court at

Delhi. Accompanied by the two, Kabir arrives at A llahabad.
W hile by the river one day, they saw the dead body of a
child floating in the w ater. Sheikh Taki challenged K abir to
bring the child back to life. Speaking a few words into the
ear of the child, the boy cam e to life and was blessed by
Kabir.
Seeing this, Sikander declared it a miracle (kam al), and
henceforth the child w as nam ed Kamal.211
In this story, as in those above, we encounter one of m any accounts in

the K abir narrative of m iracle stories. It is difficult to im agine any figure
in Indian tradition attaining the status of a religious saint w ithout the
attribution of m iracles to him .212 Miracles, like other characteristic
features of sacred biography such as immaculate conception,
abandonment, and survival in the face of impossible sufferings or
persecution, inevitably becom e a p art of the hagiographical narrative.
They form an integral part of the oral or literary genre itself. T hey also
exist as proof of the spiritual attainm ent of the saint. In Indian tradition
siddhis (powers) come hand in hand with spiritual advancem ent. M iracles
are the outward, em pirical m anifestation of religious attainm ent. This
facet of spirituality is by no m eans limited to the Indie context, but exists as
a global phenomenon. In the Indie context the religious adept, through the
practice of Capas (austerities) acquires the attention and favor of the gods.
211 Kabir Mansbvr, pp. 322-23.

212Evea in Roman Catholic tradition a saint must have miraces attributed to him/her before canonization.
134
In this c a se , the m iraculous restoration of life to Kamal and his

subsequent adoption by K abir serves the double function of dem onstrating
Kabir's attainm ent of siddhis while echoing K abir and Loi's own
abandonment to w ater, leaving Kamal’s actual birth obscured from view .
By the em ploym ent of this aqueous m etaphor the caste of Loi, K abir and
Kam al becom es less of an issue, although not entirely obviated, reflecting
the basic tenents of K abir and the bhakti m ovem ent as a whole, w herein
caste distinctions are vigorously denounced.
The second child, K am ali, who brings the K abir panthi version of
Kabir's "household" to completion, is also adopted by Kabir after a
miraculous return from the hands of Yama (the god of death). Even after
brings Kam al back to life, Sheikh Taki is still skeptical.
Sheikh T aki said, "I don't believe in this play (lila). It

happened only because the boy was m erely unconscious.
That is why he cam e to life. My daughter has been lying in
her grave for eight days. If you can bring her to life, then I
will be convinced”. Kabir, Sikander and Sheikh Taki w ent to
her grave. K abir called out, "Get up, Sheikh Taki's
daughter!", but she did not get up. A gain he said, "Get up,
Sheikh Taki's daughter!" But she still didn't g et up. The third
time he called out the girl came to life and emerged from the
grave. Sheikh T ak i took her by the hands and started for his
home. The girl said, "Your nam e didn't bring me back to life.
I got up by the nam e of Kabir. I am K abir's daughter and I
will stay with him . I will not go to your house". The girl
becam e fam ous as Kabir's daughter and h er heart was
enlightened by the grace of the satyagvm (Kabir).213
213Kabir Maoshuc, pp. 322-23.
135
By m iraculous m eans, which afford proof of his spiritual attainm ent,

Kabir becom es a householder. But w hat a strange householder he is. We
cannot help but question whether this grouping of individuals, as set down
by the K abir panth, m ay accurately be term ed a family. A part from his
own adoptive parents, Niru and Nima, K abir has a fem ale disciple, Loi,
who did not b ea r him any children. He also has two children adopted by
him, K am al and K am ali. Parallels to this story are found throughout Indie
mythology, m ost notably in the accounts of the birth of Lord Shiva's
progeny, the elep h an t god Ganesh and K arttikeya, the god of w ar.214
In these la te r tales we can clearly see the attem pts being m ade by
members of the K abir panth to cleanse the original story of its hum an
elements. The fact th at accounts of Loi, K am al and Kamali are not
expurgated com pletely from the narrative is convincing proof of the
popularity of the original story, as set down by Anantdas, Priyadas and
Chaturdas.
The significance of Kabir as a householder who pursues a spiritual path
while still surrounded by his family has b ee n an integral elem ent in the
social m essage of the bhakti m ovement all along. This is an im portant
part of the appeal of Kabir today. It is v ital to the place Kabir holds within
Indian popular tradition that Kabir be a householder. However, it is
important to note how the Kabir panth, in th eir attempts to cleanse the
narrative of elem ents of human sexuality, have chipped away at a crucial
elem ent in Kabir's appeal to the lower castes. In order to conform to the
214 For these stories see Stella Kramrisch (1981), The Presence o f Shiva . and the beautiful account of
the birth of Karttikeya in Kalidas' Kumara-sambbava..
136
orthodox Hindu ideal of brahmacarya (celibacy), these changes have crept

into the accounts. This dem onstrates the ongoing tendency of the Kabir
Panth to strive for increased acceptability and recognition w ithin the
greater fold of Hinduism.215
Kabir's status as a householder lends itself well to K abir's criticism and
scorn of the ascetic practices Hinduism holds up as an id eal. His verses,
however, clearly show that K abir by no means extols the life of the
householder either. He describes his f amily as a hindrance to his spiritual
endeavors and, in general, a disappointment to him. N onetheless, Kabir's
status as a householder is essential to his role as a bbakta who unites
within one saint both Hindu and Muslim elements. Islam encourages
those pursuing a mystic path to accept the life of a householder. Hinduism
generally views renunciation and austerity, including celibacy, as
necessary for those pursuing spirituality. Kabir is at once an enlightened
religious m an and a householder, with a wife and fam ily. It is the tension
betw een these oppositions th at gives vitality and strength to the Kabir
narrative.
The nam es of Kabir's disciples mentioned in the hagiographical
accounts have also changed over tim e. The earliest account, the Kabir
Parachai of Anantdas, m entions no disciples at all. N abhadas, in his
B baktam al, mentions Padm anabh as Kabir's disciple. P riyadas, in his
com m entary on Nabhadas, gives an account of how Padm anabh came to
be Kabir's disciple.
215por more on this topic please see Lorenzen (1981), "The Kabir Panth: From Heretics to Hindus".
137
According to Priyadas, there was once a m erchant of Kashi

whose body was being destroyed by leprosy and worms. L eft
with no w ay to m aintain himself, he w en t to the Ganges with
the intention of drowning himself. A big crowd gathered to
watch. Padm anabh cam e by and asked w hat was happening.
He asked that the m erchant be untied and told him to bathe in
the Ganges and then recite the nam e of R am three tim es with
devotion in his heart. The m erchant did so and his leprosy
im m ediately vanished. Padm anabh la te r w ent to visit his
guru, Kabir, and was rebuked for having so little faith in the
nam e of Ram. "Just a hint of the N a m e ", said Kabir, "would
have accomplished your aim."216
The account of Padm anabh enters into the K abir narrative from v ery
early on (c.1600) in the Priyadas com m entary. But no major branch of the
K abir panth claims descent through him. L orenzen (1991) mentions that,
"The sadhus of one of three panths called the R a m Kabir Panth’ are said to
m ake this claim. Their genealogy descends from Padmanabh's reputed
disciple Nilakantha. This particular Ram K abir Panth is now divided into
two m ain branches. One has its center at D udhare j near V adhavan, and
the other has one center at a village called 'Shapar' and a second in
'Jamakhambhaliya'. A ll these sites are in G ujarat."217 It appears that,
although the Padm anabh account is early and thus has considerable
authority, the figure of Padm anabh is not considered im portant in the
216Lorenzen (1991), pp. 56-57, included in the Priyadas commentary on Nabhadas' Bbaktamal (1969),
pp. 534-36, Brahmalinamuni's Sadgvru Sriikavira Caritam (1960) pp. 418-27, Gang ash aran Shastri.
Kabir Jivan Caricr (1976), pp. 122-24.
217Lorenzen (1991), note, pg. 55.
138
history and developm ent of the early Kabir panth itself. N either are two
other reputed disciples of Kabir, Tatva and Jiva.
The story of T atv a and Jiva appears first in Priyadas' com m entary on
the B haktam al of N abhadas. It is also found in Chaturdas' com m entary on
the R aghavdas Bhaktam al. Later accounts appear in the Kabir Manshur,
the Sadgvru Srikavlra Caritam and the Kabir Jlvan Caritr.2l&
L orenzen gives the following rendering of the story:
Priya-D as says that Tatva and Jiva w ere two Brahman

brothers who dedicated themselves to serving the sadhus.
N onetheless, th ey w ere unable to find a guru they could
accept. T hey placed a dry stick in the ground outside their
door and w atered this stick with the w ater they used to wash
the fe e t of each sadhu who visited them . T hey vowed to
accept as their guru the sadhu whose 'foot nectar' would m ake
the stick sprout g reen leaves. One day K abir arrived at th eir
door. W hen T atv a and Jiva watered the stick with the w ater
used to wash K abir’s feet, it im m ediately sprouted green
leaves. The brothers asked Kabir to initiate them with the
N am e. A fterw ards, Kabir told them to visit him in Kashi
w henever they needed help.
T atv a and Jiva's caste fellows were outraged that the
brothers had tak en a low-caste person as their guru. No one
would eat in the sam e 'line' with the two brothers or allow
their children to m arry the two brothers' children. T atva and
Jiva then w ent to Kashi and asked K abir w hat they should do.
K abir advised them to intermarry their own children. T hey
accepted Kabir's advice and returned hom e to begin the
preparations for the wedding. W hen th eir caste fellows
learned w hat T atv a and Jiva planned to do, they were even
218Lorenzen (1991), pg. 57.
139
more outraged. In the end, their caste fellows capitulated and

agreed to provide Tatva's and Jiva's children with m arriage
partners. T atv a and Jiva returned to K abir to get his
perm ission for this change of plans. Kabir told them to accept
the offer, but to impose the condition that their caste fellows
accept the religious path of bhakti. A fter debating the issue,
the caste fellows agreed.219
This story centers around issues of caste, central to the m essage of the
bhakti m ovem ent. T atva and Jiva are brahm ans, who nonetheless respect
and serve the sants regardless of caste, as they serve Kabir. Obviously the
Kabir panth hopes to encourage this type of activity. Beyond this, the two
brothers are ostracized by their fellow brahm ans for taking initiation from
the low-caste Kabir. When T atva and Jiva are denied suitable m arriage
partners for th eir sons, Kabir raises the stakes, suggesting that their
children m arry each other. Lorenzen suggests that this scenario arises
from a m isunderstanding, on the northern authors' part, of southern
marriage practices.220 My reading of this account is somewhat different.
It seems to m e th at Kabir, by this ploy, is highlighting the artificial and
dangerous nature of brahmanic caste restrictions as they apply to both
marriage customs and ritual purity in commensuality. The brahmans (and
most other castes) insist on marriage only within their own relatively small
caste groups. K abir is taking this social construction one step further by
suggesting th at T atv a and Jiva marry their children to each other, a further
219Lorenzen (1991), pp. 57-58. Included in Nabhadas' Bhaktamal (1969), pp. 537-40, Raghavdas'
Bhaktamal (1965), pp. 80-81, the Kabir Mansbur (1984), pp. 585-588, the Kabir Jivan Caritr (1976), pp.
122-24, and the Sadgvru Srikavira Caritam (1960), pp. 216-55.
220 Lorenzen (1991), p. 58.
140
narrowing of the boundaries w ithin which marriage is possible. By taking

an artificial caste restriction to its logical, but forbidden, extrem e, K abir is
exposing the hypocrisy and danger of caste-based restrictions on m arriage.
In the face of this taboo, the brahm ans relent, and agree to m ore suitable
m arriages. It is im portant to note, however, that it appears th a t these
suitable partners will, in fact, be brahmans. The caste system is not
exactly dismantled in this story. Nonetheless, the brahm ans are forced to
accept the path of bhakti, rath er than ritual, as a valid spiritual path. Their
caste restrictions and taboos are overcome by this stratagem of Kabir.
By far the most prom inent of Kabir's traditional disciples is Dharamdas.
D haram das and his son Churam ani are regarded as the true organizers and
spiritual leaders of the K abir panth, according to the sect w hich bears
D haram das' name. By far the largest branch of the K abir panth, the
D haram dasis are them selves divided into two groups, one based at
D am akheda in Raipur District and one at Kharsiya in R aigarh District.221
According to Kabir panthi tradition, Dharamdas was a w ealthy m erchant of
Bandhogarh, a fortress city in Baghelkhand, the area ruled by R aja Bir
Singh Baghel, whom we have alrady been introduced to. A ccording to the
D haram dasi sect of the Kabir panth :
Dharma-das w as originally a worshipper of sagvn Vishnu.

His guru in Bandhogarh w as one shri Rupdas. D harm a-das
was extrem ely devout and practiced all the rules of charity
toward the poor and guests. One day Dharma-das arrived at
M athura on a tour of sacred bathing places. A fter bathing in
the Yamuna, he set about preparing his food. W hen he
221 Lorenzen (1991), p. 58.
141
looked in the fire, he saw th a t an army of ants w as desperately

trying to escape from a burning log. He was filled with
compassion and vowed n o t to ea t the food. He p ut it on a
plate and went out to find a suitable donee. Just th en Kabir
arrived in Mathura. D harm a-das offered the food to Kabir.
K abir told him: ‘Listen, m erch an t Dharma-das! W hen you
w ere making this food, m illions of ants were killed. Do you
w ant to burden me with all this sin?" As Kabir sp o k e, all the
rice grains on the plate turned into ants and began to crawl
back to the ground.
Dharma-das then asked K abir who he was. K abir said: “In
this K ali Yuga my nam e is Kabir....I gave you a boon in a
previous life. For this reaso n I have come here to enHghten
you." Kabir then asked D harm a-das to identify his guru and
the religious path he follow ed. Dharma-das did so Kabir
explained that the external practices that D harm a-das
follow ed did not lead to the Parabrahm an taught in shcuti,
sm rit and other shastras (B rahm anical religious texts)....The
direct m eans to salvation is knowledge of truth alone.'
D harm a-das then asked K abir to give him instruction, but
K abir told him to ask his ow n guru first. Kabir then left,
telling Dharma-das to look for him among the sants. Dharma-
das then returned to Bandhogarh.
Dharma-das then w en t to shci Rup-das's ashram and asked
him w hat was the best m eans to salvation described in the
shastras. Rup-das observed th at some g reat m an m ust have
induced Dharma-das to ask this question. He advised
D harm a-das to ask the g re a t m an this question. Having
received his guru's perm ission, Dharma-das becam e
increasingly anxious to m e e t K abir again. He told his wife,
Amini Devi, that they should arrange a feast for the sants.
Invitations were sent out in all directions. K abir arrived, but
in disguise. A fter the fe a s t K abir made him self known to
142
Dharma-das. King Ram asim ha of Bandhogadh heard that

Kabir had arrived at Dharma-das's house and w ent to greet
him. K abir stayed there for many days. Finally he gave his
complete tea ch in g to Dharam-das and Am ini-D evi. Since
their son N arayan-das had chosen not to becom e a follower of
Kabir, Kabir promised that they would have another son who
would be a portion of the paramatman (universal soul) and
would becom e an acharya (leader) of the K abir Panth.
Dharma-das w as told to give Am ini Devi a p an le a f with the
nam e of the param atm an written on it. He did so. From this
act eventually a son w as bom called 'C huram ani,1who later
becam e the m ah ant Muktamani Nam Sahab. According to
m ost D harm adasi sources, Churamani was the first acharya of
the Kabir Panth. A fter giving religious instruction to Dharma-
das and A mini Devi, Kabir vanished.222
From my reading of Kabir's verse it seems suprem ely ironic that there
exists a Kabir panth at all. He attempted to tear down the walls which
separated the Hindu and Muslim communities and would m ost likely be
distressed to see that, centuries after his death, there rem ains a large K abir
panth as yet another division. Kabir clearly saw the problem s created by
religious difference and urged his listeners to seek truth, not in organized
religions and sects, but within their own hearts. Dadu and Nanak,
discussed in later chapters, anticipated, if not encouraged, the formation of
separate communities after their passing, and took steps to influence the
succession process. The Daramdasi sects likewise claim that Kabir
intentionally established the Kabir panth and chose D haram das as his
successor.
^^ R rahmalinamnni, Sadgvrv Srikavira Caritam , pp. 266-320, translation from Lorenzen (1991), p. 60.
143
Despite Kabir's insistence that no type type of religious structure be

created around his teachings, this is precisely w hat did happen. Origins
obscure, the K abir panth today continues to attract hundereds of thousands
of followers, divided into several different shakas (branches). In addition
to the D haram dasi sect, others claim spiritual descent through Kabir's
disciples Shrutigopal, Bhagwandas and Jagudas.223
One final story in the later accounts of Kabir from the Kabir M anshur
deserves special m ention. This is the story of the compilation of the
Bijak.The B ijak is the collection of Kabir's verses held sacred by the
Kabir panth. Although not afforded the status of Guru as is the Sikh A d i
Grantb, the B ija k does hold much the sam e position within the Kabir panth
as does the A d i Granth within Sikhism. K abir panthi tradition contains
the following account of how Dharamdas set down the Bijak.
A fter D haram das had been in the company of Kabir for

several years, Kabir asked him to compile his views and
words in a volum e titled Bijak. This task was entrusted to
D haram das with a view to preserving his verse for posterity
and to inspire others to follow the path of truth. Dharamdas
was overjoyed and enthusiastic to h ear this and he began to
compile the B ija k in 1521 of the Vikram era (1464 AD.).
Kabir would recite his verses in ram aini and shabd224 and
Dharmdas would take them down. Dharamdas would group
Kabir's verses in Hindol, Cacar, Kaharva 225etc. and divided
them into elev en parts. This is the original form of the Bijak.
Variations and modifications in the existing form of the B ija k
223 For more on Kabir's other disciples see Lorenzen(1991), pp. 61-65.
224Poetic verse forms.
225Different metrical forms into which the verses are grouped.
144
are la te r incorporations and additions made by the various

branches of the Kabir panth.
L ater, sane Shrutigopal com piled four thousand sa kh ls of
K abir and divided them into 84 parts.
T here is also a third collection of Kabir’s words in different
poetic and musical forms such as Jaivanti, Hidola, Kaharva,
Hori, Cacar, Basant, Kedar, Jhumar, Caila, etc. T hese are the
three prim ary collections of Kabir's philosophy.226
No historical record has y et been discovered regarding the com pilation

of the B ijak. This account provides the answers to this im portant question
for the m em bers of the Kabir panth. Since many authors h av e questioned
whether or n o t Dharamdas and K abir were even contem poraries, the
historical debate remains open.227 N ot so for the devotees them selves, for
whom scriptural authority takes precedence.
Despite Kabir's criticism of pilgrim age in his verses, K abir panthi
tradition supplies us with detaile descriptions of Kabir's travels.
T hree m en w ent on pilgrim age,

jum py minds and thieving hearts.
N ot one sin was taken away;
they piled up nine tons more 228
P ilgrim age—a poison creeper

clim bing from age to age.
K abir pulled it up by the roots,
now who's eating poison?229
226Kabir Manshur, pp. 456-58.

