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One Hundred Poems of Kabir

Kabir, translated by Rabindranath Tagore · 1915

A 1915 English translation of poems by the mystic poet Kabir, made by Rabindranath Tagore with Evelyn Underhill.

Tagore translated these poems, showing his role as a bridge between Indian mystical tradition and English readers.

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One Hundred Poems of KabirPDF · 174 pages
Kabir, One Hundred Poems of Kabir, translated by Rabindranath Tagore assisted by Evelyn Underhill, 1915. Scanned book, Internet Archive.

About this source

What it is

This book presents one hundred poems of the fifteenth-century Indian mystic poet Kabir, translated into English by Rabindranath Tagore with the assistance of Evelyn Underhill, and published by Macmillan in 1915. A digitised scan of the full book survives on the Internet Archive.

Why it matters

The translation shows Tagore working to bring Indian mystical poetry to English-speaking readers, connecting an older tradition of devotional poetry with early twentieth-century international audiences.

Look closer

  • Why might Tagore have chosen to translate Kabir's poems rather than write entirely new ones?
  • What challenges might arise when translating religious poetry between languages and cultures?
  • What does the introduction's description of Kabir tell us about the historical background of the poems?

This book is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Rabindranath Tagore on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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Bertil Waldén · May 1921

Title page of Gitanjali (Song Offerings) by Rabindranath Tagore, a collection of prose translations made by the author from the original Bengali, with an introduction by W. B. Yeats. Macmillan and Co., Limited, London, 1913.Book

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Rabindranath Tagore · 1910

Black and white photograph of Rabindranath Tagore standing with K.B. Westman and M. Björkqvist, Sigtuna, May 1921.Photograph

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Bertil Waldén · May 1921

Piano sheet music score titled 'Jana Gana Mana' by Rabindranath Tagore, in D minor/F major key with 4/4 time, tempo 96, two staves (treble clef) with dynamics like f, p, ff and a fermata at the end.Document

Primary source

Jana Gana Mana

Rabindranath Tagore · 11 December 1911

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