His Death In Benares

Kabir 1440 (Banaras) – 1518 (Maghar)



His death in Benares
Won't save the assassin
From certain hell,

Any more than a dip
In the Ganges will send
Frogs—or you—to paradise.

My home, says Kabir,
Is where there's no day, no night,
And no holy book in sight

To squat on our lives.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 20, 2023

15 sec read
94

Quick analysis:

Scheme AXX XXA XBB A
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 241
Words 48
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 3, 3, 3, 1

Kabir

Kabīr was a mystic poet and saint of India, whose writings have greatly influenced the Bhakti movement. The name Kabir comes from Arabic al-Kabīr which means 'The Great' – the 37th name of God in Islam. Kabir's legacy is today carried forward by the Kabir Panth, a religious community that recognizes him as its founder and is one of the Sant Mat sects. Its members, known as Kabir panthis, are estimated to be around 9,600,000. They are spread over north and central India, as well as dispersed with the Indian diaspora across the world, up from 843,171 in the 1901 census. His writings include Bijak, Sakhi Granth, Kabir Granthawali and Anurag Sagar. more…

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    Which of these famous poems is written in villanelle form?
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