सबसे ऊँची प्रेम सगाई।
दुर्योधन की मेवा त्यागी, साग बिदुर घर पाई॥
जूठे फल सबरी के खाये, बहुबिधि प्रेम लगाई।
प्रेम के बस नृप सेवा कीनी, आप बने हरि नाई॥
राजसुयज्ञ युधिष्ठिर कीनो, तामैं जूठ उठाई।
प्रेम के बस अर्जुन-रथ हाँक्यो, भूल गए ठकुराई॥
ऐसी प्रीत बढ़ी बृंदाबन, गोपिन नाच नचाई।
सूर क्रूर इस लायक नाहीं, कहँ लगि करौं बड़ाई॥
Sabse unchi prem sagai,
Duryodhan ki meva tyagi, sag Bidur ghar pai.
Juthe phal Sabri ke khaye, bahubidhi prem lagai,
prem ke bas nrip seva kini, ap bane Hari nai.
Rajasuyagya Yudhishthir kino, tamain juth uthai,
prem ke bas Arjun-rath hankyo, bhul gae thakurai.
Aisi prit badhi Brindaban, gopin nach nachai,
Sur krur is layak nahin, kahan lagi karaun badai.
Meaning
The highest bond of all is the bond of love. Hari refused Duryodhana’s dried fruits and ate plain greens at Vidura’s house.
He ate Shabari’s tasted fruits, with love in many ways. Bound by love he served a king; Hari himself became a barber.
When Yudhishthira held the Rajasuya, Hari cleared away the used leaf-plates. Bound by love he drove Arjuna’s chariot and forgot that he was the Master.
Such love grew in Vrindavan that the gopis made him dance to their tune. Sur, hard-hearted, is not worthy of this; how far can I go on praising him?
About this bhajan
A pada built like a katha-vachak’s list of proofs, each line a well-known episode in which the Lord stoops for love: Vidura’s greens, Shabari’s berries, the plates at the Rajasuya, the reins of Arjuna’s chariot. The line about Hari becoming a barber refers to the katha of Sain, the barber-saint, whose duty at the king’s court Bhagwan is said to have done in his place. Pravachan speakers quote the first line constantly.
Attributed to Surdas in the bhajan tradition; text as on Kavita Kosh