Kabir · doha
पोथी पढ़ि पढ़ि जग मुआ, पंडित भया न कोय।
pothī paṛhi paṛhi jag muā, paṇḍit bhayā na koy
✦
“The world died reading books; none became wise — love teaches.”
मूल Original
पोथी पढ़ि पढ़ि जग मुआ, पंडित भया न कोय।
Hindi / Awadhi, in its own script.
उच्चारण How it sounds
pothī paṛhi paṛhi jag muā, paṇḍit bhayā na koy
Read it aloud — IAST transliteration.
अर्थ What it means
The world died reading books; none became wise — love teaches.
A thought about love.
स्रोत Where it comes from
Kabir (doha)
The 15th-century weaver-poet whose two-line dohas cut through pretence.
Public domain · Ancient / pre-1960 text
When someone asks, “What does your T-shirt say?”
It's from doha, in Hindi / Awadhi. It means: “The world died reading books; none became wise — love teaches.”
That's the whole idea. One line, and a conversation about something that has mattered for a thousand years.
If this stayed with you