227K.N. Dvivedi (1965), pp. 169-76.
228Bijak, sakhi 215, translated in Hess (1983), p. 115.
229 Bijak, sakhi 216, translated in Hess (1983), p. 115.
145
Pilgrimage to holy places is held in high esteem w ithin both the Hindu
and Muslim traditions. Kabir's verses, however, clearly refute the value
and of such outward spiritual journeys. Despite this fact, the traditional
accounts of Kabir's life contain a bewildering num ber of accounts of
journeys undertaken by him , to places as far aw ay from Banaras as
Baghdad, Mecca and Bokhara. These religious centers provide a link
b etw een Kabir and the Islam ic world while his visit to T otadari, in South
India and the temple of Jagannath at Puri, in Orissa, link him with
V aishnav Hinduism. T hese stories are told and retold w ithin the oral
tradition before entering into print. As the stories evolve,the locations of
K abir's travels vary and expand.
From a narrative standpoint Kabir's travels allow for his encounters,
discussed above, with the pow erful rulers and religious figures of his time.
T hey also provide a fram ew ork into which additional stories are imbedded
w ithin the later expanded accounts. Kabir's journey to Totadari, the
spiritual center chosen by the Hindu philosopher R am anuja, is the site of a
fam ous story in which, to refute the imposition of caste restrictions on
com mensuality, Kabir m iraculously causes a buffalo to recite the Vedas.
In Balkh, through a series of miraculous encounters, K abir steers Sultan
Ibrahim Addham towards the spiritual path of bhakti.230
Accounts of Kabir's travels conform to a typical p attern of Indian
sainthood, wherein the religious m an journeys far and wide in search of
know ledge and inner discovery. In the Indian context, the holy man's
230 Both these stories are translated in Lorenzen (1991), pp. 65-67.
146
travels become a m etaphor for the inner, spiritual journey on which he has
traveled. Kabir gains respect by journeying to various holy places within
the realm of sacred space fam iliar to the listening audience. Hence the
references to M ecca, Balk, Bokhara and Jagannath Puri, which even
though historically im plausible, are familiar nam es to the listeners.
A ssociation with these places infuse Kabir with spiritual authority, as they
are places of religious power.
These far-flung destinations form the macro lev el of Kabir's travels.
Closer to home, a more plausible Banaras-centered locus exists as well.
Sites have become accepted as the locations in which episodes from the
earliest accounts of Kabir took place. These sites include Lahartara, the
tank outside Banaras believed to be the site of Kabir's discovery and
adoption by Niru and Nima, and Panchganga Ghat, w here Kabir received
his "initiation" from Ram anand. Other sites include K abir Chaura,
believed to be the site on which Kabir's home stood, and Magahar, where
K abir is said to have died, several kilometers from the town of Gorakhpur,
north of Banaras. These sites, visited today by the K abir panthis,
delineate a micro level for the sacred geography of Kabir. All of these
sites hold symbolic m e aning for the followers of K abir because they are
associated with and evoke stories from the sacred biography of Kabir.231
The later accounts of K abir found in the Kabir Jlvan Caritr, the
Sad guru Srikavira Caritam, the Sat Kabir Mabapuran and the Kabir
M anshur provide us with a glance into the changing concerns of the Kabir
panth during the centuries in which they have been written.
23 ^ h is is s i m i la r to the four sites associated with the life of the Buddha (5th century B.C.). Lumbini
(birth). Bodh Gaya (enlightenment), Sarnath (first teachings), and Kusinagara (death.
147
We are inform ed as to who the leading political and religious figures of

the time w ere considered to be by the Kabir panth . The number of
favorable accounts involving Raja Bir Singh Baghel suggest the Baghel
family as possible patrons of the early Kabir panth. We are introduced to
Bijali Khan Pathan and Muhammad 'ud D aula, local Muslim rulers.
In these later accounts Kabir encounters the leading proponents of
religious paths seen perceived as in com petition with, and inferior to, the
Kabir panth. T hese stories provide the setting for Kabir's m eetings w ith
Nanak and G orakhnath, and assert Kabir's spiritual superiority to them .
Kabir is depicted as higher than the puranic deities as well as the prophets
and founders of the Islamic and Christian religious traditions.
Kabir's association with Vaisnav Hinduism is constantly reinforced. As
the Kabir Panth drifts towards greater orthodoxy, less desirable aspects of
Kabir's sacred biography are mitigated. Often these include the very
elements of the story which give it vitality. K abir is raised by Muslims,
but he is really a brahm an, even an avatar of Vishnu like Ram, Krishna
and the Buddha. Even his adoptive parents, Niru and Nima, are said to be
fallen brahmans.
Kabir is a householder, with a wife and fam ily, but he is also able to
reflect the vows of brahmacarya (celibacy) tak en by the members of the
Kabir panthi order. His two children, Kamal and Kamali, are only
adopted and raised by Kabir and his wife.
Kabir acquires disciples, who in turn becom e the spiritual forefathers of
the modern-day branches of the Kabir panth. The B ijak is compiled and
Kabir's extensive travels are described.
148
Even the form and language of the accounts them selves com e to reflect
a change on the part of the Kabir panth from, as Lorenzen h as phrased it,
"heretics to Hindus". These later accounts, still in verse form , are at times
labeled as puranas, such as in the case of the Sat Kabir M ahapuran, and
some even com e to be composed in Sanskrit, the language of the
brahm anic orthodoxy, in texts such as Brahmalinamuni's S a d guru Srikavira
Caritam.
The irony inherent in this situation is that Kabir, in his verses, speaks
out against m any of the very actions attributed to him by the K abir panthi
authors of these later accounts. He attacks the m ajor religious structures
of his tim e, and we may w ell presum e that he would not be supportive of
the creation of y et another. Y et the Kabir panth rem ains strong today.
He criticizes the performance of religious ritual, yet, in the stories of Raja
Bir Singh Baghel, we note the inclusion of the Ajar Chauka ritual in Kabir
panthi practice. He decries the practice of religious p ilg rim ag e, y et is said
to have visited m any holy places during his extensive travels. He
composes his verse in the sadhukari vernacular lingua fra n ca of the time,
yet la te r K abir panthi accounts come to be written in the brahm anical
Sanskrit, and are presented in puranic form.
These ironies arise as the Kabir panth moves increasingly tow ard greater
orthodoxy w ithin the Hindu fold. Although Kabir continues to be
portrayed as a religious reform er and supporter of the low er castes, in
order for him to gain acceptance w ithin the larger Hindu tradition his social
m essage becom es diluted. A t the same time his status is elev ated beyond
that of a holy m an and a religious saint to that of an avatar of the divine,
149
m ore powerful and w orthy of adoration than the puranic deities

themselves. Kabir is transform ed in these later accounts into the m aster of
his own cosmological realm .
150
CHAPTER FIVE
THE DADU PANTH AND KABIR
Mercy dw elt in his body, he seemed the incarnation of Kabir.232

Jan Gopal
An excellent exam ple of the conformity of Indian hagiographic

literature describing the lives of the North Indian sants are the texts which
construct the life story of the Rajasthani sant Dadu Dayal (1544-1603). It
m ust be stressed th a t the "historicity" of the inform ation contained in these
texts cannot be assured. Yet, from a reading of the Dadu accounts and
acomparison with the court chronicles of the period, far more can be said
about Dadu, and w ith far greater certainty, than is the case with ea rlier
sants such as N am dev and Kabir. These works w ere written shortly after
Dadu Dayal's death. The disciples who w rote them spent long periods of
tim e with the saint-poet. These accounts corroborate each other to a
rem arkable degree.
These accounts provide the historian with the basis for a tentative life
sketch of Dadu D ayal. They may also be m ined for information vital to
the task of reconstructing the early history of the Dadu panth. Looked at
in new ways, these texts can also tell us about the interrelationships
betw een the early Dadu panth and other groups active within the sant
tradition and thebhakti movement. Particularly striking is the connection
stressed betw een Dadu and Kabir. We have very little to go on w hen it
232Jan Gopal, Dadu Janma L ila, 1:17, translated by Callewaert (1988), p. 36.
151
comes to historically verifying any chain of organized spiritual descent

from Kabir. These texts, however, clearly demonstrate the centrality of
references to Kabir in establishing the authority of the em erging Dadu
panth. It is clear that the first Dadu pa n th is wished their audience to
regard Dadu as a spiritual descendant of Kabir.
Like K abir and most of the sant poets, Dadu was from a low caste. A
dhuniya or cotton carder, it is probable that Dadu was bom a M uslim, an
im m ediate and striking correlation w ith the story of Kabir.233 Born in
A hm edabad, in w hat is now the Indian state of Gujarat, Dadu spent most of
his life traveling and teaching throughout Rajasthan. His traditional
biography tells us that, at the age of elev en , he first m et his guru, an
enigmatic figure referred to as Buddhan.234 Buddhan appeared as a
religious m endicant while Dadu and a group of his friends w ere playing.
Of all the children present, only Dadu im m ediately responded by giving
the old m an a sm all coin. Pleased, Buddhan placed a piece of pan (betel
nut) in D adu’s mouth, upon which he im m ediately achieved
enlightenm ent.235
The accounts tell us that Dadu m et the Mughal emperor A kbar at his
court at Fatehpur Sikri, outside Agra. He lived for extended periods of
time at Sam bhar, and at Amber, outside the present day city of Jaipur. He
spent his fin al years at Naraina, now a center of the present day Dadu
panth. Dadu did not record his poems himself. He attracted m any
233 Lorenzen, "The Kabir Panth and Social Protest," in Schomer (1987), The Sants: Studies in a
Devotional Tradition o f India, pp. 281-304.
234 The name Buddhan may be translated either literally, as "an old man", or as a term of respect for a
specific individual, for more see Callewaert (1988), The Hindi Biography of Dadu Dayal, pp. 19-20.
235Callewaert (1988), pp. 19-20.
152
followers, several of w hom, apparently independently236, com piled Dadu's

recited poems. Dadu's verses were recorded as these disciples as they
rem em bered them , in a collection known as the Panchvani , the collected
verse of five poets, including Dadu and Kabir. The nam es of m any of
these disciples are know n, and several, notable am ong them Rajab and
Sundardas, becam e respected poets in their own right.
The earliest Dadu panthi account of the life of Dadu is the Dadu Janma
L ila of Jan Gopal, com posed shortly after the death of D adu, perhaps
betw een 1610 and 1620.237 Still held in great resp ect by the Dadu pa nth ,
the Dadu Janma L ila is found in both long and short form s. The longer
versions contain interpolations and changes not present in the earlier texts.
From the changes in the tex t we can discern im portant changes that w ere
taking place in the attitudes and motives of the developing Dadu panth.
Most of w hat we know about Jan Gopal, the author of the Dadu Janma
Lila, comes from R aghavdas in his Bhaktamal (c. 1720). He is listed as
the author of several other works of religious literature. T hese are given
as the Dhruva-, Pcahlada-, Jarabharata-, and Datta- caubisaguru-caritas,
the M oha-viveka and the Dadu Janma Lila. R aghavdas goes on to
provide the im portant historical clue that Jan Gopal visited Fatehpur Sikri
as a sadhu (religious ascetic) and m et Dadu there. This provides
important historical corroboration for the account of Dadu's audience with
the Mughal em peror A kbar during the brief period of tim e th a t Fatehpur
Sikri was the seat of the im perial Mughul court.
236Callewaert reaches this conclusion after exhaustive manuscript comparison in his critical edition of
the Panchvini collections. Devotional Hindi Literature (1991), p. 11.
2370rr (1947), A Sixteenth-Century Indian Mystic: Dadu and His Followers, p.9.
153
The Dadu Janma L ila owes much to the traditional biographies of

Kabir. A com parison of the earliest accounts of the two sants
dem onstrates this. The similarities are n o t only striking to the audience,
the authors of the Dadu accounts com m ent on them in the text, the K abir
and Dadu narratives both follow conventional patterns common to the life
stories of the North Indian sants, patterns ultim ately derived from earlier
models found in Hindu mythology and ev e n in global archetypes of hero
myths.238
The hagiographic accounts of Dadu, by both Jan Gopal and Sundardas,
intentionally borrow elem ents from the K abir narrative, which predates
them. These accounts repeatedly com pare Dadu to Kabir, in order to
enhance the Dadu's popularity among the listeners and to m agnify his
greatness by association with Kabir. It is readily apparent that, at th a t
tim e, the w eaver of Banaras was considered to be the rule by which other
sants could be judged. This remains true today.
Here are a few of the striking parallels betw een the lives of Dadu and
Kabir. For these quotations I use the earliest known accounts of the two
sants. These are the Dadu Janma Lila of Jan Gopal, mentioned above and
translated in a critical edition by Winand C allew aert. The second is the
KabirParacai of Anantdas, translated in a critical edition by David
Lorenzen.
Among the features common to both the traditional biographies of K abir
and the narrative found in the Dadu Janm a L ila is the discovery of the
child in w ater, in Dadu's case a river. In this, the earliest account, the
238See Otto Rank (1952). The Myth o f the Birth of the H ero, New York: R.Brunner, pp.65-96.
154
river is not identified. By the time the narrative reaches it full form in
later sectarian accounts, the Sabarmati river is specified This is also the
case with K abir and the account of his abandonment/miraculous
appearance in the Lahar tank outside Banaras. The abandonm ent to
water m otif is fascinating, and seems to serve a symbolic function of
washing aw ay any links to a m ortal birth or past.239
In both the Dadu and Kabir accounts, w hen the child is brought to the
adoptive hom e, the mother's breasts m iraculously fill with milk,
emphasizing the spiritual quality of the child.
In the la te r accounts of Kabir, as w ell as in the Dadu Janma L ila , holy
men play a role by foretelling their appearance on earth. In some of the
accounts of K abir240, the birth comes about as a result of a blessing to a
brahman widow by a holy man, in other accounts by Ram an and, unaw are
of the m other's widowed status at the tim e of his blessing. In India
tradition holds th at the blessings, or curses, of a holy m an cannot be
revoked, but only altered. In this case the holy m an promises th a t the
child will becom e a great bhakca (devotee). In the Kabir story, out of
shame the b rahm an widow abandons the child Kabir to the w aters of
Lahartara, a tan k outside of Banaras. In Dadu's case, a holy m an hears
the prayers of Dadu's adoptive father, and urges him to go to the riverside,
where he discovers Dadu.241
239This symbolic cleansing is evident in a remarkable number of tales found throughout world
mythology, in i n t e r e s ti n g variants that seem to fulfill the same psychological function. This narrative
element is present in the legends of Kabir, Dadu, and Namdev. For examples outside the sant tradition
see the stories of Karttikeya, Moses, the Buddha.who leaves his clothes and possessions before crossing
the river and Jesus, through the vehicle of his baptism by John.
140Kabir Manshur, Sad guru Srikavira Caricam.
241Jan Gopal, Dadu Janma L ili, 1:5-6, Callewaert (1988), pp. 33-34.
155
Both Kabir and Dadu m ake lousy businessmen, know n for giving away
m oney, clothes and food to sadhus and sants. As Ja n G opal relates:
While his father w as engaged in business on the sea,

Swamiji started to preach Hari.
Whenever he m et a Santa he gave away everything:
money, clothes and food.
He was turned out of the house, but,

he did not take the fam ily-share.
Preparing sweets he ate and gave them to e a t
and he kept singing the nam e of Hari.
Swamiji then m ade up his mind

to abandon the business of the world.
Leaving his fam ily, home and homeland
he decided to sing the praise of his Creator.242
Similarly, according to the Kabir narrative in Anantdas:
He wove cloth, sold it, and brought the m oney hom e. If there
was any profit, he used it all to eat and feed others.243
In the early accounts of Kabir and Dadu, both are m arried and have
children. The early accounts of Kabir mention his fam ily, but without
specific names and inform ation concerning their gender.244 Accounts
which describe one son and one daughter, Kam al and K am ali, appear in
242Jan Gopal, Dadu Janma Lila, 1:12 Callewaert (1988), p. 35.

243Anantdas 2:2, Lorenzen, p. 96.
244Anantdas, Priyadas, Charurdas, Raghavdas.
156
the later Kabir panthi accounts. These accounts include stories th a t tell
how they were raised m iraculously from the dead and adopted by Kabir.
In this w ay they becom e Kabir's "children" w ithout a taint of sex u ality on
Kabir's part.245
In Dadu's c a se, Jan Gopal identifies D adu's four children. His two
sons, both of whom eventually led the em erging Dadu Panth, w ere nam ed
Garibdas and Maskin. His two daughters are identified as H ava and Bai.
The authors use another device to provide a miraculous birth fo r D adu's
children, as we saw in the case of Kabir. As if to justify Dadu's fam ily in
the eyes of others, they hold Kabir up as a model:
As K am ai was born to Kabir,

so too did Dadu have children.
He gave (to his w ife) two cloves and two pepper-corns.
The ways of Svam i are not known.
A real m iracle happened:
she becam e pregnant and four children w ere born.246
But Jan Gopal goes on to question enigm atically:
How were Svamiji's children born,

through gift or in the human w ay?247
C allew aert is careful to point out that this "very controversial" verse is
not found in all of the earliest manuscript copies. We can only speculate
as to whether Jan Gopal's skepticism led him to give the story and th en
245Anucagsagar, Kabir Mansbuc, Sadguru Scikavira Caritam.

