ਨਾ ਮੈ ਕੁਲੁ ਨਾ ਸੋਭਾਵੰਤ ॥
naa mai kul naa sobhaavant.
I am not from a noble family, and I am not beautiful.
ਕਿਆ ਜਾਨਾ ਕਿਉ ਭਾਨੀ ਕੰਤ ॥
ki-aa jaanaa ki-o bhaanee kant.
What do I know? Why am I pleasing to my Beloved?
ਮੋਹਿ ਅਨਾਥ ਗਰੀਬ ਨਿਮਾਨੀ ॥
mohi anaath gareeb nimaanee.
I am a poor orphan, destitute and dishonored.
ਕੰਤ ਪਕਰਿ ਹਮ ਕੀਨੀ ਰਾਨੀ ॥੩॥
kant pakar ham keenee raanee. ||3||
My Husband took me in, and made me His queen. ||3||
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
I am not from a noble family, and I am not beautiful.
What do I know — why am I pleasing to my Beloved?
I was a poor orphan, destitute and dishonored; yet my Beloved took me in and made me His queen.
You need not be noble or beautiful — the Beloved can take a poor orphan and make her a queen.
The shabad's most moving turn: the bride has nothing to commend her — "not from a noble family," "not beautiful," "a poor orphan, destitute and dishonored." And yet "my Husband took me in, and made me His queen." This is grace beyond all merit at its most tender — the One lifts the lowest, not the deserving (cf. Shabad 98, taken by the arm; Shabad 135, the outcast made noble).
A Question to Sit With
What is it like to be chosen and loved when you have nothing to show for it?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI
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