Hindi · Devanagari
पोथी पढ़ि पढ़ि जग मुआ
पोथी पढ़ि पढ़ि जग मुआ, पंडित भया न कोय। ढाई आखर प्रेम का, पढ़े सो पंडित होय॥
Kabir
Pothī Paṛh Paṛh Jag Muā
Kabir’s challenge to empty learning: knowledge that does not become love remains incomplete.
Why return to it: The doha does not dismiss learning; it asks whether learning has softened the heart.
Included here: Hindi in Devanagari, English transliteration, Urdu, and an English translation for easier access across scripts and readers.
English Transliteration
Pothī Paṛh Paṛh Jag Muā
Pothī paṛh paṛh jag muā, paṇḍit bhayā na koy. Ḍhāī ākhar prem kā, paṛhe so paṇḍit hoy.
Urdu
پوتھی پڑھ پڑھ جگ موا
پوتھی پڑھ پڑھ جگ موا، پنڈت بھیا نہ کوئی۔ ڈھائی آکھر پریم کا، پڑھے سو پنڈت ہوئے۔
English Translation
Poetic English rendering
The world has grown old reading books, yet wisdom still remains rare. Whoever learns the small, immense word of love — that one has read enough.
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