246Jan Gopal, Dadu Janma Lila, 9:1. Callewaert p. 59.
247Jan Gopal, Dadu Janma Lila, 9: i , Callewaert, p.59.
157
question it, or w hether the story itself is a later interpolation. N onetheless,

we can definitely make out the early evolution of the clove and p epper
corn story through Callew aert’s critical comparison of the early m anuscript
copies of the Dadu Janma Lila. The substitution of a m iraculous birth in
place of a sexual one is a device so w ell known throughout world religion
that it hardly needs further com m ent.
Both san ts reject caste distinctions and follow neither Hindu nor Muslim
rituals. In Dadu's case "he dug and buried the Muslim path" and did not
follow "the six systems of (Hindu) philosophy".248 Their radical attitudes
in rejecting religious ritual arouse the ire of both the Hindu and Muslim
leaders. In Dadu's case:
He ignored all Muslim customs and abandoned Hindu

practices. He did not m ix with other ascetics, but stayed
im m ersed in Ram day and night.
He abstained from hypocrisy, vanity, partiality and
sectarianism , knowing only the supreme Brahma as the total
truth. He rejected all tem ple-w orship of gods, pilgrim ages
and fasts and did not visit holy persons or shrines.
Both Hindus and M uslims began to clash with him, but he

had a ready answer for all.
Finally, Qazis and Brahm ans all gave up:
Hari w as his protector, so w hat could they do?249
'If I do not adhere to M uslim customs, what does it m a tte r

to you? Who has said th a t such worship is essential?'250
248Jan Gopal 2:5. Callewaert, note. p.37.

249Jan Gopal 2:7. Callewaert p. 37.
^Cacurvedi, ed.. Dadu Vani.v. 13.29.
158
'When a boat is w recked on the ocean and all are sinking,

everybody flees to save his life, Dadu'.251
The Brahmans and Baniyas deliberated and reported to the

Council. They wrote a letter and announced publicly that
people should take note of their decision:
'Anybody going to see Dadu will be fined 500 Rupees'.

The clerk wrote out the order correctly,
but the words were changed when the order w as read:
'Anybody not going to see Dadu

will be fined 500 Rupees'.
From that moment faith started to grow in Sam bhar
and fam ous holy m en cam e to see him.252
Similarly, by his criticisms of Hindu and Muslim ritual, the brahmans

and ka zis (Muslim religious leaders) turn against Kabir, but:
Ram restores everything that has fallen into ruin. Ram

saves those who are drowning in the ocean of existence. The
kazis and mullahs w ere troublemakers. The Brahmans and
Baniyas were big sinners. They were all full of hatred. They
all w aited for the opportunity to kill Kabir. The more they
learned about Kabir, the more they got irritated. In this way
m any days passed. Every day Kabir debated them and was
victorious.253
Even Kabir's family turns against him:
^Carurvedi, ed., Dadu Vani ,v. 13.32.

^ J a n Gopal, Dadu Janma Lila, 2: 8-10, Callewaert, p. 37.
^ A n a n td a s, KabirParachai, 6: 10-11. Lorenzen, p. 196.
159
But Kabir's m other w as m alicious. She did not like bhakti.

She nagged at Kabir. She and her daughter-in-law created
quarrels every day. Praise be to K abir who put up with all
this.254
One of the m ost famous stories about Kabir occurs when the Sultan
Sikander Lodi visits Banaras. Both the brahmans and ka zis m ake
complaints against him. Eventually K abir is ordered to be put to death.
The executioners try three methods. First, they bind K abir w ith chains and
throw him into the Ganges. The chains miraculously come loose and
Kabir is saved. Next, they tie K abir up and put him inside a house which
they then burn. But Kabir em erges unscathed. Finally, they throw Kabir
in front of a fierce elephant. T hey assume that Kabir will be tram pled.
But, he m iraculously appears as a lion and the elephant is pacified.255
Similar stories occur in the Dadu narrative. First, a local k a z l plans to
kill Dadu for spreading heresy. But, through miraculous divine
intervention, the k a z is house and hoard of cotton are both burnt in a fire.
The k a z l realizes that this has happened because of his plans to kill Dadu
and he relents.
Then Dadu has a similar encounter with a crazed elephant:
T hen Svamiji (Dadu) cam e out of town,

totally concentrated on the Indweller,
A m ad elephant cam e running towards him
and everyone with him fled.
Â nantdas, KabirParachai, 6:12. Lorenzen,p.l96.

Â nantdas, K abir Parachai, 8:6-9:4, Lorenzen, p.l 11-113.
160
Svamiji had no fe a r at all,

since the Indw elier was aware of his situation:
This elephant com es, m ad and intoxicated w ith illusion.
I continue to taste the nectar of Ram.'
The elephant stood still and

seeing this the people experienced great joy.
The elephant b en t down and touched the fe e t of Svam i ji,
who placed his hand on its forehead.256
W orldly proofs of th e ir spiritual power free sants from the social

im perative to conform to customs of caste and creed. Through their
hagiographies they becom e heroic figures in the struggle of the low-castes
against the strictures of both brahmanic authority and the ritual practices of
Islam . Yet ironically, in the narratives it is precisely th e ir popularity and
fam e that arouse the w rath of their detractors . The celebrated
persecutions and ordeals they endure reflect the sm aller battles and
tensions endured by the entire strata of Indian society, both Hindu and
Muslim, who em brace the path of bhakti. It is clear th a t the w ay to
m inim ize these tensions is to shield oneself from public attention. Fame
and fortune only lead one away from the recitation of the nam e. This
them e is reflected in both the Kabir and Dadu narratives.
In Jan Gopal's Dadu Janm a Lila, Dadu comes to live at A m ber and his
popularity begins to grow:
From North, South, E ast and West,
^ J a n Copal, Dadu Janma Lila, 3:6-8, Callewaert, p. 39.
the holy m en and saints came.
Ail sorts of people cam e to see him
and offered gifts in deep devotion.
Svami ji did not work,

for clothing and food w ere obtained easily.
Day and night big crowds were gathering and

his m editation started to be disturbed.
He then took up the occupation of a cotton-carder
in an attem pt to g et rid of the crowds.
'If anyone wants to see m e,
let him look at m y occupation.'
But the more Svami ji tried to h id e,
the more people came to see him...
He never stopped carding cotton,
when ordinary people or even Kings came to see him.
People kept coming, begging to see him, knowing
that he was fully occupied in cotton-carding.
A voice came from heaven:
"Stop carding cotton, the world w ill be destroyed.
People do not know your secret
and they will go to hell despising you
and in hell nobody can be saved."
From that m om ent Svam i ji stopped carding cotton,
with undisturbed devotion he m editated on Brahma.
He took to the profession of cotton carding
in the w ay Kabir sought the com pany of a harlot.
The more he tried to hide himself,
the more Hari m ade him known.257
^ 7Jan Gopal, Dadu Janma Lila , 4:2- 4:5, Callewaert, p. 42.
162
Here w e find a direct reference to the parallel betw een the Dadu and
Kabir narratives. The story of K abir’s association with the prostitute has
already b een told. In the account K abir is seen publicly in the company of
a prostitute and appears to be drinking. He loses face and arouses the
contempt of the community. But, after Kabir performs a m iracle in front
of the king of Banaras, he is again recognized as a g re a t sant and the king
and his fam ily personally beg for forgiveness.
In a striking role reversal, the king bears an axe and carries a bundle of
straw on his head to demonstrate his contrition as he com es to see Kabir.
Now it is the king who is the low -caste, and Kabir, m etaphorically, the
king. And the whole town turns out to watch. As at the tim e of the Hindu
festival Hoii, the normal social roles are abandoned, ev en reversed.258
The m essage of the story is clearly spelled out by K abir w hen the king and
his fam ily arrive at their door.
Throw down the bundle on your head. There is no anger in my

heart. For m e there is no question of either hatred or love, nor of any
difference betw een king and com m oner.259
Kabir tried to erase his own fam e, in the same w ay as a modest

w ell-born w om an hides a pregnancy. But how can such acts be hidden
when day-by-day they become m ore evident.260
Although the two stories are quite different from each other in content,
the them e is the same. So much so th at Jan Gopal has deliberately drawn
258For more on status reversal and the celebration of Holi see Turner (1969), pp. 185-188.
259Anantdas, K abir Parachai, 6:2, Lorenzen p. 105.
260Anantdas, K abir Parachai, 6:7, Lorenzen p. 105.
163
attention to the connection betw een them. The lowly eventually triumph
over the high, the commoner over the noble, and the innocent victim over
his accusers. A part of the common heritage of the oppressed, this them e
dovetails nicely with the philosophy of nirgun bhakti as a whole. For a
religious tradition which draws its support prim arily from the lower castes
and classes, such a message of equality and non-distinction is sure to strike
a sym pathetic chord. True bhakti hides itself, but is ultimately recognized
as truth. The low caste bhakta (devotee) is scorned, unrecognized by the
brahmans, the ka zis and the tantric yogis. Faced with this type of social
environment, the message of these narratives em phasizes that it is best to
keep ones light veiled, and th at eventually ones inner worth will be
recognized.
It is essential for the sane to strive for anonymity, even disrepute, so
that he m ay concentrate on the business at hand, m editation on the
name of Ram . Yet, for the authors of these accounts, it is equally
essential th at the sant be recognized publicly. To achieve the this high
and m ighty must bow before the sane.
Survival of persecution at the hands of Sikander Lodi constitutes Kabir's
encounter with the most im portant ruler of his tim e. Recognition by Bir
Singh Baghel, the king of Banaras, further increases his stature. In Dadu's
case it is an encounter with the Mughal em peror A kbar that marks Dadu's
arrival as a sane sanctioned by the highest authority in the political sphere.
Of course, tem poral power is of little interest to the sane, and Dadu is not
interested in the encounter, saying, "I have no business with Kings".261 He
26lJan Gopal, Dadu Janma Lila, 4:14. Callewaert, p.44.
164
refuses to m eet the em peror until Akbar's em issary threatens a total fast
until the Emperor's request is granted. Finally, Dadu agrees to visit A kbar
at the court of Fatehpur Sikri.262
Again, in the Ja n Gopal text, Dadu is associated with Kabir:
W hen the Em peror heard about Dadu,

he sent him an invitation several times.
'If Svami ji does not com e,
the Em peror find no rest.'
Akbar told King Bhagvant Das263

'Your Svam i is the giver of joy.
I have heard about his glory from m any sources,
as if K abir has come to live among us'.
Dadu's visit to Fatehpur Sikri provides the fram e, or context, for

several dialogues b etw een the sant and w ell know n m em bers of
Akbar's court. N otable are Birbal, Akbar's brahm an advisor, and Abu'l
Fazl, his aide and ch ief chronicler.
Dadu's conversations with Birbal, Ab'ul Fazl and with A kbar him self
are too lengthy to quote in full here. Dadu's discussion with Em peror
Akbar focuses on the issue of attachment and desire for w ealth and
power. A nother conversation revolves around Dadu's refusal to accept
Akbar as "Lord of the world". Dadu, of course, answers only to a
higher authority. A ccording to Jan Gopal, A kbar is im m ensely pleased
26-Ic has been pointed out by Monika Thiel-Horstmann that this could only have taken place during the
brief span of time that Fatehpur Sikri was used as the site of the Mughal court (1584-85). Thiel-
Horstmann (1983), Crossing the Ocean o f Existence, p. 12.
263Bhagvan Das, heir to Raja Bihar Mai and adoptive father of Man Singh. He died in 1589.
Callewaert (1988), p. 44 note.
165
with Dadu and desires him to live at the royal court indefinitely. At
one point Dadu is even escorted to the emperor's harem, w here he
m eets the royal wives.
Yet, here again, the name of K abir is repeatedly invoked. In his
first discussion with Akbar, Dadu quotes the line:
The body is a churn, the mind is the milk,

the lifegiver churns it.
Kabir took the essence, but
worldly people drink the whey.264
The Emperor A kbar is quoted as saying of Kabir:
Kabir spoke with the firm ness of Prahlad and with the
wisdom of Kabir.265
Despite the presence in Jan Gopal's work of dialogues which

repeatedly assert Dadu's indifference to tem poral power and authority,
he does visit leading political figures, including Akbar, and earns their
respect. He lives for fourteen years just beneath the palace of
Bhagvan Das, the ruler of Amber. He also meets with several local
Rajput rulers during his travels in Rajasthan. This places D adu in a
somewhat different position than Kabir. Kabir's encounters with
royalty are conspicuously adversarial in tone, as befits Kabir's more
strident stance. If Kabir is a radical non-conformist, Dadu m ust be
264Jan Gopal, Dadu Janma Lila, 5:26:4, Callewaert, p. 48.

265Jaa Gopal, Dadu Janma Lila, 7:1, Callewaert, p. 51.
166
seen as a m ore moderate voice. Although his verses address the same
social issues as Kabir, his is a decidedly more subtle approach.
Through his travels, always within the limited sphere of Rajasthan,
Dadu facilitates the em ergence of the panth that would b e a r his name.
At the end of the Dadu Janma L ila Dadu's eldest son, G aribdas, is
selected b y the sants to head the community that has gathered around
Dadu. T his by no means im plies a clear intention or desire on the part
of Dadu to have the sect carry on and flourish. It was probably
initiated by his followers after his death. Nonetheless, a com m unity of
his follow ers had obviously developed during his lifetim e. In the
earliest accounts, Kabir as w ell is not reported to have nam ed a
successor. Although later sectarian accounts do provide this
inform ation, most likely in an attem pt to support their respective claims
to authority over the panth, from his poetry it is hard to im agine Kabir
desiring such an event. This is not as clear in the case of Dadu.
It has b een suggested that it is precisely this ability to coexist
harmoniously with both local R ajput and Muslim im perial authority that
facilitated the rise of the m ilitary branch of the Dadu panth, the
nagas.266 N am ed for the naked sannyasi fighters who have b een
present in Indian society for centuries, the Dadu panthi nagas w ere by
no m eans as extreme as the nam e im plies.267 Organized by Jait Sahib,
a strong le a d e r who brought cohesion and stability to a fragm ented
266Daniel Gold (1994) "The Dadu Panth: A Religious Order in its Rajasthan Context", in The Idea of
Rajasthan: Explorations in Regional Identity, ed. by Rudolph et. al.
New Delhi: Manohar, pp. 242-264.
267Although no longer active militarily, many Vaishnav sects continue to preserve the nag a tradition, as
is evident by their presence at large such as the Kumbh Mela.
167
early Dadu panth after his election, to the g a d d i (throne) in 1693, the
nagas em bodied a unique combination of R ajput m ilitary valor and a
respect for Dadu's teachings. While there is a logical contradiction
betw een the pacifist spirituality of Dadu and the adoption of an armed
m ercenary profession, it m ust be realized th a t this was a common
phenom enon at the tim e. . Vaishnav bairagis, m any of them armed
sadhus, w ere already em ployed by local rulers throughout northern
India at the tim e.268 Numerous historical battles involving Dadu panthi
nagas are recorded betw een the years 1779 and 1818. At this time the
nagas w ere under the leadership of M ahant Santokh Das, until the
arrival of British forces in Rajasthan.269 A ctive even after the advent
of British rule, the nagas, at times some 5,000 strong, served under the
M aharaja of Jaipur, often enforcing the collection of taxes from the
outlying areas.270 The nagas were ultim ately disbanded by the British
as recently as 193 8.271
It should be noted that, in addition to the V aishnav nagas and
bairagis, the Sikh panth, followers of N anak, also forged a strong
m ilitary tradition in the Khalsa, a Sikh m ilitary brotherhood created by
Guru Gobind Singh. The military code of the K halsa continue to be
one of the strongest unifying factors in the Sikh community today. The
Kabir panth itself has n ev er developed this feature.
2680rr, in his article "Armed Religious Ascetics in Northern India", describes a variety of such groups,
such as the Yogis, Sannyasis, Dasnamis, Gosains. Bairagis. Balanandis (followers of Ram an and) and the
Nagas. Bulletin o f the John Rylands Library, Vol. 24.1940, pp. 81-100, reprint (Nendeln, Lichtenstein:
Kraus Reprint) 1967.
2690rr (1947), A Sixteenth Century Indian Mystic, pp.203-208.
270Orr (1947). A Sixteenth Century Indian Mystic, pp. 203-204.
271Gold (1994). "The Dadu Panth: A Religious Order in its Rajasthan Context". in The Idea o f Rajasthan:
Explorations in Regional Identity, New Delhi: Manohar Books, p. 257.
168
The Dadu Janm a L ila helps us to date the beginning of the Dadu
paathi nagas back to the earliest beginnings of the panth. In one b rief
line Jan Gopal tells us that, during Dadu's visit to Akbar:
The King (Akbar) mixed all kinds of coins

and filled a bag with them.
He added different kinds of jewelry
and distributed it among the disciples and N aga soldiers.272
One striking difference between the early accounts of Kabir and

Dadu lies in their descriptions of the sants' travels. While the early
accounts of Kabir273 do not mention any journeys (with the exception of
a miraculous appearance at the famous tem ple of Jagannath Puri in
present-day Orissa), the Dadu account of Jan G opal is quite detailed in
this regard. So m uch so that it is easier to accept this and other
elem ents found in the Dadu narrative as believable history. Jan
Gopal's narrative as a piece of literature suffers from an excess of b rief
encounters with lo cal rulers and shadowy figures. Much of the central
portion of the w ork is a litany of places visited and persons met, m ost of
whom are unknow n outside of Dadu panthi tradition. The reader gets
the distinct im pression th at Jan Gopal is indeed attempting a historical
record of events. He is insuring that the nam es of those contemporaries
who were influenced by Dadu are not forgotten. This historical sense
is reinforced by a b rief chronological review of the m ajor events in
272Jan Gopal, Dadu Janma LI1&, 8:5. Callewaert (1988), pp. 55-56.
273Anancdas, Priyadas, Charurdas, Raghavdas.
169
Dadu's life which is found at the end of the Dadu Janma Lila. Quoted
in full, the passage reads:
Dadu spent twelve years as a child and

then he m e t his guru who appeared before him.
In 1573 he came to Sambhar
and in 1575 Garib Das was born.
In 1585 he m et Emperor Akbar
and in 1602 he came to live in the town of Naraina
and in 1603 he became one with R am .274
This could be an interpolation inserted later, but, given the

manuscript dates, it seems to reflect a rather developed historical
attem pt on the p art of the author.
Adding to the credibility of the Jan Gopal account is the range of
D adu's travels. Limited in comparison to other sants such as N anak,
Dadu's journeys lie within the finite a re a of Rajasthan. Not only does
the extensive detail provided by Jan G opal m ake the accounts more
believable and m ore reliable for historians, this detail also fulfills a
vital function for the Dadu panthis. As Thiel-Horstmann notes, the
Dadu Janma L ila ,
... is recited by the monks w hen explaining the significance of

a site sacred to their religious community. Jangopal's
hagiography provides for the sacred history and geography of
Dadu panthi belief. A Dadupanthi treading on the ground
historically connected with the form ative period of his fold
274Jan Gopal, Dadu Janma Lil&, 16:26-27, Callewaert, p.88. The dates here have been converted from
Sam vac (Hindu calendar) dates.
170
com prehends that ground as significantly structured by the deeds

of the saints. ...During the annual religious feast of the sect
religious performances take place in these surroundings thus
renew ing the ties of the present sect with the sacred history of the
sites. A Dadupanthi visiting the places m entioned by Jangopal
links his own religious quest with the quest of those who bore
testim ony of their faith before him. In this endeavor Jangopal's
text, or any extended version of it, provides the structure of the
sacred history and geography, and it is thus essential for the
devotees1comprehension of the religious truth.275
L ater K abir panthi texts do include extravagant accounts of Kabir s

travels, but they appear to be interpolations. The locations seem to
have been chosen in order for Kabir to have m et fam ous personages
such as Guru Nanak276 and Sultan Ibrahim of Balkh.277 A few vague
references to places and people visited by Kabir n ear Banaras are more
likely to reflect historical fact, but they are ignored by the Kabir panth
today. For this reason, the symbolic geography of sacred spaces
associated with Kabir are extrem ely limited. The only two sites
directly associated with his life are the Lahartara tank, w here he was
found by his adoptive parents, the Kabir Chaura M ath in Banaras, the
site of his simple hut, and M agahar, outside Gorakhpur, w here he went
to die. In contrast, Dadu p a n th ishave been provided with an account
275Thiel-Horstmann (1983), p. 12.

