The devotional poetics of Kabir : a study of Kabir's poetry and its tradition with an annotated translation of his songs

Abstract

This thesis advances the argument that the nature of devotional verse (and in particular Indian bhakti poetry) itself ·must be examined carefully, its historical and literary antecedents firmly established before an adequate appraisal of t he religious and philosophical values it intrinsically carries (and affirms) can be fully investigated. The poetry of the Medieval North Indian poet Kabir (c. 1398-1448) is subjected to close literary scrutiny and it is found that not only does his verse encapsulate the tradition of North Indian bhakti (specifically nirguoa bhakti) or devotionalism but also, through an extraordinary array of symbolism, intricate metaphors and a peculiarly 1 Kabirian 1 paradox, it advances a total 'world-view' which reflects the social and historical circumstances of his age. The more immediate philosophical contexts of Kabir's poems (specific treatises on bhakti, Tantrism, the resolution of the Renouncer and the Man-in-the-World) together with their more clear-cu t literary antecedents (such as the Bhagavad Gita, Jayadeva's 'Gitagovinda', and the verse of Namdev and Lalla Lalesvari) are analysed in greater detail. Works which marginally ante-date Kabir or those which demonstrate the argument of the thesis are also discussed. In the second volume of the thesis the first fully annotated translation of Kabir's songs are offered and the annotations and expanded notes reinforce, with reference to the poems individually, the overall argument of the thesis.