I come empty-handed and ask to be held; sing the Name and let the fruitless striving go — for the Name is the support that makes a whole life.
The Arc
Guru Ram Das comes with empty hands, asking only to be held. Sing the Name and drop the fruitless striving. The verses trust that the One saves the ones who cannot save themselves, notice that a life without the Name goes round in circles, and rest at last on the Name as the support that makes a life fruitful.
Key Vocabulary
moorakh mugaDh: unknowing, unschooled — a gentle self-address
paathar: a stone
nirgun: without merits, empty-handed
naamheen: without the Name
aDhaar: support, prop
safal jannamaa: a life made fruitful
Themes and Cross-Connections
This shabad turns weakness into the doorway: ham nirgun (I have no merits) is not self-hatred but the honest empty hand that grace can fill. Naam aDhaar — the Name as the support — is Ram Das's steady image of a life propped on the One rather than on its own strength.
For Raag Bilaaval
Bilaaval's well-being here is the relief of stopping the fruitless striving (nihfal kaamaa) and resting the whole weight of a life on the Name.
Translation Notes
Two voice-care handlings, per the wellbeing rules: (1) the opening self-description (moorakh mugaDh... paathar heen akarmaa — SSK: "foolish, idiotic... a lowly stone with no good karma") is rendered as honest empty-handedness toward grace, not self-contempt. (2) Verse 3's naamheen Dharig jeevtay... vad dookh sahammaa (SSK: "lives are cursed... terrible pain... unfortunate fools") drops the curse and terror; the kernel is kept as a life without the Name feeling empty and going in circles.
I come empty-handed and ask to be held; sing the Name and let the fruitless striving go — for the Name is the support that makes a whole life.
The Arc
Guru Ram Das comes with empty hands, asking only to be held. Sing the Name and drop the fruitless striving. The verses trust that the One saves the ones who cannot save themselves, notice that a life without the Name goes round in circles, and rest at last on the Name as the support that makes a life fruitful.
Key Vocabulary
Themes and Cross-Connections
This shabad turns weakness into the doorway: ham nirgun (I have no merits) is not self-hatred but the honest empty hand that grace can fill. Naam aDhaar — the Name as the support — is Ram Das's steady image of a life propped on the One rather than on its own strength.
For Raag Bilaaval
Bilaaval's well-being here is the relief of stopping the fruitless striving (nihfal kaamaa) and resting the whole weight of a life on the Name.
Translation Notes
Two voice-care handlings, per the wellbeing rules: (1) the opening self-description (moorakh mugaDh... paathar heen akarmaa — SSK: "foolish, idiotic... a lowly stone with no good karma") is rendered as honest empty-handedness toward grace, not self-contempt. (2) Verse 3's naamheen Dharig jeevtay... vad dookh sahammaa (SSK: "lives are cursed... terrible pain... unfortunate fools") drops the curse and terror; the kernel is kept as a life without the Name feeling empty and going in circles.
Last updated: 2026-07-08