276For a discussion of the hagiographical accounts of their encounters please see following chapter,
Kabir and the Sikhs.
277Lorenzen points out that the stories that connect Kabir with Sultan Ibrahim-bin-Adham are, in fact,
borrowed from previous Sufi models. Lorenzen (1991), p. 66-67.
171
by which they can sym bolically retrace the steps of Dadu across
Rajasthan, covering all the m ajor events associated with his life.
As is common in s a a thagiography278, both Dadu and Kabir share
miraculous disappearances at the time of their deaths. The story of the
struggle over Kabir's body betw een his Hindu and Muslim devotees is
w ell known. K abir closes him self in a hut to d ie , and when the
devotees enter, all th at rem ains is a pile of flow ers for them to divide.
This story is also told about the Sikh Guru N anak. The Dadu account is
different, but sim ilar in m any respects, as Jan G opal notes. Dadu
retreats to "a lonely p la c e ", where he is sum m oned by the divine and
dies. Discovering him , his disciples place his body on a chair, and th e n
anoint it with perfum e and sandal paste. But w hen others come to p a y
their last respects, only Dadu's clothes w ere found.
A m iracle had occurred,

the chair had becom e invisible,
all the devotees and Sants gathered
and witnessed this wonderful event.
At this point Jan Gopal inserts a quote from R a ja b , another leading

disciple of Dadu, com piler of the Sarvangi and a p o et in his own right:
The body of Dadu and of Kabir

has disappeared like camphor.
Rajab: We have seen how miraculously a sagun body
278for an interesting table comparing common features of saat hagiography, please see Lorenzen (1995),
“The Lives o f Nirguni Saints", in Bbakti Religion in North India: Community Identity and Political
Action, Albany:State University of New York Press, pp. 181-211.
172
is taken up in the light of the nirgun God
How could a jackal devour it or a fire consume it,

how could someone have buried the corpse?
Dadu m e t the merciful One,
as salt disappears in w ater.279
The m iraculous disappearance of Dadu's body is again explicitly

linked to the hagiographic account of Kabir. While shared stories are
common, if not the norm, in sant hagiography, this overtly stated
association b etw een Dadu and Kabir is unique.
Also com m on in sant hagiography are encounters and/or g o sth l
(debates) b etw een two well known sants or other religious figures such
as brahman pandits or famous Sufis. The function of these g o sth l are
to elevate the status of one sant by having him best another in religious
debate. T hese are conspicuously absent betw een Dadu and Kabir.
While his religious discussions with the Emperor Akbar and Akbar's
adviser Birbal are included in Jan Gopal's account, it appears th at there
w as no attem pt to insert this type of literary device into the Dadu Janma
Lila. This could easily bolster claims for the historical veracity of the
account. It m a y also reflect the extrem e respect and reverence with
which the early Dadu panth had for Kabir. The Dadu panthis come
close to acknowledging a secondary position to Kabir.
Despite the la ck of debates betw een the two sants, Jan Gopal's
account does h av e Dadu m eet Kabir tw ice. These m eetings are clearly
279Jan Gopal, Dadu Janma Lila. 15:31, Callewaert (1988), p. 84.
173
intended as allegory rather than historical fact. Jan G opal’s account

tells us that Dadu first meets K abir while in samadhi (religious trance):
Boundless knowledge of D ivine reality

dawned after he m et the blessed Kabir in samadhi,
and they discussed his doubts
about the divine experience.
He continually sang K abir’s poem s and verses

and becam e his equal in word and deed.
A fter his m eeting with Kabir,
he becam e an authority on Divine Reality.280
In another passage it is m entioned that Dadu, shortly before his

death, was visited by many fam ous religious figures, such as the yogi
Gorakhnath, Prahlad, Namdev, the 84 siddhas and Kabir. T hey are
said to have had "religious discussions" all night, but no one else could
see them except Dadu.281
So, although explicitly m arvelous encounters are there, in keeping with
the literary genre, Jan Gopal is careful to separate them from the more
"historical" aspects of his work. This is seldom the case in the
hagiographical accounts of other sants, particularly those of Kabir. This is
a rem arkable feature of this fascinating text.
Throughout Jan Gopal's biography of Kabir we have noted m any direct
comparisons of Dadu to Kabir. The obvious intent is to establish the
prestige of Dadu by associating him with the renowned figure of Kabir. It
280Jan Gopal, Dadu Janma Lila, 2:3-4, Callewaert (1988), p. 37.

281Jan Gopal. Dadu Janma L ili, 15:14, Callewaert, (1988), p. 81.
174
is important to note, how ever, that we only know of the fam e of K abir at
that period of time by tex tu al references such as this, and the inclusion of
his verses in sectarian collections. For this reason a close reading of the
hagiographical texts is vital to an understanding of the religious and social
m ilieu of the times. The Jan Gopal text is more th an a m ere paean to
Dadu and Kabir. It shows us the relative positions of the two sants vis-a-
vis the members of the early Dadu panth, or at le a st Jan Gopal himself.
W hat we see is an em erging sect, struggling to establish its identity and to
achieve legitim acy in the eyes of the local population. The function of
these hagiographies was precisely to ensure, through poetic verses, th at the
m em ories of their sants would be preserved, and th a t their em erging sects
would attract followers and prosper. We can see in Jan Gopal's account a
strong desire to link the nam es of Kabir and Dadu, and their principal
them es are intended to be seen as kindred. R ejection of caste distinctions
and superficial religious ritual are primary concerns. Although Jan Gopal,
and contemporary Dadu panthi authors such as Sunderdas, were literate,
the emphasis is clearly on the vernacular, and Sanskritization is only
minim ally apparent.
It must be borne in m ind that the references used in this chapter are
from the earliest known hagiographical account of the two sants. In the
case of both Kabir and Dadu later versions of these accounts have
significantly changed im portant elements of the narrative. It is clear that,
from the beginning of the Dadu panth shortlyafter the death of Dadu,
significant changes w ere t aking place. The seem ingly inevitable
processes of reconciliation with the greater V aishnav and, ultim ately,
175
brahm anic m ainstream s of Hinduism w ere underw ay. Through a reading

of these texts this process m ay be discerned and delineated. From a
comparison of several extant copies of the Ja n Gopal manuscript,
C allew aert notes th at the text has been changed and enlarged at a v ery
early stage after its composition.282 The changes and enlargem ents th a t
he refers to involve attem pts to modify the inconvenient features of Dadu's
life, i.e. the details of his life which inhibit an easy assimilation into
m ainstream V aishnav Hinduism. These in clu d e, first of all, efforts to
disguise references in earlier texts to Dadu's low caste status as a dhuniya
(cotton carder).
In another im portant source for the life story of Dadu, R ajab‘s Sarvangl,
this goal has b een achieved through the possibility of translating the verse
"dhuniya grahe utapanno Dadu mahamuni" in two ways, either as ‘D adu
was born from the womb of a dhuni woman' or, alternatively, 'Dadu w as
found in a river.' Those wishing to obviate Dadu's low caste status h ave
chosen the latter.283
This type of word play is exactly w hat has b een employed by la te r
authors writing about Kabir. Ahmad Shah, in his 1917 translation of the
B ijak , relates a story which m akes K abir the son of a brahman widow
born m iraculously from the palm of her hand, as the result of the p ray er of
the ascetic R am an and, who was ignorant of h er widowhood. To avoid
disgrace, she exposed him in the tank. W ith this story is connected the
282Callewaerc (1988), The Hindi Biography of Dadu D a y a l, Delhi: Mocilal Banarsidass, p. 31.
283CaUewaert (1988). p.13.
176
fanciful derivation of the nam e (Kabir) from the Hindi words k a r (hand)
and bir (hero).284
Likew ise, Lorenzen perceives a sim ilar attem pt made by
Brahm alinam uni, the author of a biography of Kabir in Sanskrit saloks,
who "wants to derive the word (Kabir) from the Sanskrit ka vi (poet, seer),
rather than from the more obvious Persian-A rabic name 'Kabir',
Brahm alinam uni prefers the name 'Kavir' to 'Kabir'.285
Both of these are attempts to transform even the Muslim nam e of K abir
into a form m ore acceptable to Hindu orthodoxy.
In this process we can clearly see the tension betw een w hat R edfield
refers to as the "Little and G reat Traditions".286 In the Indian context
the G reat T radition refers to the brahm anic orthodoxy, the Vedic
classical tradition and the use of the Sanskrit language, all pan-Indian
phenom enon. The Little Tradition refers to regional religious and
social phenom enon, vernacular dialects and non-brahmanic or
heterodox traditions. M. N. Srinivas describes much the same
phenom enon under the term "Sanskritization" 287 It is the constant
interplay b etw een these polar oppositions that makes the bhakti
m ovem ent so interesting and powerful. On the one hand, the initial
appeal of D adu and Kabir is in their heterodox stances. Composing
their verses in the vernacular, speaking out against the perceived
excesses of brahm anic and Islamic authority, as well as the practices of
284Ahmad Shah (1986),The Bljak of K abir, Delhi: Asian Publication Services, p.3.
285Lorenzen (1991), K abir Legends and Ananta-Das's Paracbai . Albany: State University of New York
Press, p. 46.
286Robert Redfield (1956), Peasant Society and Culture, Chicago: University of California Press.
287M.N. Srinivas (1966), Social Change in Modem India, Berkeley: University of California Press.
177
tantric yoga, they are voices of reform . As proponents of nirgvn bhakti,

they fall among those T ara Chand refers to as radical reform ers as
opposed to conservative reform ers288 such as Tulsidas, who "remained
true to ancient beliefs and allowed only slight changes in doctrines and
rites". Both Dadu and Kabir w ere firm and vocal in th eir non-sectarian
views and shared a disregard for outward forms of religious worship.
Only concentration on the nam e of God and keeping com pany with
sants were seen as relevant paths to spiritual release. In m any ways
their thoughts echo those of the Buddha, another heterodox reform er
who rebelled against the brahm anic system almost a m illennium before.
But it seem s the larger tradition is too strong and ingrained in the
culture and psyche of the people to be forgone for long. As hierarchies
w ithin the early Dadu panth form ed, Rajputs and the "twice-born"
castes im m ediately rose to the top. As Gold suggests "higher caste
Hindu m odels eventually becam e formative in the Panth, which
developed along the lines of a Hindu monastic organization". Gold
goes on to state that the Dadu p a n th ishe interviewed in 1980 claim ed to
only adm it those from the "clean" Hindu castes into the order today.289
A sim ilar and ongoing process m ay be seen at work w ithin the Kabir
panth.290 The initial appeal is reform and the charism a of the sant.
But, as the sects develop, they m ust increasingly justify them selves in
more traditional ways, and by adopting more traditional outward forms.
288Tara Chand (1963), Influence of Islam on Indian Culture, Allahabad: Indian Press Publications, p. 145.
289Daniel Gold (1994), "The Dadu-Panth: A Religious Order in its Rajasthan Context", in The Idea of
Rajasthan: Explorations in Regional Identity, New Delhi: Manohar, p. 251.
290David Lorenzen (1981), "The Kabir Panth: Heretics to Hindus", in Religious Change and Cultural
Domination, Mexico: El Colegio de Mexico, pp. 151-171.
178
Through an understanding of the hagiographic process, and a

knowledge of how myths evolve, we can see this global process
reflected in the texts.
Through a reading of the early hagiographical texts concerning the
North Indian nirgvn sants Dadu and Kabir we can draw several
conclusions:
1. We can, through com parative and critical exam ination of the

original manuscripts, identify the earliest hagiographic narratives, and
create critical editions of these texts.291
2. Through a critical reading of these texts we can determ ine the

degree of respect in which K abir was held by the early Dadu panth and,
by inference, by Dadu him self.
3. By noting how frequently Jan Gopal refers to K abir in his work,

we can postulate that the early Dadu panth was attem pting to appeal to
the same social groups w hich w ere attracted to Kabir, the low er Hindu
castes and recently converted Muslims, who consisted predom inantly of
artisans.
4. By noting changes and revisions in the early m anuscripts, and by

comparing the early texts w ith la ter expanded versions, we can
determ ine changes taking place within the growing Dadu panth.
29IThis has been done by Lorenzen for Anantdas' Kabir Paracbai and by Callewaert for Jan Gopal's
Dadu Janma Lila.
179
Important changes taking place include a desire to purge Dadu of his

low-caste status. This was attempted through textual changes and
word play. This reflects an increasing m ovem ent on the part of the
Dadu panth tow ards mainstream V aishnav Hinduism, and ultim ately,
the greater Sanskritic tradition.
5. Through the authors' choice of subject m atter, and by paying

close attention to the w ay information is presented, or withheld, we can
draw conclusions, how ever tentative, as to the relative historical
validity of that information.
6. We can see in Jan Gopal's narrative the delineation of w hat w ould

becom e the "sacred geography" of the D adu panth. Sites associated
with significant events in the life of Dadu becom e later centers of the
Dadu panth and are visited by Dadu panthi pilgrims.
7. While m any hagiographies, particularly in the sant tradition, share

narrative episodes and mention other fam ous sants, the case of Jan
Gopal's narrative is more than simply representative of the genre. It is
deliberately based upon the model of the K abir narrative. M oreover,
in addition to sharing narrative detail, the Dadu panthi accounts
repeatedly invoke the image of Kabir in an attem pt to attract followers
to the early Dadu panth.
180
CHAPTER SIX
THE SIKH PANTH AND KABIR
The central text of the Sikh tradition is the Guru Granth Sahib. Of the
many religious poets whose verses are collected in this text, aside from
Nanak and the Sikh Gurus them selves, the verses of Kabir are the m ost
numerous. D espite this fact, within the hagiographic m aterial found in the
Sikh tradition, K abir plays a relatively m inor role. W hat we discover in
the hagiographic literature of the Sikhs concerning Kabir tends to place
him in a distinctly low er position than N anak, the founder and first guru of
the Sikh tradition. In these accounts K abir receives religious teachings
from N anak in religious conversations or debates known as gosthl. This
literary device serves, quite understandably in accounts w ritten by early
Sikh hagiographers, to elevate N anak’s status vis-a-vis Kabir. Sim ilar
encounters take place with other bhakti sants, Sufis and tantrics who
enjoyed wide popularity and respect during the early period of the Sikh
panth in which these accounts were created. The manner in which the
figure of K abir is presented in these accounts is particularly interesting.
One might assum e th at the figure of Kabir, exhibiting qualities and aspects
of both Hinduism and Islam, would be em braced by the Sikh com munity as
a kindred spirit. Instead, the treatm ent of K abir in the Sikh hagiographic
literature is em blem atic of the early Sikh community's attem pts to create
for them selves a unique religious and com m unal identity. T hey
accomplished this by defining them selves as separate not only from Kabir
and the so-called "bhakti movement" but from the larger spheres of greater
181
Hinduism and Islam. This process of communal definition in relation to

the "other", in this case various elem ents of the Indie tradition and Islam,
continues to this day. Sikh scholars often refute the association of the Sikh
panth with Hinduism and assert their independence as an entirely new
faith.292 Hagiographic works composed in the sixteenth and early
seventeenth centuries contain the earliest textual indications of this process
of communal self-identification.
This chapter looks at the life of N anak as it is portrayed in hagiography,
and then examines the inform ation concerning Kabir's life to be found
w ithin the Sikh tradition. It should be emphasized that, as in the case of
the K abir and Dadu panths, such a study may tell us little about the
"historical" lives of either N anak or Kabir. Nonetheless, the relationship
betw een the two sants, as portrayed in the hagiographic literatu re, yields
im portant information about the early concerns and evolution of the Sikh
panth. Through a close reading of these accounts, we can discern the way
the early Sikh panth perceived themselves in relation to the previous
nirgun sant tradition, and in relation to Kabir in particular. We can also
better understand the significance and function of this hagiographic
literature in the developm ent of a sense of communal identity within the
Sikh panth.
The inclusion of Kabir accounts in the Sikh hagiographic writings
underlines the importance of K abir in the minds of the people of North
India in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. It is clear from these
accounts that Kabir was held up as a standard by which other sants were
292for an excellent description of this process of the definition of Sikh identity see Harjot Oberoi (1994),
The Construction of Religious Boundaries, Oxford University Press.
182
judged. The w ay in which these Sikh accounts differ from either those of
the Kabir tradition or those of the Dadu panth illustrate the resolutely
independent course th at the Sikh panth has em barked on from its e a rlie st
inception.
Of the m any p a n th sth a t have formed around prom inent North Indian
sants, by far the m ost successful and num erous today are the Sikhs.
Numbering over 16 m illion members, this panth, with a strong ethnic and
linguistic unity based in the rich soil of the Punjab, was founded by Guru
N anak. The Sikh /anam -sakhis (birth stories) are hagiographic accounts
of the life of N anak. According to them Guru N anak was born in 1469 AD
in the village of R ai Bhoi di Talwandi (N ankana Sahib), not far from
Lahore in w hat is now Pakistan. A fter his m a rriag e, his sister's husb and
arranged a position for him at Sultanpur, in K apurthaia District, w here he
worked as a clerk in the court of Daulat Khan Lodi. Nanak's calling to the
religious life occurred one day as he was bathing in the river Vein.
Handing his clothes to a servant, N anak entered the w ater and disappeared
from sight. A fter som e tim e, the servant becam e worried and a search
with nets was conducted to look for Nanak's body in the river. No trac e of
him w as found. A fter three days, N anak w as seen emerging from the
same spot in the river at which he had entered. He then gave aw ay all of
his possessions and did not speak for two days. W hen he did speak he
uttered the famous words, "There is neither Hindu nor Muslim." L eaving
his position at court, N anak, following the traditional pattern of Indian
religious ascetics, set off for nearly twenty years of travel within the
subcontinent and beyond. During his travels he joined the seem ingly
183
endless flow of pilgrims of various castes and creeds, seeking truth and
realization. Along the way he m et m any other seekers; sadhus, fakirs and
yogis. A t the end of his travels N anak returned to his native Punjab and
took up residence in the village of K artarpur (Dera Bab a N anak), on the
bank of the R avi river. Here he gave teachings and gathered a large
num ber of followers and disciples before his death in 1539.293 N anak
shares the story of his death with th at of Kabir. The bodies of both sants,
after having disavowed both Hinduism and Islam while alive, are
nonetheless the object of communal division upon their deaths. The
Hindus and Muslims quarrel over N anak's remains, but when the winding
sheet has been opened, the people are astonished to see that the san t has
disappeared.
Shortly before his death, N anak appointed a devoted follow er, Bhai
L ahina, to be his spiritual successor, thereafter known as Guru Angad. It
is interesting to note that one of N anak's two sons, Siri Chand, could
possibly have assumed the gaddi (throne) at this time, but, as an ascetic,
could not accept his father Nanak's rejection of asceticism and insistence
upon the life of a householder as the id eal path, even for the spiritual
seek er.294 Y et, an interesting passage at the end of the B-40 m anuscript
even refers to Sri Chand's outrage at the appointment of "an ignorant
khatri" to take N anak’s place at the head of the nascent panth.
Guru Angad becam e the second Sikh Guru in 1539, and took up
residence in the small village of Khadur, on the right bank of the Beas
293S ee McLeod (1968), p. 5, Grewal (1969), p. ix-x.

