ਕਵਨ ਬਨੀ ਰੀ ਤੇਰੀ ਲਾਲੀ ॥
kavan banee ree tayree laalee.
Whose handiwork is this red beauty of yours?
ਕਵਨ ਰੰਗਿ ਤੂੰ ਭਈ ਗੁਲਾਲੀ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
kavan rang tooN bha-ee gulaalee. ||1|| rahaa-o.
Whose love has rendered the poppy so red? ||1||Pause||
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Whose handiwork is this red beauty of yours?
Whose love has stained the poppy so deeply red?
The deep color of a soul is never its own doing — it's love that dyed it.
The Pause asks the shabad's central question: "whose handiwork is this red beauty?" The bride's crimson is not her own achievement — it is someone's love that dyed her, the way love stains the poppy red. The question sets up the answer that will come in the Second Pause: the One did it.
A Question to Sit With
When you see goodness in someone, whose love do you think helped color them?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI
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