Kabir is generally situated in the 15th century of the Common Era, a period of intense religious and philosophical ferment in North India. Traditional accounts commonly place his birth around 1398 CE, and many sources suggest that he lived until about 1518 CE. Although exact dates remain uncertain, this approximate span conveys the historical window in which his voice emerged and took shape. The lack of firm documentation itself reflects the way Kabir stands at the threshold between history and sacred memory, more a living presence in song and verse than a figure pinned down by chronology.

Geographically, Kabir is associated above all with Varanasi, also known as Kashi or Banaras, in what is now the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. This ancient city on the Ganges was a renowned center of Hindu learning and pilgrimage, while also being home to vibrant Islamic communities. Such a setting, where diverse religious currents met and interacted, formed the backdrop to Kabir’s life and work. The spiritual atmosphere of Varanasi, with its temples, mosques, and ceaseless ritual activity, provided a fertile ground for a mystic who spoke across boundaries and questioned rigid identities.

Within this historical and geographical frame, Kabir’s significance lies not merely in dates and locations but in how those coordinates shaped his mystical expression. To imagine Kabir in 15th-century Varanasi is to picture a poet-saint moving through crowded lanes, riverfront ghats, and weaving quarters, absorbing the sounds of Sanskrit recitation, Qur’anic chant, and folk song. His verses, as remembered in later tradition, bear the imprint of that pluralistic environment, even as they challenge superficial divisions. Thus, the time and place of Kabir’s life are best understood as the crucible in which his uncompromising, unifying spiritual vision was forged.