294Sri Chand and others of like mind formed the Udasi panth. who, although pursuing ascetic paths, never
openly rejected their connection with Guru Nanak. They never succeeded in retaining a large following,
and soon disappeared. McLeod, "The Development of the Sikh Panth", in Schomer (1987), pp. 232-33.
184
river, some 30 kilometers above its confluence with the Sutlej. A few of
his saloks (verses) are found in the A di Granth. He w as succeeded by
Guru A m ardas, who led the Sikh panth from 1552-1574. It was during this
period th at the panth acquired a formal structure and organization.
T erritorial deputies w ere appointed, specific rituals defined and specific
holy places came to be associated with the Sikh panth. More important
for this discussion, a collection of written works came together under Guru
A m ardas, which were subsequently used as the principal source for the A d i
Granth, the collection of religious verses revered by the Sikhs today as
their Guru. This early collection is known as the Goindvai pothis.
The fourth Guru, R am das, shifted the gaddi to a site known as Guru ka
Chuk, known today as Am ritsar, which remains the center of panthic
activity. In 1603-4 the fifth Sikh guru, Arjun compiled the A d i Granth
here. The sanctity of this text has preserved it intact as an excellent
com pendium of the religious thinking of the period, including that of Kabir.
A part from the verses of N anak and the nine Sikh gurus who succeeded
him, verses attributed to K abir are the most numerous of those found in the
A d i Granth^ or Guru Granth, the holy book of the Sikh panth. The role that
the A d i Granth plays in the religious life of the Sikh community cannot be
overem phasized, the text itself having been assigned the status of Guru
upon the death of Guru Gobind Singh in 1708. While both the Kabir and
Dadu p a n th sg ive the B ija k and Vani, respectively, pride of place in their
traditions, the Sikhs have surpassed all other bhakti sects in their reverence
for the tex t as a symbol of their religious community and the central focus
of worship within it.
185
The evolution of the Sikh panth is commonly organized according to

three m ajor stages.295 The first of these stages begins during the first half
of the sixteenth century. It consists of the life of N anak, his teachings and
the followers who respected them, and the establishm ent of the Sikh panth
as a distinct spiritual lineage beginning with N anak and his subsequent
appointment of Guru Angad as his successor.
The second stage, during the first half of the seventeenth century,
represents the arming of the Sikh panth and the beginnings of a m artial
tradition within the panth. This transition is said to have been provoked by
the death of Guru Hargobind in 1606 while in M ughal custody.
The third stage dates from the dramatic form ation of the K halsa by the
tenth and final Guru, Gobind Singh, in 1699. From this date a com m unity
of armed soldier-saints was formed, to protect the panth against M ughal
repression. This aim was most fully accomplished under M aharaja R anjit
Singh during the nineteenth century. The im pact of Guru Gobind Singh
and the form ation of the Khalsa in the construction of an independent Sikh
communal identity cannot be overstated. From this point on, the Sikh
community was provided with a pivotal center, whose m embers w ere
easily identifiable by their adoption of the "five k's" (each beginning with
the letter k). These are ke s (unshorn hair), kangha (wooden comb),
kirpan (sword), kara (steel bracelet), and kacch (undershorts). In
addition, restrictions were placed on all khalsa m em bers, including dietary
prohibitions on the consumption of alcohol or tobacco products and m eat
295McLeod (1976),Evolution o f the Sikh Community, pp. 3-5, Harbans Singh (1964). The Heritage o f the
Sikhs, pp. 19-44, Khushwanc Singh (1963), A History o f the Sikhs, pp. 96-98.
186
slaughtered according to M uslim halal standards (in which the anim al is

bled to death).
McLeod proves a useful corrective against such simplistic
interpretations in stating that the process of the developm ent of the Sikh
panth was fa r more complex th an this basic schematic suggests.296 H arjot
Oberoi extends this chronological m odel to convincingly dem onstrate that,
after the Singh Sabha reform m ovem ent of the nineteenth century, these
standards w ere applied to all Sikhs, regardless of khalsa m em bership. This
was accom panied by the adoption of Punjabi as the sacred language of
Sikhism and an increased em phasis on codified Sikh rites of p assag e.297
Despite it limitations, this g en eral outline serves as a useful fram ew ork
in which to view the evolution of the Sikh community. In the follow ing
study it is the first stage with w hich we are most concerned, the period in
which the early Sikh panth w as being formed and in which the first
hagiographic accounts of N anak's life were composed. In the
hagiographic accounts available to us from this period we can id en tify the
beginnings of an ongoing struggle to create an autonomous identity, if not
entirely independent from the overall context of the greater Indie and
Muslim traditions from which N anak's teachings originated.
W ithin a century of the death of Guru N anak (1469-1539) and the
founding of the Sikh panth several hagiographic accounts of the life of
N anak were composed, perhaps under commission from local ruling
families. T hese accounts are know n as janam-sakhis. Com posed in
verse form, th ey were prim arily intended for use within the oral tradition.
296McLeod (1976), The Evolution o f the Sikh Community, pp. 4-19.

297Oberoi (1994), p.255.
187
H owever, manuscripts do exist from this time period, and the possibility
rem ains th at they m ay have been originally created in written manuscript
form. It is essential to realize that this period m arks the b e g inn in gs of the
w ritten manuscript tradition on a large scale in the vernacular literature of
N orth India. These manuscripts allow us a difficult but vital entry point
into the dawn of the Sikh panth, and enable us to better understand the
concerns and objectives of the early panth that evolved into the Sikh
tradition.
T hese hagiographic accounts detail the life of N anak, his early life, his
travels, and the story of his death. They also serve as an important
narrative fram ew ork within which the perceived teachings and m essage of
Guru N anak w ere, and are, conveyed to those to whom they are read or
recited. From these janam-sakhlsvre begin to sense the almost
m issionary zeal of Nanak's early followers. M any of the episodes
contained w ithin them involve Nanak's conversions of those he m eets to
the new creed of Sikhism, usually through the perform ance of m iracles.298
This is quite different than w hat is found in the early Kabir panthi
literature, where Kabir is not portrayed as actively encouraging followers.
In one famous instance, he is even seen as actively discouraging them,
through pretending to drink wine and embracing a prostitute.299
Two of the janam -sakhis I have examined contain accounts of m eetings
and discourses betw een Guru N anak and Kabir. T h ey both stand in stark
contrast to the accounts of Kabir found in either the K abir tradition or the
298 Notable examples include Nanak’s visit to Bhutan, McLeod (1980),The B-40 Manuscript, pp. 175-76,
his conversion of a robber landlord, pp. 204-206, and his journey to Kashmir, pp. 177-179.
299 Lorenzen (1991), Kabir Legends and Ananta-Das's Kabir Parachai, pp. 101-102.
188
accounts of Kabir found within the D adu panth. The Kabir panthi
accounts elevate K abir to the status of the highest power, the prime m over
of all existence.300 The Dadu panthi accounts tend to lionize or exhalt
Kabir as a spiritual m odel for Dadu himself, and seek to elevate the status
of Dadu through associating him with Kabir.301 The Sikh accounts, on the
other hand, while acknowledging Kabir's greatness, em phasize the
superior position and teachings of Nanak over Kabir. This is em phasized
in two different accounts of g o s th i(religious debate) betw een N anak and
Kabir. In these generic encounters, a standard literary device of the
period, N anak bests K abir in discussion, and is recognized by Kabir as a
great teacher worthy of his respect.
Both of these Sikh ja n a m -sa kh is, to varying degree, pay homage to the
greatness of Kabir. Yet, by the end of each discourse, N anak is clearly
seen to be giving teachings to Kabir, and answering questions put to him in
a m anner suggesting a guru/shishya (master/disciple) relationship betw een
the two sants, with Kabir assuming the role of pupil. In the hagiographic
accounts, these encounters are set during Nanak's years of religious
wandering. Historically, it appears that N anak and Kabir m ay w ell have
been contem poraries, and the possibility of their m eeting each other does
exist, yet the presence of these episodes in the janam -sakhis provide no
basis for such a conclusion. Rather, these stories represent a common
theme found throughout the hagiographic literature pertaining to the North
Indian sants. The sant who's life story is being presented frequently
meets with other m ajor religious leaders, including philosophical
300 See chapcer 4, "Later Accounts of Kabir".

301 See chapter 5, "Kabir and the Dadu Paatb".
189
opponents as w ell as those closely aligned with the sect involved. The
purpose in the first case is to refute the doctrines of the sant's opponents or
rivals. An exam ple of this in the janam -sakhis m a y be seen in N anak's
encounter with Gorakhnath, Gopichand, Bharathari and other nath yogis on
Mount Sum eru.302 The purpose in the second case is to link the nam es of
other w ell-know n and respected figures with the sant and subsequently
have them acknow ledge him and extol his superiority. This is the case in
Nanak's encounters with Kabir. The presence of these accounts tells us
that Kabir was so highly regarded th at the authors (or their later
interpolators) found it prudent to include encounters or gosthis
(conversations/debates) between the two sants. This device is com m on to
the entire genre of m edieval North Indian hagiography and is found w ithin
almost all the sects associated with the sant tradition.
One account w hich contains discussions betw en N anak and K abir is the
janam -sakhi of Sodhi Miharban (1581-1640). Sodhi M iharban w as a
grandson of Guru Ram das and a nephew of Guru Arjan. A nother is a
composite w ork w hich has come to be known by its India Office L ibrary
acquisition num ber, the B-40 manuscript. In the account of the m eetin g
and g o sth i b etw een Nanak and Kabir found in the Miharban ja nam -sakhi
both sants praise each other and attem pt to place the other above them .
By the end of th e m eeting, Nanak is clearly giving teachings to Kabir:
"Gosainji (Kabir), W hen one gets a com plete guru and he

explains th e n the body and the soul becom e one. Only a few
know and understand the guru's gift of grace. Most do not
302 McLeod (1980), The B-40 Manuscript, pp. 91-103.
190
know and understand this thing " T hen Gosain K abir said,
"Babaji! W hat happens to them who understand this thing?"
Then Guru N anak replied, "One who understands this, belongs
to God (Parm eshwar). One who doesn't understand this turns
into ghosts, etc. and he doesn't attain anything. He wanders
here and there like a crazy person." T hen K abir Gosain said,
"Baba N anakji, does this m ean that one should worship those
who understand and not worship those who did not?" Then
Guru N anak said, "Gosainji!, I never said th at in this is God
and in that God is not; nor did I say to recite the nam e of this
and not of that. You should worship all. In everyone He
(Parameshwar) is there. Nobody else is there."
More follows in this vein, but it is clearly N anak who dominates the
conversation.
In the B-40 m anuscript account K abir explicitly asks for teachings
and the role of Kabir is th a t of a disciple of Nanak;
If there be no objection, O Lord, grant that I m ay m ake a

humble request. How does one attain to the condition said to
be ineffable, boundless, and difficult of access? Explain to
me, O perfected Guru; reveal it in its m anifold aspects. T ell
me the m anner w hereby one attains to the condition of
undivided love [for God]. Explain to m e, I p ray you, how in
thought, word and deed [one m ay attain to this condition].
Says Kabir: H earken O perfected guru. How does one find
the Savior Lord?
After N anak explains the answer to Kabir, including lessons in

m editation, the respective status of the two sants is m ade abundantly clear:
191
Bhagat K abir: Blessings, blessings upon Guru N anak whose

presence w ith m e has wrought m y salvation!
And later:
Throughout all ages [let the nam e of] Guru N anak be

repeated, [proclaims his] lowly disciple Kabir! H earken to
the teaching of the perfect True Guru, [and your] h eart (man)
shall be filled with joy. It is Bab a N an ak who is the G iver of
salvation; R am anand is as nothing!" B aba Nanak, the im age
of the Form less One, then vanished.303
This last com m ent goes so far as to have K abir discard R am anand,
traditionally regarded as Kabir's guru, for N anak!
It is clear th a t in these Sikh janam -sakhis the function of such
encounters is to elevate the status of Guru N anak by placing the w ell-
known sane K abir at his feet. This type of exchange betw een sants is a
common feature of the latter stages of the hagiographic process. N otable
exchanges occur b etw een Kabir and R avidas, Kabir and G orakhnath, etc.
Usually these episodes in the life history of a sant occur as interpolations
inserted into older texts. These accounts attract followers and reinforce
belief among the m em bers of the com munity that their guru is param ount.
W hat is unusual about these janam -sakhl accounts of Nanak's m eeting
with K abir is th a t they occur so early on in the Sikh hagiographic tradition.
Their inclusion at this early date reflects the greater degree of
303McLeod (1980), The B-40 Janam-Sakhi.pp. 151-155.
192
independence as a sect that the Sikhs have exhibited throughout their

history. From the early stages of the Sikh panth, attem pts w ere being
made to distance themselves from the apparently overwhelm ing popularity
of Kabir. By extension, they were distancing them selves from the rubric
of V aishnavism and what has been referred to as the "G reat Tradition" of
Hinduism.304 Today, much of Sikh scholarship insists on the recognition of
Sikhism as an entirely new faith, independent of the bhakti m ovem ent and
Hinduism.
The early hagiographic accounts of Kabir contain no reference to a
meeting b etw een Kabir and Nanak. L ater Kabir panthi tradition has
supplied us w ith one. This encounter occurs in the Kabir M anshur by
P ar am an and ad as. The Kabir Manshur is a fantastic compendium which
details K abir’s meetings with virtually the entire Hindu pantheon, and
diverse religious teachers such as Jesus, Muhammad, Moses and Nanak.
This episode contains a capsule version of the life of N anak, apparently
taken from the Sikh/aa am -sakhis, as w ell as a brief history of the Kabir
panth up until the death of Guru Gobind Singh, the eleventh Sikh Guru. If
the description of Gobind Singh as the eleventh Sikh Guru appears
historically incorrect (Sikh sources regard him as the tenth) it is because
the Kabir M anshur account inserts K abir as Nanak's guru and thus Kabir
becomes the "first Sikh guru". Such flights of the im agination on the part
of Param anandadas are the norm in this text, the principal purpose of
which is to assert the influence that satguru (Kabir) has had over all the
religious figures of the world known to Param anandadas. According to
304Milton Singer, 1972.
193
the Kabir Manshur account, K abir miraculously appears before N anak

during the three days that he spent immersed in the Beas river before
emerging to becom e a religious teacher. Kabir has descended from
heaven to aw aken N anak to his rightful role as a religious teacher:
Once N anak cam e to the river to bathe in 1554 Vikram

Sam vat (AD 1603), w hen he was at the age of 28. The
sacgvru (Kabir) appeared. Kabir contacted N anak
telepathically. N anak asked, "Where have you come from
and w hat is your nam e? W hy have you come h e r e , please tell
_ _
me. I!
K abir said, "I have come from heaven to counsel people

and m y name is Kabir. Now I have come from Kashi
(Banaras) to teach you. N anak had heard the nam e but had
never m et Kabir. But now, seeing and hearing him , his heart
understood that this w as Kabir. Noble thoughts arose in him
and he bowed to his feet. Shri Kabir said, "You have
forgotten the special duty for which you have com e into this
world. You must be freed from the darkness of affectation."
N anak asked, "Please accept me, thou ocean of kindness."
The Satguru lectured to Nanak about the nature of
knowledge, devotion and transcendance, and responded to
Nanak's queries. T h ey both stayed there for three days.
N anak continually experienced Dhyan (m editative
awareness) from Kabir's guidance and he felt bliss from the
experience.
N anak praised the satguru . Pleased with N anak the
satguru provided him with santvesh (religious dress) and bid
him to chant satyanam (the true name) reverentially.
N anak, filled with transcend ance, began to worship the
satguru . Shri K abir bid N anak to not forget the w ay of
D hyan.
194
"The knowledge of advait (oneness) is the ultim ate

knowledge and it provides salvation.
Wrong, grief, the world, suffering, treachery and bondage
are all synonymous. The scholars say that suffering, its
causes and its effects are all false.
As a rope appears as a snake, a m irage appears in the
desert, and oyster (shells) ap p ear as silver, likewise the
various g v n a s (forms) of Bcahm are misperceived. It looks
as if but it is not so!
The things seen in slum ber are not seen when aw ake.
Likew ise, the suffering that w as evident in the absence of
know ledge w ill not be the sam e in the presence of know ledge.
How can anything be re a l which is founded upon the
unreal? So, consider everything as unreal.
As long as the foundation of ones knowledge is not real,
and the foundation of the world is not real, how can its
knowledge come true?
So, give teachings to only those who are noble and
deserving and loyal to the guru. Spread your religion all over
India.
T ravel throughout the country and devote your life to the
betterm ent of jlva s (souls)." Saying this, Kabir started to
leave.
N anak grasped Kabir's fe e t in rep ect and asked w hen he
could see him again. K abir asked him to visit him in Kashi
195
(B anaras) and disappeared.305 N anak fell upon the ground,

overcom e by the pangs of separation.306
This story serves an identical function to the Sikh accounts above,

but with the heirarchical em phasis reversed. It is now K abir who
appears a t crucial points in Nanak's life and gives him teachings and
instruction. K abir assumes the role of Nanak's guru and, by
in feren c e, can be regarded by K abir panthis as the spiritual
preceptor of all Sikhs!
S im ilar hagiographic linkages betw een Kabir and N anak pervade
the K abir M anshur account. K abir is with Nanak during the story
of N anak's pilgrim age to Mecca. In this story Nanak, in the janam -
sakhls and the section entitled "The Guru Kabir and the disciple
Nanak" 307 in the Kabir Manshur, fall asleep with their fe e t pointing
towards M ecca. The kazis, wiewing this as a sign of disrespect,
tried to w ake them but could not. Turning their legs in different
directions, th ey were astonished to see that M ecca itself had shifted
to the direction in which their feet pointed. M etaphorically, "Mecca
is everyw here in all directions."308
305 It is outside of Banaras that the encounters between Nanak and Kabir occur in the Sikh janam-sakhls
During Nanak's travels, according to the Miharban janam-s&khi:
"Shortly after leaving Banaras, Nanak and his disciple Mardana proceeded to where
Gusain Kambir's house was. Kabir went out to meet Baba Nanak and in the discourse
which followed acknowledged him as the supreme Guru. In reply Guru Nanak uttered
his Gauri Astapad 8, a composition which if it were to be applied to Kabir would imply
very high praise of him."
McLeod (1968). p. 56, vs. 43.
306paramanandadas, Kabir Manshur.

