Ill-will unravels of itself; the innocent are shielded; gratitude, not gloating, has the last word.
The Arc
Sometimes a person sets out to hurt someone. A man named Sulhi once set out against Guru Arjan. His hand never reached the Guru's people. The One kept them safe. Ill-will wears out the one who carries it. Plotting and plotting, he used himself up, and the plan came to nothing. In the end, everything he had gathered slipped away: friends, money, family. What lasts is the One's faithfulness. The One keeps the word of a humble servant. So when you are kept safe, answer with thanks. Gratitude gets the last word. At the centre, the Rahao: kept safe by the One, and a harmful reach that never landed.
Key Vocabulary
sulhee tay raakh: kept safe from the one who meant harm
haath kahee na pahuchai: the harmful reach never landed
mandaa chitvat pachi-aa: worn down by his own dark planning
jin rachi-aa tin deenaa Dhaak: the One who made him let the plan come to nothing
kichhoo na rahi-o: nothing gathered lasted
pooran vaak: the word kept faith with
Themes and Cross-Connections
Ill-will defeats itself — the recurring justice of the Vaars — while the innocent are shielded and the singer's response is thanks, not triumph.
For Raag Bilaaval
A rare historical note inside bright Bilaaval — deliverance sung as gratitude.
Translation Notes
Tradition names Sulhi Khan as an official who set out against Guru Arjan; his plan fell apart before it could reach the Guru's people. The hard pictures in the first verse, an axe and dust, show how completely the harm turned back on its own author while the innocent were protected. Wealth and family slipping away is a gentle reminder that gathered things do not last. The close is thanks, and no group of people is blamed.
Hukumnama
Subject: The One keeps you safe from harm Preview: a scheming hand that never landed, a plan that wore out its maker, and riches that slipped away.
Today: Sometimes a person sets out to hurt someone. A man named Sulhi once set out against Guru Arjan. His hand never reached the Guru's people. The One kept them safe. Ill-will wears out the one who carries it. Plotting and plotting, he used himself up, and the plan came to nothing. In the end, everything he had gathered slipped away: friends, money, family. What lasts is the One's faithfulness. The One keeps the word of a humble servant. So when you are kept safe, answer with thanks. Gratitude gets the last word.
The One keeps the innocent safe, and thanks is the answer.
For today: Think of one time you were kept safe, and thank the One for it.
Ill-will unravels of itself; the innocent are shielded; gratitude, not gloating, has the last word.
The Arc
Sometimes a person sets out to hurt someone. A man named Sulhi once set out against Guru Arjan. His hand never reached the Guru's people. The One kept them safe. Ill-will wears out the one who carries it. Plotting and plotting, he used himself up, and the plan came to nothing. In the end, everything he had gathered slipped away: friends, money, family. What lasts is the One's faithfulness. The One keeps the word of a humble servant. So when you are kept safe, answer with thanks. Gratitude gets the last word. At the centre, the Rahao: kept safe by the One, and a harmful reach that never landed.
Key Vocabulary
Themes and Cross-Connections
Ill-will defeats itself — the recurring justice of the Vaars — while the innocent are shielded and the singer's response is thanks, not triumph.
For Raag Bilaaval
A rare historical note inside bright Bilaaval — deliverance sung as gratitude.
Translation Notes
Tradition names Sulhi Khan as an official who set out against Guru Arjan; his plan fell apart before it could reach the Guru's people. The hard pictures in the first verse, an axe and dust, show how completely the harm turned back on its own author while the innocent were protected. Wealth and family slipping away is a gentle reminder that gathered things do not last. The close is thanks, and no group of people is blamed.
Hukumnama
Subject: The One keeps you safe from harm Preview: a scheming hand that never landed, a plan that wore out its maker, and riches that slipped away.
Today: Sometimes a person sets out to hurt someone. A man named Sulhi once set out against Guru Arjan. His hand never reached the Guru's people. The One kept them safe. Ill-will wears out the one who carries it. Plotting and plotting, he used himself up, and the plan came to nothing. In the end, everything he had gathered slipped away: friends, money, family. What lasts is the One's faithfulness. The One keeps the word of a humble servant. So when you are kept safe, answer with thanks. Gratitude gets the last word.
The One keeps the innocent safe, and thanks is the answer.
For today: Think of one time you were kept safe, and thank the One for it.