Kabir

Chaltī Chakkī Dekh Kar

A stark image of the world’s grinding wheel — and the vulnerability of everyone caught between its stones.

Why return to it: Kabir’s grief here is not abstract. He watches the millstone and sees the human condition.

Included here: Hindi in Devanagari, English transliteration, Urdu, and an English translation for easier access across scripts and readers.

Hindi · Devanagari

चलती चक्की देख कर

चलती चक्की देख कर, दिया कबीरा रोय। दो पाटन के बीच में, साबुत बचा न कोय॥

English Transliteration

Chaltī chakkī dekh kar, diyā Kabīrā roy. Do pāṭan ke bīch mein, sābut bachā na koy.

Urdu

چلتی چکی دیکھ کر، دیا کبیرا روئے۔ دو پاٹن کے بیچ میں، ثابت بچا نہ کوئی۔

English Translation

Watching the grinding stones turn, Kabir began to weep. Between the two wheels of this world, what fragile thing can pass through untouched?

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