307Paramanandadas, Kabir Manshur, pp. 327-37.
308paramanandadas, Kabir Manshur, pp.327-37.
196
This story dem onstrates opposition to the religions strictures

imposed by both the M uslims, and the needless social antagonisms
that arise from them. The sants prove them selves to be superior to
the pow er of the holy city M ecca, and as worthy of respect as Islam.
In the the Kabir Manshur account, Kabir panthi hagiographers
appear to have simply inserted Kabir into the w ell known N anak
episode.
From this brief overview of the hagiographic accounts of
m eetings betw een N anak and Kabir in both the Sikh and Kabir
panthi traditions we can draw the following conclusions:
1. The hagiographic accounts do not provide us with sufficient

inform ation to substantiate a m eeting between the two sants. Their
inclusion in the corpus of hagiographical literature of the early Sikh
panth does, however, illustrate the importance of K abir in the minds
of the Sikh community of the seventeenth century. Likewise, the
inclusion of accounts of N an ak in the later Kabir panthi tradition
reflects an awareness of the importance of N anak as a like minded
figure springing from the North Indian nirgun sant tradition.
2. The Sikh accounts found in the Miharban and B-40 manuscripts

em phasize the religious superiority of Nanak over Kabir. This is
accomplished by placing him in the role of a chela (disciple)
receiving teachings and instruction from N anak through the literary
device of g o s th l(religious conversation or debate).
197
3. In the same w ay, the Kabir panthi accounts found in the K abir
M anshur place N anak in the role of a disciple receiving teachings
from Kabir. The roles of Kabir and N anak are reversed from the
Sikh accounts and the superiority of K abir vis-a-vis N anak in an
im agined heirarchy of sanrhood is em phasized.
4. In the K abir panthi accounts w ell known stories from the Sikh
janam -sakhis concerning N anak have b een appropriated by K abir
panthi authors. T hey have inserted the figure of Kabir into these
accounts at key m om ents in the narrative in order to suggest th at
K abir was an im portant catalyst in the spiritual enlightenm ent of
N anak.
5. In the early hagiographic accounts of N anak we can identify

the b eg innings of the creation of an autonomous, if not fully
independent, relationship betw een the developing Sikh panth and
the other nirgun bhakti sects.
198
CHAPTER SEVEN
KABIR AND ISLAM
The H indi po et Kabir is known to the people of India as a pivotal figure

who straddles the gulf between Hinduism and Islam. A ccording to the
traditional biographies, Kabir was raised a Muslim and la te r becam e a
disciple of the V aishnav Hindu Ram anand. Embodying a dynamic
com bination of the two dominant religious traditions of his tim e, Kabir
becam e renow ned as one of the g re atestbhaktas (devotees/saints) of the
Indian subcontinent. Kabir retains his relevance and im m ediacy today
because the tensions between these sam e two religious forces continue to
dominate the Indian scene. R ecent events such as the dem olition by
Hindus of the Babri Masjid in 1992 and the anti-Muslim riots in Bombay of
1994 am ply dem onstrate the seriousness of the com munal situation in India
today and the continued need for the m essage of Kabir.
This chapter first examine several episodes from the traditional
accounts of K abir that depict his confrontations with Islam ic ritual and
orthodoxy. These stories reinforce Kabir's anti-sectarian m essage of
unity, and p it him against blind conformity to religious ritual and dogma.
As was the case in Kabir's encounters with Hindu brahm ans and priests, he
is under pressure from his Muslim fam ily to conform to Islam ic ways.
These episodes detail his opposition to these religious practices and the
creative w ays by which he frustrates the system.
I w ill also exam ine several im portant Muslim works of the tim e that
m ake reference to Kabir. These help to establish K abir w ithin a historical
199
context and demonstrate the evolving view of Kabir held by Muslims over
tim e. Eventually he com es to be regarded by some Muslim authors as a
S u fi, or Islamic mystic.
Prior to the em ergence of bhakti as a m ajor force in the Indian social
and religious m ilieu it w as rare to encounter m ajor religious figures from
low caste Hindu, le t alone Muslim, backgrounds. One of the most
significant features of the bhakti movement as a w hole is that it is
predom inately m ade up of low-caste and Muslim figures such as Ravidas,
a cobbler, Sain, a barber, Dadu, a Muslim cotton carder, and Kabir, a
Muslim weaver. Although not of the lower classes, the traditional
biographies of the bhakti poets also include accounts of Mirabai, a woman
who renounced her royal status in order to take up the life of a spiritual
seeker.
Many authors have addressed the stance adopted by K abir vis-a vis
Hinduism and Islam .309 But, as we have noted above, the distinctions and
dividing lines betw een the two traditions are not as clear as they have been
m ade out to be. British rule culminated in the parting gift of a
subcontinent partitioned along communal lines betw een w hat were
assumed to be the distinct religions of Hinduism and Islam. Such
distinctions were m anipulated during the freedom m ovem ent by both
Hindu and Muslim nationalists. They continue to be manipulated by the
new nation-states of P akistan and India. As a result these presumed
religious boundaries have now become political boundaries drawn across
309Qureshi (1962), pp. 109-121, Basham (1975), pp. 303-308, Ahmad (1964), pp. 143-47.
200
w hat was once accepted as a diverse m uticultural and multi-religious

landscape.
That the differences between Hinduism and Islam are reconcilable has
been taken for granted by the people of the subcontinent and by observers
abroad. It has becom e virtually impossible to discuss the Indian social
scene today w ithout reference to the term s Hinduism and Islam.310 In fact,
the separation b etw een the two has never been total, and many exam ples
exist of groups and individuals, like Kabir, who bridge the gap or fall
somewhere b etw een the two.
The Sufis, m ystical followers of Islam, are often cited as the most
successful group to promulgate Islam in the subcontinent. The Sufis often
lived the lives of traveling ascetics (fakirs), almost indistinguishable from
the Hindu ascetics (sa d h u s) who traveled by the same paths. Less tie d to
formalized Islam ic p ractice, with an em phasis on personal experience of
the divine, Sufi teachings were easily accessible to the people of the
subcontinent. Sufi teachings were congruous with the emphasis of the
bhakti m ovem ent on social change as w ell as personal realization. T he
social reform and anti-caste element found in the bhakti movement
parallels the belief in Islam of the equality of all m en before God, and
m ost of the early converts to Islam were draw n from the same lower
classes that were attracted to the bhakti movem ent.
The success of the Sufis in the subcontinent was facilitated by an
acceptance, w ithin the Hindu religious system of the time, that many
310 This problem has recently been addressed by Barbara Metcalf in her presidential address to the
Association of Asian Studies conference of 1995, "Too Little and Too Much: Reflections on Muslims and
the History of India", Journal o f Asian Studies, Vol. 54. No. 4 , pp. 951-967.
201
different paths to the divine were possible. Vaishnav, Saiva, tantric and
bhakti paths existed simultaneously. So did the traditions of Buddhism
and Jainism. T his acceptance of religious diversity made it easier for the
Sufis to bring n ew m em bers into the Muslim fold.
Harjot O beroi gives the example of the M eherat Rajputs, who, although
claiming descent from Hindu royalty, continue to practice the M uslim rites
of circumcision, and nikah (Muslim m arriage).311 He also describes
shrines of M uslim saints in South India which have adopted the m ythic
episodes, religious objects and cultic practices of popular Hindu
traditions.312 T he Bauls, mystic singers of Bengal, are another larg e group
that crosses the boundaries between the two religious systems.313 Dadu,
Jayasi, and K abir him self are exam ples of individuals who are im possible
to define as eith er Hindu or Muslim. Because the religious and cultural
identities of these groups and individuals is far from clear, at le ast in the
concretized term s of religious affiliation in current usage today, th ey have
often been view ed by scholars as either syncretic or synthetic in nature.
Kabir him self is very clear in his rejection of religious separation on the
basis of ritual practice. All human beings, after all, were created the
same. As H edayetullah points out, quoting from Kabir, "by birth no one
was circum cised to be designated a Muslim; nor was one born w ith the so-
called sacred th read to be called a Brahm an".314
311 Oberoi (1994), pp. 10-11.

312ibid.p. 12.
313 Dimock (1966), The Place o f Che Hidden Moon, University of Chicago Press.
314Hedayecullah (1977). p. 299.
202
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Qazi, w hat book are you lecturing on?

Y ak yak yak, day and night.
You never had an original thought.
Feeling your power, you circum cise—
I can't go along with that, brother.
If your God favored circumcision,
why didn't you come out cut?
If circumcision makes you a Muslim,
w hat do you call your w om en?
Since w om en are called m an's other half,
you m ight as well be Hindus.
If putting on the thread m akes you Brahmin,
w hat does the wife put on?
T h at Shudra's touching your food, pandit!
How can you eat it?
Hindu, Muslim—where did th ey come from?
Who started this road?
Look hard in your heart, send out scouts:
where is heaven?
Now you g et your w ay by force,
203
but when it's tim e for dying,

without Ram's refuge, says Kabir,
brother, you'll go out crying.315
It is clear that Kabir held the distinctions drawn b etw een vast sections
of humanity in the nam e of religious affiliation and ritu al practice in
contempt. Kabir's traditional biographers have utilized Kabir's encounters
with members of various religious groups to highlight this central issue.
T he following stories tell us of Kabir's struggles with Islam ic orthodoxy
and his rejection of the rituals that define the Muslim community.
In previous chapters, which discussed the evolution of the Kabir
narrative over tim e, we saw how small details becom e fleshed out and
elaborated upon as the narrative text becomes expanded over time. In the
earliest known traditional biography of Kabir, the K abir Parachai of
A nantdas, we find the core of w hat become lengthy accounts of Kabir's
upbringing in a Muslim household. In the Anantdas te x t we find, in a brief
note following Kabir's initiation by the Vaishnav saint Ram anand, the
following verse:
His own fam ily m em bers and his father-in-law cam e together
and lamented: He has gotten confused. Why has he
abandoned the customs of his own home, w here M ecca and
Medina, the Muslim creed, fasting during R am adan, and
prayers to Allah are our w ay of worship?316
315Bljak, Sabda 84, Vichardas Shastri (1965), p. 202, translated in Hess, (1983), pp. 69-70.
3 l6 Anantdas, Kabir Parachai , 1:7, trans. by Lorenzen (1991), p. 94.
204
Later accounts elaborate upon this core, providing the listener with
stories that tell us how the boy Kabir overcam e the pressures of Islam ic
ritual that he criticizes so strongly in his verses. In the Kabir Jivan Caritr
(1976), by Ganga Sharan Shastri, the m ahant of the Kabir Chaura m ath,
the major center fo r K abir panthisin. Banaras, we find several stories th at
address this them e. The first of these tells of the ceremony held to nam e
the child Kabir.
When Kabir w as adopted by his Muslim parents, Niru and N im a, it w as
necessary to call in the ka zis (Muslim priests) to nam e the child.
Consulting the K oran and other religious books he got four

nam es, Kabir, Akbar, Kibra and Kibraya. All were the nam es
of God. The Q azi became puzzled. O ther Qazis became
nervous and said, 'How can a julaha's son be given the nam e
of God?' T hey m et and decided to have K abir thrown out of
the house. T hey asked Niru to kill Kabir. Niru took Kabir
inside and attacked him with a knife to his throat. The knife
crossed his neck without a wound or a drop of blood. Kabir
said,N iru, I don't have any mother or father. I don't take
birth. I don't die. Nobody can kill m e. I don't kill anybody.
I don't have a body. This body is only a feeling (bhavna). I
don't have skin, bone or blood. I m yself am God
(param atm a). In the end he was given the nam e of Kabir.317
In another story found in the Kabir Manshur, the kazis are called to
perform the cerem ony of circumcision on the boy Kabir. However, after
the barber had b een called to perform the circumcision, Kabir displayed
317Kabir Manshur, pp. 263-64.
205
five liaga (penises) to the barber and asked him to circumcise w hichever
he chose. Seeing this the barber fled and the ceremony w as n e v e r
perform ed.318
The K abir Jivan Cantr (1976) gives another version of the attem p t to
circumcise Kabir. In this account the boy K abir astounds the assem bled
witnesses by letting out the roar of a lion, at the sound of w hich all are
terrified and the ceremony is called off.319
In these stories Kabir appears as a classic trickster figure w ho outsm arts
authority and, in the process, points out the inherent flaws in th e system he
defeats. Com parisons m ay easily be draw n betw een these stories and the
well known tales of the boy Krishna , presented in the Brahm avaivarta
Purana, the Harivamsa and the Bbagavata Purana . The ritu al
cerem onies which define Muslim identity are rejected and K abir's
ambiguous role vis-a-vis Hinduism and Islam is highlighted.
No one reads Vedas in the Womb.

No T urk was born circumcised.
Dropped from the belly at birth,
a m a n puts on his costumes
and goes through his acts.
On th a t day you and I had one blood,
and one desire for life engulfed us.
The w orld was born from one mother.
W hat wisdom teaches separation?
W hen you come from the vagina, you're a child.
W hen you enjoy the vagina,
they call you a man.
318Kabir Maashvr, pp. 168-69.

319 Kabir Jlvaa Caritr, pp. 11-15.
206
No one knows this ineffable movement—

how could one tongue describe it?
If any man has a m illion mouthes and tongues,
le t that great one speak.320
Among the characters th a t appear in the traditional biographies of Kabir

one of the most illusive is Sheikh Taki. Several stories in both the Muslim
and Kabir panthi traditions m ention this mysterious figure.
f^3TT I
fdrt STsf 3fo5cft ||
O Sheikh,
you have no inner p e a c e —
so why go on a pilgrim age to the Ka'aba?
Kabir, how can they ev er m e et Khuda,
whose hearts
are not full of peace?321
In India it is considered essential that spiritual leaders acquire their

knowledge at the feet of a m aster. He must have a guru, in order to gain
the respect of the Hindu population. Thus, for most Hindus, Ram anand is
acceptedas Kabir's guru. In much the same way, Indian Muslims often
consider Kabir to have b een a g reat Sufi (Islamic m ystic), and have
identified Sheikh Taki as K abir's Muslim pic (religious teacher).
320Bi/'ai, Ramaini 1, trans in Hess (1983), p. 79.

321 Guru Granth, Sloka 185, Varma (1966), p. 267, translated in Dass (1991), p. 299.
207
In stark contrast to this Muslim version of Kabir's life and religious

background ,the Kabir panthi accounts present Sheikh T aki as Kabir's m ost
vocal opponent. In the K abir panchi stories Sheikh T aki becomes the m a n
who denounces Kabir at the court of Sikander Lodi and presses the case
for his execution. At other points in the n arrativ e, such as Kabir's
restoration of life to his adoptive son Kamal, Sheikh T aki is there in the
role of a companion who challenges him with the task. What to m ake of
this contradiction?322
A verse attributed to Kabir found in the Sikh Guru Granth (1604), one
of the earliest of the K abir collections, alludes to an unspecified Sufi plr.
c fft I
iftdeH II
•‘(Nell % I
5 ft ^ ^ <tn^cTT % lllll
^TRc£ W tfe I
11211
^ H leil f t ^ T T P J I
^ & WT3 S o S F J II3II
^ c T ^ t T TFT ^PT TT m 3 I
STCfTFTJ II4II
Hajj for me is going to the Gomti's banks

where dwells the Pitam bar323 Pir.
322Westcott (1907) notes this contradiction,p. 39.

323Pitambar translates as clothed in yellow.
208
Be autiful, b e autiful. How swe etly He sings,

arousing ardor in m y heart for Hari's nam e.
N arada and Sharda wait on him ;
nearby sits lady Kamla, His handm aid.
With a rosary on m y neck, "Ram" on m y tongue,
I offer Him m y salaam , uttering his m yriad names.
Kabir says, "Sing Ram's praises
so that both Hindus and Turks m ay understand.324
Westcott (1907), believed that this quote refers to the town of Jaunpur,
which is located upon the river Gomti.325 The verse itself is ambiguous,
freely mixing Hindu and Muslim elem ents. Far from providing evidence
that Kabir had an Islamic p ir, as has been suggested, it instead
demonstrates the intentionally non-sectarian nature of Kabir's m essage.
The K hazinat-ul-Asafiya (1868), in Persian, mentions Sheikh T ak i by
nam e and describes him as Kabir's p i r 226 This appears to be the first work
to make this statem ent.327 Vaudeville (1993) refers to another P ersian
work, the Tazkiral-i-Auliya-i-Hind (Lives of Indian Muslim Saints),
w herein K abir is described as a disciple of Sheikh Taki, “a renow ned Sufi
of Ban ares and North India".
W estcott (1907), one of the first w esterners to undertake a study of
Kabir and the K abir panth, draws heavily upon both Muslim oral and
written sources in his work. His attempts to discover the historical identity
of Sheikh T aki are complicated by the apparent presence of two Sheikhs
324Gurn Granth, R&g Asa 13, Varma (1966), p. 103, translated in Dass (1991), p. 133.
325westcott (1907), p. 20.
326Khazinat-ul-Asafiya.
327Vaudeville (1993), pp. 50-51.
209
bearing the nam e Taki, both of whom lived within a few generations of
each other and within the sam e geographic area. The e a rlie r of the two
w as the son of one Shaban-i-M illat. This Sheikh is said to have been a
resident of Jhusi, which lies n e a r the confluence of the G anges and the
Jum una outside Allahabad. He is described as a m em b er of the
Suhraw ardi Sufi order and is said to have died in 1429 A .D . W estcott
notes that, at the time, 1907, this Sheikh Taki's tomb at Jhusi rem ained a
place of religious pilgrim age. H e also describes a m osque at Jhusi
associated with the m emory of Sheikh T aki which w as destroyed during
the Indian uprising against the British (the Mutiny) of 1857.
The second and later of the two Sheikh Taki's m entioned by W estcott is
described as a n ijja f (cotton carder) who was a m em ber of the Chisti order
of Sufis. This Sheikh is said to have lived at M anikpur K ara, two towns
situated on opposite banks of the Ganges, betw een F atehpur and
A llahabad. This Sheikh is believed to have died in 1545. M anikpur was
for a short w hile the headquarters of the Emperor Sikander Lodi, who
figures in the accounts of Kabir's trials, and at the tim e of W estcott was the
center of the M aluk Dasi sect, who, w hen on pilgrim age to Jagannath Puri,
are required to visit the Kabir p an th i m ath there. Some evidence of such a
connection exists in a verse attributed to Kabir from the B lja k :
33sftr srctft i
3wTt SJFTT ^ fd iJW-i ^ dlMI I
<5FTT ^TRT I
210
^FTcT T^T *T T^T ^coi^ I

^cftcft % # ^FTT 3FTc? ST fTFTT I
Through M anikpur, K abir has passed.

