Description
Oxford University Press Weaver Named Kabir by Charlotte Vaudeville
Kabir is among the greatest figures in indian religious and literary history. As a symbol of secularism and religious tolerance, he is the medieval counterpart of mahatma gandhi; as a poet whose verses enjoy enormous popularity and epitomize folk wisdom, he prefigures tyagaraja and tagore. Born a lower-caste muslim weaver, kabir opposed superstition, empty ritualism and bigotry. His writings were in the language of the common people-the rough and earthy idiom of old hindi-and these caught the popular imagination so powerfully that his voice gained a remarkable hold within a vast stretch of north india, from the punjab to the deccan. Charlotte vaudeville provides, in the first part of the book, kabir's biography in history and legend, his context, and information about his use of language. The later parts contain excellent modern translations of his verses, as well as brief selections from the verses of his contemporaries. This is designed to provide all that is essential to understand and appreciate kabir in english.