Verses
O Niranjan, wondrous is Your court, where there is not a trace of the thought of justice.
Verse 1
In palaces of pleasure jesters dwell, and chiefs sit close to You. The seekers sit in dust and sun, and they cross the ocean of existence.
Verse 2
The courtesan wraps herself in fine velvet, a necklace of pearls at her throat. The devoted wife gets not even coarse cloth, only a dry morsel of food.
Verse 3
The hypocrite is honoured in the world, while the saint is called a liar. The ignorant one is hailed as supreme Brahman, while the knower is called a fool and a rustic.
Verse 4
Speak the truth and the world rushes to strike; the liar is trusted. Kabir the fakir calls out: the world's ways are upside down.
Verse 5
O Niranjan, wondrous is Your court.
Verse 6
Background
'Niranjan', the Unstained, is a name for the formless Lord, and the pad is addressed to Him. The refrain, 'wondrous is Your court, where there is no thought of justice', can be read as irony or as lament; the pad does not say which. Each couplet then sets a reversal side by side: jesters in palaces while seekers sit in dust and sun, fine velvet for the courtesan while the devoted wife has a dry morsel, honour for the hypocrite while the saint is called a liar, the ignorant hailed as supreme Brahman while the knower is called a fool, and blows for the one who speaks truth while the liar is trusted. Kabir signs as a fakir calling out that the world's ways are upside down. The text is from the Kavita Kosh page for this pad, which names no manuscript, book or collection. Because nirgun pads live in singing, other singers' words may differ.
Did You Know?
Author
Attributed to Kabir (traditionally dated c. 1440–1518); the last couplet carries his signature, 'Kahat Kabir Fakir'.
Five reversals
The couplets set side by side jesters and seekers, the courtesan and the devoted wife, the hypocrite and the saint, the ignorant and the knower, the liar and the truthful.
Irony or lament
The refrain praises the Lord's court while saying it has no thought of justice. The pad does not say whether it is meant as irony or lament.
Source
Kavita Kosh gives no manuscript or collection, and repeats the refrain at the end as printed.
Browse by Topic
Sant Kabir
A nirgun pad attributed to Kabir in which the self speaks as an ageless yogi who neither comes nor goes, is present everywhere, and plays freely in its own dwelling.
A short pad attributed to Kabir that urges the singer to sing the names Ram, Govind and Hari, because it needs no chant, austerity or expense, and a mouth without Ram is filled with dust.
Kabir's bhajan on the body as a fine cloth, dyed in Ram's name and returned unstained, with a reminder that life is brief.
A nirgun pad attributed to Kabir that calls the soul, the swan (hansa), to a country where the Beloved dwells, where it is always full moon and crores of suns shine.
More from Kabir Panth
See allA nirgun pad attributed to Kabir in which the singer says he is intoxicated with love of the Beloved, who is within, and so has no use for cleverness, waiting or friendship with the world.
A nirgun pad attributed to Kabir, sung in the Malwa and wider North Indian tradition. A bridal-and-funeral scene asks who has plundered the town, and answers that the bond with the world is broken.
A nirgun pad attributed to Kabir that praises the renunciant's simple life: the joy of praising Rama is not found in wealth, and the Lord is met in contentment.
This poem by the 15th-century mystic Kabir reminds us that the divine is not found in holy buildings or rituals, but right here, within every breath we take.
A nirgun pad attributed to Kabir that calls this world a foreign country where one is not meant to stay, likens it to paper, thorns and scrub, and names the Satguru's Name as the refuge.
A nirgun pad attributed to Kabir that says what a true Guru is: one who pours the cup of true love, lifts the veil from the eyes, and leads to the fearless state.
Connected Teachings
The same teaching, echoed across traditions