There he heard of the fam e of Shaykh Taqqi.
At the place which is called Jaunpur,
and at Jhusi he heard the nam es of m any Pirs.
The nam es of tw enty-one Pirs are w ritten th e re ,

people h ear the khatm a22& and the Prophet's N am e:
Listening to them I couldn't bear,
looking at those tombs, I lost my head!
God's Friend, the Prophet and the Prophet's deeds:
All that's based on their authority is illegitim ate!329
Both Jhusi and M anikpur lie within the form er kingdom of Jaunpur.
The verse provides no clear connection with Sheikh T aki.but is intriguing,
particularly as it is included in the Bljak, the collection of Kabir's verses
regarded as holy by the K abir panth. Since W estcott draws most of his
inform ation on this point from local oral sources330, there is no m eans of
historically verifying these accounts of Sheikh T a k i’s association with
Kabir. This verse lends some credence to the idea. Regardless of their
historical, em pirical truth, these accounts of Kabir's Islam ic teacher Sheikh
T aki form an interesting m irror image within the Muslim community of the
328Recitation of the Koran.

329Bijak , Ramaini 8. Shastri (1965), pp. 54-55, translated in Vaudeville (1993), pp. 152-53.
330Westcott lists a Shah Fida Hussain, Govenment Pensioner and resident of Jhusi, as his source of this
information.
211
processes th at took place within Hindu tradition and hagiography th at

associate K abir with a Vaishnav Guru, Ram anand.
W estcott also includes an account, apparently from the same oral
source, of K abir's selection of Sheikh T aki as his pir.
Kabir is said to have been a young m an of about 30 years old

w hen he first m ade the acquaintance of the Shaikh. A t the
tim e he desired to have as his P ir one whose hand would ev er
rem ain over him to protect him from all evil. Sheikh T aqqi
prom ised to help him in this w ay and proved true to his word,
for even in the remote regions of Balkh and Bokhara K abir
saw the protecting hand of his P ir stretched over him as th a t of
a g uardian angel.331
A t this point W estcott includes an odd story of Kabir's return from his
travels to the se a t of his pic, Sheikh Taki. Kabir complains about the
simplicity of the food provided him an d , as a result of his in g ratitu d e, is
cursed by Sheikh T aki with six months of intestinal sickness. He la te r
apologized to the Sheikh and was blessed. This account appears to
represent a lo cal Jhusi account, which places Kabir in a subservient role, as
he should b e , to his p ir, Sheikh Taki. In this story the stature of the local
saint, T aki, is increased by his power over K abir and Kabir's obeisance to
him. Sim ilar exam ples of this type of story have been discussed in the
accounts of K abir’s encounters with N anak and Gorakhnath m entioned in
previous chapters.
331 Westcott (1907). pp. 40-41.
212
etJ«TU ^TTi? *TT 3 T F t frfo 5 3 T T I

^^4 f^4'3 cifl nWdn RbPij H94.m^ TTT^ II
Kabir,
I w as on m y w ay to the K a'aba for the hajj
w hen I m et Khnda on the road.
The S ain got mad at me and said,
'Who told you to go there?332
The story of Kabir's journey to M ecca is actually a retelling of a famous

story from the Sikh janam -sakhis, the traditional biographies of Guru
N anak, the first Sikh Guru. In the K abir Manshur version, K abir and
N anak are on their w ay to Mecca. En ro u te, they are sleeping in a
roadside sarai and are sharply criticized for sleeping with th eir fe e t
towards M ecca and the holy K aaba. In reply they ask th at their feet be
turned in any direction in which M ecca is not. As their fe e t are turned,
M ecca itself, and the sarai in which they are resting, turns w ith them .333
In addition to these Kabir panthi accounts of Kabir's encounters with
Islamic orthodoxy, there are also accounts of Kabir th at originate within
Islamic tradition. These accounts provide us with a view of how Islamic
rulers and religious writers saw Kabir. Prom inent among these is the Ain-
i-Akbari (1598). The Ain-i-Akbari is a Persian historical w ork by Abu'l-
Fazl-i-A llam i, the Mughal emperor A kbar's court chronicler, w ritten in
1598. A long with the A kbarN am a , by the same author, these works
constitute m ajo r sources for the reign of Akbar. Mention of K abir occurs
332Guru Granth, Sloka 197, Varma(1966), p. 268. translated in Dass (1991), p. 302.
333 Kabir Manshur, 327-337.
213
tw ice. The first instance occurs while Abu'l Fazl is describing the tem ple
complex of K onarak, outside the town of Puri, in Orissa. Puri is the site of
the im portant V aishnav tem ple of Jagannath th at figures in the early
accounts of Kabir. In discussing Konarak he writes:
Some affirm th a t K abir Mua'hhid (monotheist) reposes here

and m any authentic traditions are related regarding his
sayings and doings to this day. He was rev ered by both Hindu
and M uham m adan for his catholicity of doctrine and the
illum ination of his mind, and when he died, the Brahmans
wished to burn his body and the M uham m adans to bury it.334
In the second instance another tomb of a person nam ed Kabir is

m entioned at R atanpur:
Some say th a t at R atanpur is the tomb of K abir, the assertor of

the unity of God. The portals of spiritual discernm ent were
partly opened to him and he discarded the effete doctrines of
his own tim e. Num erous verses in the Hindi language are still
extant of him containing important theological truths.335
Another im portant tex t from within Islamic tradition which mentions

K abir is xheDabistan-i-M azahib (17th century). Previously attributed to a
Kashmiri nam ed M uhsin Fani, this name is now thought to be a tak'hallus
(pen nam e) of an unknow n author.336 M uhammad Ikram believes the
author to have belonged to the band of writers and thinkers that surrounded
33*Ain-i-Akbari, translated by Jarrett (1949), vol. 2, p. 141.

335Ain-i-Akbari, translated by Jarrett (1949), vol. 2, p. 182.
336Irfan Habib, p ersonal communication, N ov.4, 1993.
214
the Mughal prince D ara Shikoh, the m ystically oriented son of Shah
Jahan.337 This book, in Persian and translated into English by David Shea
and Anthony Troyer, is an overview of the religious systems p rev alen t in
the Indian subcontinent during the seventeenth century, including lengthy
discussions of the various sects of Zoroastrianism , Hinduism and Islam. It
also serves as a compendium of saints, listing m any religious figures
associated with these groups, including Kabir. Kabir is prom inently
mentioned in a section dealing with various Hindu sects, and he is
identified as a Vairagi (ascetic m endicant). The story is told of Kabir's
initiation by Ram anand. Two new stories, not found in any of the other
hagiographical works, are also included which are sharply critical of
brahmanic concepts of ritual purity and idol worship. The first of these
stories questions the miraculous powers attributed to ganga jal, the w ater
of the Ganges river.
It is said th at a class of learned Brahmans, sitting on the

border of the river Ganga, praised its w ater, because it w ashes
away all sins. While so speaking, one of the Brahmans
wanted water; Kabir, who had heard their speeches, jumped
up from his place, and having filled a wooden cup which he
carried with w ater, brought it to the Brahman. Kabir, a
w eaver by birth, being of a low caste from the hands of whom
Brahmans can neither eat nor drink, the w ater was not
accepted, upon which Kabir observed: 'You have just now
declared, th at the w ater of the G anga purifies the body and the
soul from the pollution of sins, and from the foulness of evil
actions, and m akes them all disappear; but if this w ater does
337Ikram (1964). p. 243.
215
not render pure this w ooden vase, it certainly does n ot deserve

your praises.338
A nother story questions the practice of offering flowers to the deity in

puja (religious devotion).
Among the Hindus it is an established custom to bring flowers

to God at the time of worship. One day Kabir saw a
gardener's wife who collected flowers for the im age of a deity;
he said to her: In the leaves of the flower lives the soul of
vegetation, and the idol to whom thou offerest flowers is
w ithout feeling, dead, w ithout consciousness, is in the sleep of
inertness, and has no life; the condition of the vegetable is
superior to that of the m ineral. If the idol possessed a soul, he
would chastise the cutter, who, w hen dividing the m atter of
which the image is form ed, placed his foot upon the idol's
breast: go, and venerate a wise, intelligent, and p erfect m an.,
who is a m anifestation of Vichnu.339
A nother text by an Indian Muslim author, the Khazinat-ul-Asafiya,

m entions Kabir. The significance of the Khazinat-ul-Asafiya (1868), in
Persian, is th at it is, as V audeville (1994) notes, "probably the first treatise
com posed by an Indian Muslim to m ention Kabir as a 'Sufi" and even as a
disciple of a famous Shaykh, known as Shaykh Taqqi'.340 It was written
by the Punjabi Maulvi Ghulam Sarw ar and published at Lahore.
Finally, an important work in English, but based on Muslim sources,
deserves special mention. Kabir and the Kabir Panth. (1907), by the Rev.
338Dat«'srafl, trans. by Shea and Troyer, p. 265.

339DabiszM, p. 265.
340VaudeviUe (1994), pp. 50-51.
216
G.H. W estcott, at that time of A llahabad University, is one of the first

w estern accounts of the K abir panth, and W estcott m akes a point of
highlighting Kabir's status as a Muslim. W hile his sources clearly
represent an oral tradition current am ong Muslims of the Jaunpur region341,
it is hagiographicaily important due to the im portance that it has had on the
study of Kabir. Much of the association b etw een Kabir and Islam has
come from the pages of this work. As we noted in the case of the
K hazinat-ul-A safiya, this association seem s to be a nineteenth century
creation, perhaps arising out of a perceived need to identify Kabir w ith one
religious tradition, in this case Islam.
M uhammad Hedayetullah writes, “u nder the spell of Sufi influence,
Kabir denounced unequivocally the concept of two peoples, nam ely, Hindu
and Muslim, as w ell as the caste distinctions w ithin Hinduism itself."342
But this is by no m eans certain. Those searching for a "Sufi connection"
will find in Kabir an eclectic blend all his own. This view is supported by
W.H. M cLeod, who writes that "Muslim beliefs, both Sufi and orthodox,
had at m ost a m arginal effect".343 Irfan Habib agrees, noting little support
for such an association. Yet, due to the respect accorded Kabir by the
Muslim community in India, Kabir is, as in the story of the division of
flowers at his death, still a contested figure.
In m any ways Kabir's situation parallels that of the m odern state of
India itself. In a diverse cultural and religious environment, with opposing
ideologies and religious rituals, practices and beliefs, it is vital that the
341 Westcott (1907), p. 43 note .gives his source as Shah Fida Hussain, Government Pensioner, resident of
Jhusi.
342Hedayetullah (1977), p. 300.
343 McLeod (1976), p. 6.
217
differences b etw een m em bers of different communities be seen as

superficial. It is the ultimate unity of m ankind in the search for unity with
the divine th at K abir stresses in his verse. This message rings as true
today as it did in the fifteenth century.
218
CHAPTER EIGHT
CONCLUSION
3W 3fte5^l 3TPTT I
3 n f n W t T c f c T P T T II
K fcff 3 R 5 R T p T JT ^ I
^ SR? p ' ^Ttt ^TFTT II

^Ttj^T r l K ^ c\ I
3iTjT^f«r% cbfdrl'% (Tft II

i
^TcT «wci f « T % 'He? =bl'0 II
C \. \3 Cv
Noone knows the secret of that weaver

who spread his warp throughout the world.
In earth and in sky, he dug two ditches-

Of sun and moon, he m ade his two spools.
W ith a thousand threads, he filled his shuttle-

Up to this day he's w eaving, y et the end is hard to reach!
Says Kabir, it's a netw ork of karmas

Joining good thread to bad thread, he keeps w eaving, that good
w eav er.344
W hat does the hagiographical literature that describing the lives of the
nirgun. sants Kabir, N anak and Dadu say about the period of m edieval
344BIjak, R am aini 28. from Singh (1972), p. 91. translation from Vaudeville (1993), p. 255-56.
219
India in which they w ere w ritten? Why should historians use

hagiographical literature as sources, and with which methodologies?
These accounts provide us with a rare opportunity to view India in the
sixteenth and seventeenth centuries as perceived by the lower castes and
their advocates. This view point is very different from that of the court
chronicles of the Muslim rulers of the period w hich have provided the
prim ary source m aterials for m ost of the historical literature on the period.
Views from the bottom are hard to come by, and this m akes invaluable the
rare alternative sources th a t provide information about the social and
religious concerns of the poor and downtrodden.
Traditional biographies of the nirgun bhakti poet-saints constitute
im portant literary source m aterials on this period in Indian history.
Through textual analysis of the discourse taking place in these accounts it
is possible to reconstruct the world view of their authors and their audience
of listeners. The court chronicles of the Lodi Sultanate and early M ughal
periods reflect the concerns and biases of the ruling elite who
commissioned them. T raditional biographies h ave their own slant. T hey
are prejudiced towards the lower caste audience for whom they were
written. They reflect the views of the vast m ajority of the north Indian
population. The narrative accounts in this study speak to an audience
from the same strata of society as the sants whose lives they describe; low
caste Hindus and M uslim s. The poetry of the sants resounds with the
voice of the oppressed. Similarly, the hagiographies of the sants reveal
the social injustices seen in society by their authors and by their audience.
220
These accounts constitute precious sources for the construction of a history

of the period from the bottom up.
These accounts function on several levels; as poetic literatu re, as
religious instruction, as didactic models, and as social com m entary. All of
these levels contribute to an understanding of the tim es in which they were
written. In this dissertation I have focused on an analysis of the content of
these narratives. I have looked at the w ay the lives of the nirgun sants
Kabir, Dadu and N anak are presented, how their interactions with each
other are depicted, and the social concerns that these narratives address. I
have analyzed th eir discourse in the light of the popular m ovem ent of
bhakti, a devotional religious m ovem ent that spread throughout India from
about the tenth century AD. The bhakti m ovem ent challenged the
hierarchical ordering of Indian society, arguably its m ost salient
characteristic, and urged its loosely knit adherents to seek their own paths
to the divine, regardless of caste or religious affiliation.
W hat w ere the social concerns shared by the largely unrepresented
mass of India’s population during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries?
W hat does the content of these narratives tell us about them ? The
answers to these questions provide a glimpse of a society w racked by
many of the sam e problems as m odern India today, four hundred years
later. Religious difference was a prim ary cause of conflict. Society was
divided along the lines of religion, particularly betw een Muslim and Hindu
groups. V iolence, hatred and death were the results of this conflict. Sants
and their follow ers attempted to provide an alternative to this divisive
situation by providing a message of unity for all. By supporting nirgun
221
bhakti groups such as the K abir panth, the Dadu panth or the Sikhs,
individuals joined in a q uest for religious unity that w as open to all,
regardless of caste, gender or religious upbringing.
The struggle against the caste system, is a m ajor concern of these texts.
The nirgun. sants speak for the oppressed lower castes of India from which
they cam e. The audience to whom they speak are prim arily m em bers of
the sam e low er castes. T he stories presented here validate their social
identities and place them in a position of resistance to brahm anic authority.
T hey c re a te ’shared visions of strength and unity w ithin the individual
nirgun san tp an th s th at grew around the figures of K abir, Dadu and Nanak.
T hey inform their listeners w hat it means to be a Sikh, a Dadu panthi or a
Kabir panthi. They do this by providing members of these individual
nirgun sant panths with a separate but linked identity in relation to
m em bers of other panths and religious groups, such as the tantric yogis and
the M uslims. The path of bhakti is presented as an alternative to the
oppressive brahm anic structure.
The hagiographic texts I have discussed are w hat R am a N ath Sharma
calls neo-puranas, texts w ith a strong anti-caste and anti-authoritarian
m essage y e t set within the fram ew ork of the puranas, epic tales which
evoke the greater Hindu tradition that the nirgun sants reject.345 People
w ant to h e a r new stories, w ith new social messages, b ut they w ant them
presented in traditional form ats. Such seeming oppositions abound in the
texts w hich detail the lives of Kabir, Dadu and N anak. K abir is a Muslim,
yet he is accepted by Hindus. He disgrees with both. He is a strident
M5Rama Nath Sharma. personal communication. May 1997.
222
critic of religious orthodoxy and power, y et he is elevated to the status of

the founder of a religious lineage. He is a low -caste, yet is accepted as
guru by both high caste Hindus and Muslim leaders. He is an enlightened
religious m aster, y et he is a householder. He composes his verse in the
vernacular, but his story is cast in the fram ew ork of puranas, evoking the
Sanskritic tradition of g reater Hinduism. Texts describing his life are even
w ritten in Sanskrit. These dynamic oppositions are w hat give the tale its
power. His story is set w ithin the standard fram ew ork of religious
orthodoxy yet Kabir is a heterodox reformer. T hese accounts serve as
both academ ic texts and as a vehicle for bhakti (devotion) to the heroes of
these texts. To talk about the exploits of Kabir is a form of bhakti.
One m ay construct a two-fold route to the divine on the basis of the
accounts contained in these texts. By w ay of the first path one m ay go
through the levels of pow er that are described in the stories. Or these
power structures m ay be avoided by a direct route to the divine through the
guru. Kabir contains the straight route to the divine; that is why tem poral
authority bows before him. If one does not go to the guru, he m ust rise
through the power structures.
The Supreme/Divine
The Guru/Kabir
The Gods
The Emperor The Guru
Kings and Rajas
223
L eaders
The Com m on m an
The levels of pow er begin with the com m on m an to whom they speak.
They then ascend through various hierarchies of power, be it political
power or spiritual power, until one reach es the level of the guru. From
there one reach es the divine. There is a distinct missionary elem ent to
these narratives. Kabir meets with m em bers of each rung in this social
heirarchy, and th ey all bow before him and are converted to the path of
bhakti. But the low-caste common m an to whom these texts speak m ay
bypass this process through a direct relationship with the guru.
My purpose in undertaking this study has been to show how texts which
describe the liv es of the sants m ay be used to bring out the social concerns
of the low er castes during the period in which they were written. In this
study I began by introducing the m ajor political and religious structures
present in India during the m edieval period. This overview provided an
entry point into the hagiographical accounts of the nirgun sants for readers
unfam iliar with Indian history and religion.
I pointed out a resistance on the part of historians to the use of these
accounts in the p a st due to their legendary and miraculous character. I
then gave an overview of recent work th a t does discuss the hagiographies
of the nirgun sants. I also defined the term s used in the discourse and
explained the difficulties and im pedim ents inherent in the generalizations
commonly em ployed in discussing religon in the Indian subcontinent.
These generalizations include the term s Hindu, Muslim and Sikh, and even
224
the id e a of India itself. These term s project a polarized view of w hat is,
upon closer analysis, a far more diverse and complex religious society.
In m y discussion of the hagiographical accounts I exam ined how the
traditional biographies of Kabir, Dadu and Nanak expanded and changed
over tim e. I discussed the earliest core of the Kabir narrative found in the
K abir Parachai of Anantdas, the Bhaktam als of Nab had as and Raghavdas
and their respective com m entators, Priyadas and Chaturdas, the
anonymous Nirbhayajh.au account and Mahipati's B haktavijaya. A fter
presenting the m ajor stories contained in these accounts I exam ined the
social them es th at they address. These early versions of the K abir
narrative reject caste distinction and brahmanical authority, as
dem onstrated in the account of the brahmans who hold a fe a s t in Kabir's
nam e. T hey reject the authority of the Muslim rulers, as dem onstrated by
the story of Kabir's persecution at the hands of Sikander Lodi. T hey also
ridicule social division on the basis of religious affiliation b etw een
Muslims and Hindus. This is illustrated in the concluding story of the
dispute over Kabir's remains. The core texts reveal these m ajo r social
them es, which rem ain central concerns in the later texts. T hese texts also
contain early evidence of an asserted affiliation betw een K abir and the
g reater V aisnav tradition. Stories which support an early association of
K abir with V aishnav tradition include Kabir's initiation by the V aishnav
saint R am anand and the account on which Kabir saves the p an d it of
Jagannath.
I translated and analyzed the contents of a selection of stories included
in the la ter Kabir panthi accounts of Kabir. I used for m y analysis the
225
texts Anuragsagar, K abir Manshur, Sadguru Srikavira Caritam, Kabir

Jlvan Caritr, and the Sac Kabir Mahapuran.. In m y discussion I presented
and analyzed the greatly expanded Kabir narrative created by the Kabir
panth. The new stories reflect new agendas. The m ovem ent of the Kabir
panth towards orthodox V aishnav tradition becomes apparent in changes in
Kabir's birth stories th a t obviate his Muslim status. T here is an increasing
deification of Kabir in the stories of Kabir's miraculous appearance in the
L ahar tank, in which authors of the Dharamdasi branch of the Kabir panth
portray Kabir as an avatar (incarnation) of the divine.
Kabir meets with m any rem arkable characters in stories which are later
accretions to the K abir narrative core. Kabir's encounters with powerful
political figures dem onstrate his resistance to authority. The spiritual
pow er Kabir displays in these encounters reflect the laten t power of the
low er caste audience to whom the Kabir narrative speaks. In the case of
R a ja Bir Singh Baghel, K abir finds an ally and patronage in a local Hindu
king. In the story of his encounters with Bijuli Khan Pathan and
Muhammad 'ud D aula K abir converts the Muslim rulers to the path of
bhakti. In the story of Kabir's persecution at the hands of Sikander Lodi,
K abir miraculously trium phs over the supreme political authority of the
day.
Stories of Kabir's encounters with rival religious leaders demonstrate
the attitude of the K abir panth towards the religious groups who followed
them . When Kabir m eets N anak, Kabir pays him respect, but teaches him
and is acknowledged by N anak to be his spiritual superior. Kabir defeats
Gorakhnath in debates and contests in order to dem onstrate the superiority
226
of the bhakti path over that of tantra. K abir m eets the Buddha, the puranic
deities R am and K rishna and figures from Christianity and Islam such as
Moses, Jesus and M uham m ad in order to assert the superiority of K abir
over ail the m ajor religious figures known to the Kabir panthi authors. In
these encounters K abir moves his way up the chain of power from the
common m an, through political and rival religious leaders up to kings, the
em peror and finally to the gods them selves, converting all to the path of
bhakti.
The K abir panthi accounts answer questions about the life of K abir left
unanswered in the early narrative core. T hey supply information about
Kabir's fam ily, his travels and his disciples. To insure his low-caste
appeal it is essential th at Kabir be a householder, if a reluctant one. K abir
must travel to holy places to fulfill popular expectations of Indian ascetics,
even if he rejects pilgrim age in his verses. Descriptions of Kabir's
disciples reflect the em ergence of different branches of the Kabir panth,
who claim spiritual descent from Kabir's disciples, most prominently
Dharamdas.
I noted the increasing Sanskritization of the later Kabir accounts as the
Kabir panth seeks legitim acy and acceptance within the fram ework of the
greater V aisnav tradition. The Kabir panthi authors increasingly cast
Kabir in classical puranic narrative formats. The Kabir panth even
produces Sanskrit versions of the Kabir hagiography. The irony is th a t
Kabir ridiculed the scriptural authority of the brahmans, traditionally the
sole repositories of V edic knowledge, which was passed down in Sanskrit.
The contradiction betw een Kabir's use of the vernacular and the
Ill
em ergence of sacred Kabir panthi texts that evoke the g reater V edic Hindu
tradition is striking. Despite K abir's rejection of religious ritual, a few are
introduced into the Kabir panth, as in the case of the A ja r Chauka ritual.
Despite the radical voice of their guru Kabir, the Kabir panthis as a
religious organization move increasingly toward fam iliar ritual and textual
patterns in th eir religious practices.
The la te r K abir narratives com posed by the Kabir panth are fantastic,
mythic and diverse. My analysis of the stories contained in them
compared the core narrative w ith the later additions in order to gain
insights into the changing social concerns of their Kabir panthi authors. In
a com parative content analysis of the traditional biographies of Kabir and
the R ajasthani sant Dadu D ayai I exam ined the close affinities betw een
the two accounts. Using the Dadu Janma Lila of Jan Gopal, the first
known account of the life of Dadu, I showed that the author m akes constant
reference to K abir throughout the text. I discussed how Jan Gopal used
the status of K abir in the minds of his audience to lend spiritual authority
and legitim acy to the early Dadu panth.
My analysis of the Dadu narrative also discussed how changes in the
early Dadu panthi accounts follow the pattern of the Kabir accounts in their
attempts to obscure Dadu's low -caste status. This is an effort on the part
of the early Dadu panth to m ake them selves more acceptable to a larger
caste base and to move it towards m ainstream Vaishnav tradition. While
the hagiographicai literature of the North Indian sants constitutes a genre
of its own w ith shared conventions, stories and motifs, it is obvious from
228
m y com parison of the Dadu and Kabir panthi tex ts th at the Kabir narrative
provides the m odel for th a t of Dadu.
The Sikh hagiographies of Guru N anak, the janam -sakhis, exhibit a
very different relationship to the Kabir accounts th an do those of the Dadu
panth. The Dadu panthi accounts seek to g ain authority and acceptance
through a close association with, and em ulation of, the Kabir narrative.
The Sikh accounts use the figure of Kabir to e le v a te the status of N anak.
This is accomplished through narratives of spiritual conversations (gosti)
which place Kabir in a subservient relationship to N anak. After review ing
the hagiographical accounts of Nanak in the ja n a m -sa kh is and providing a
brief history of the Sikh Panth I discussed the accounts of Kabir found in
these Sikh texts. I used exam ples from the M iharban janam -sakhi and the
B-40 m anuscript to show how their authors p la ce K abir at the feet of
N anak in the context of receiving religious teachings from him. A t the
end of the B-40 m anuscript account Kabir ev en renounces his own guru
R am an and in favor of N anak.
I contrasted these janam -sakhi accounts w ith a K abir panthi account
from the Kabir Manshur. This comparison dem onstrated how the same
process functions in reverse. The Kabir p a nthi accounts place N anak in a
subservient position to Kabir. Nanak falls at the fe e t of Kabir after
receiving teachings from him . In both the K abir and Dadu panthi
traditions K abir is held up as a model to be follow ed. It is clear from m y
reading of the Sikh accounts that their authors w ere trying to distance
them selves from K abir as they continued to d elib erately move away from
V aishnav and greater Hindu tradition. This is ex actly w hat has happened
229
over time. M any Sikhs now regard them selves as m embers of a separate
religious tradition distinct from the Hindus, and violence has often
accompanied this drawing of religious lines in the sand.
Kabir is best know n as a sant who straddles the line betw een the
Islamic and Hindu worlds. Many claim that K abir was either a Sufi or
influenced by Sufism. I devoted a chapter to an analysis of the supposed
Sufi connection and found little ground for it. The Kabir panthi accounts
are replete, how ever, with stories of Kabir’s encounters with Islam ic
orthodoxy during his childhood in a Muslim hom e. Accounts of Kabir's
naming cerem ony and attempts to circumcise him place him again in a
position of resistance to authority and rejection of the religious rituals that
both define and divide religious communities. In these accounts Islam
fares no better th an brahm anic Hinduism.
I discussed the enigm atic figure of Sheikh T aki, alternately portrayed as
Kabir's p lr or antagonist. Although the historical question of Sheikh Taki's
identity and role in Kabir's life remains obscured, it is through W estcott's
Kabir and Che K abir Panth, based on local Jaunpur oral traditions, th at
Sheikh Taki has b een introduced into western scholarship on Kabir. I
presented an overview of the primary Muslim source m aterials on Kabir.
These consist of the Ain-i-Akbari, the Akhbar-i-Akhyar, the Dabistan-i-
Mazahib and the Khazinat-uI-Asafiya. In m y analysis of the content of
these accounts I searched for the Sufi connection. While it is clear that the
Muslim authors of these accounts held Kabir in g reat respect, it is only in
the latest of these accounts, the Khazinat-ul-Asafiya, that Kabir is actually
referred to as a Sufi. I believe that Kabir ultim ately remains, as he would
230
prefer to, outside both the Hindu and Muslim traditions. He is his own
m an.
The significance of this study lies in the use of hagiographical source
m aterials created by the nirgun. bhakti panths to gain insights into the
tim es in which they were composed. By analyzing the contents of these
quasi-historical accounts it is possible to obtain accurate inform ation
concerning the social and religious milieu of those tim es as seen from a
low -caste perspective. The ea rliest of the hagiographical works used in
this study date back to the sixteenth century. The m ost recen t are from the
present era. Although I have presented, analyzed and discussed the
im portant changes in these accounts over time, what is far m ore significant
is the rem arkable continuity of these accounts over a four hundred year
period. W hat accounts for this?
The serious conflicts that K abir addresses in his poetry and the
hagiographers highlight in their narratives still exist today. The communal
lines dividing Hindus and M uslim s that the accounts decry w ere physically
drawn across the subcontinent with the partition of India and Pakistan at
the tim e of the British exit from India in 1947. T hat partition resulted in
the deaths of upwards of a m illion people, Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs.
Since then three wars have b ee n fought between the new nations of India
and Pakistan (1947, 1965, and 1971), two of them prim arily over the state
of Kashmir. Kashmir, a M uslim m ajority area ceded to India on the eve
of partition, is for all intents and purposes a police state. T he seizure of
the H azratbal Masjid in Srinagar by a band of militant Muslims in 1993,
231
although the incident ended peacefully, suggests th at more trouble lies in

store for the vale.
R ecent communal tragedies such as the destruction of the Babri Masjid
in A yodhya by Hindu extrem ists in 1992 and com m unal bombings in
Bom bay in 1994 m ake it dreadfully apparent th at religious tensions have
b een little reduced over the four centuries since the earliest of the
hagiographic accounts in this study were created. W idening gaps betw een
the Hindu and Sikh com m unities over this four hundred year period
resulted in Operation Blue Star, carried out in June of 1994. This m ilitary
operation was initiated by the Congress governm ent of Prime Minister
Indira Gandhi to rem ove arm ed Sikh extremists inside the Golden Tem ple
in Amritsar. It resulted in the siege and virtual destruction of the holiest of
all Sikh shrines. A nother result was the assasination of Prime M inister
Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguard in O ctober of th at year, which in turn
led to anti-Sikh riots in D elhi and the deaths of thousands of members of
the Sikh community. The communal division betw een Hindus and Sikhs
did not even exist during the time of Kabir.
The struggle of the low castes and untouchables of India for social
equality and status is still the m ost significant social issue confronting
India. The furor over allocation of reservations in schools and
adm inistrative service to the backward classes suggested by the M andal
com mission in 1980 and partially im plem ented by the V.P. Singh
governm ent in 1990 highlights the continued resistance to changes in the
caste system on the p art of the "forward castes". A lm ost like a story from
the Kabir Paracbai. As the M andal Commmision reports,
232
The real triumph of the caste system lies not in upholding the
suprem acy of the Brahmin, but in conditioning the
consciousness of the lower castes in accepting their inferior
status in the ritual heirarchy as a part of the natural order of
things. In India the caste system has endured for over 3,000
years and ev en today there appear to be no symptoms of its
early dem ise.346
The situation today is in many ways the sam e as it was in the tim e of
Kabir. The sants and their poetry, as w ell as the hagiographic accounts I
have analyzed, w ere attempts to empower the low er castes and to
encourage them to reje ct their social status. O n the spiritual level, at
least, it worked for some. But, history informs us, the situation has
changed little. T here is hope for the future. The voices of the low er
castes and the untouchables, most commonly know n today as Dalits, are
now being heard. M any of them rally around the m em ory of another
nirgun sant nam ed R avidas, a cobbler from B anaras who shares a spiritual
lineage to R am anand with Kabir. Uttar Pradesh now has a governm ent
led by low -caste groups. In a democratic system , as literacy rates r is e , it
m ay be only a m atter of tim e before the silent m ajority of India speak.
This is w hat m akes a study of these accounts so significant today. It
m ay be a truism th at the study of history can enable us to learn from the
past. N onetheless, I hope th at lessons can be learned from this study
about the enduring nature of caste and com m unal conflict in South A sia.
346The Mandal Report, p. 14. From Gerald Larson (1995), p. 263.
233
33«ftT 33FT3: ssm e i

m^r afftt fcrr«Fft qfecT i
Kabir, they built a prison out of books,

with doors m ade of ink!
Stones have drowned the world,
Pandits have wrecked the road.347
347Garu Gcaach,, Sloka 137, from Varma (1966), p. 162. translated in Vaudeville (1993), p. 309.
234
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A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE

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UMI Microform 9829570

This microform edition is protected against unauthorized

This project ow es a debt to many friends and colleagues who

This dissertation examines the traditional biographies of K abir

Acknow ledgem ents.....................................................................................iv

3fi3T%mftFIl %3TFTTI 3T^t^ mTfj; f3TFTT II

f*T3Tpft t e p f t ai§ 3 ^ f t ^ 3FT mTo5T a f m I

M any w ear flowing robes—

W isemen, thinkers, great teachers,

Traveling and living in northern India today, one conjures up visions of

reminders th at there were alternative paths to spiritual realization outside

fr>TcT ■sfl' m^rr o-fi-n i

f^f<| < i (<=i s f t ci-Oci i

If by roaming around naked

W hy go naked and w ear skins

If by shaving your head

If by holding back sperm

conception. Their em phasis is on direct experience of the divine,

tradition. By the Indie tradition I refer to those religious conceptions

10Oberoi (1994), p. 23.

I3Oberoi (1994), pp. 17-18.

14Metcalf (1995), pp. 955-956.

...hagiographers are rarely content to facilitate a retrospective

We can. identify a seem ingly inevitable tendency towards Sanskritization

stratification and religious conflict dominate the discourse. Through the

have become garbed in myth, cloaked in the m iraculous. It is difficult for

A feature of the study of religious biography is the gulf

20Pandita is the Sanskrit form of pandit, a traditional Hindu scholar.

22For more on British views of India see Cohn (1996).

3Tt 337cT T « P F T - f = H k l 3T ^TT T T I

*HMd ^ SPJT ^ tt^ T |

If the Cre ator

A Shudra you were bom ,

If you are a Brahm an,

If you are a Turk,

2 7 Granth&vall 2:182, Bljak, Ramaini 62. Translated in Vaudeville (1993), p. 218-219.

28CalIewaert (1988). The Hindi Biography of Dadu Dayal, DelhiiMotilal Banarsidass.

history of the Satnam paath of Chhattisgarh32. My own study is particularly

'Sacred biography' refers to those accounts written by

Determining which biographical facts belong to the em erging

33Reynolds and Capps (1976), p. 3.

neither Hinduism or Islam as unquestionably tru e, the sants

^D aniel Gold (1987), The Lord as Guru , pp. 3-4.

discussion of the historical periods they cover and new approaches to

ort orfcr ftsr c^d<d» htt R h •11^ i

^ *rttt afsr *rtrr i

3T3 T s n f r m f r 3 fW t q r r ^ f tn f c T s^ rfs ^ 11211

* 7 ^ *7f% M f>sd ^ 7 £f<?t *11^1 II3II

Hindus died worshipping idols,

O m y heart, the world is deep darkness

Poets died reading poetry.

R ajas died gathering w ealth,

All are lost without Ram's n am e—

Fcft ?h°RT ^FT ^T P T T I

FTcST F f f t OTft q f ^ s£TF fcTc^j SI^MMI I

Saints, I see the world is mad.

fixing th e ir caps and their prayer beads, painting their brow-

^ rttt afsr rtrr i

* 7 ^ 7f% M f>sd ^ 7 £f<?t 11^1 II3II