Ill-will unravels of itself; the innocent are shielded; gratitude, not gloating, has the last word.
The Arc
This is one of Guru Arjan's deliverance shabads, recalling a real hostile scheme (named Sulhi in tradition) that collapsed before it could reach the Guru's people. The Rahau names the rescue and the reach that never landed. The middle verse gives the deep teaching — ill-will consumes its own author, as in the Vaars — with the grim imagery set aside. The close turns to what lasts: hoarded things slip away, but faithfulness to the humble endures, and gratitude, not vengeance, closes the song.
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
This shabad references a real threat to Guru Arjan (Sulhi, in the tradition). SSK's graphic imagery — an axe severing the head, the body reduced to dust — is set aside per the project's wellbeing and evenhandedness rules. The kept teaching is that harm turned back on its own author while the innocent were protected; the tone is gratitude, not gloating, and no group is disparaged. The memento-mori of hoarded wealth slipping away is rendered gently, without funeral dread.
Ill-will unravels of itself; the innocent are shielded; gratitude, not gloating, has the last word.
The Arc
This is one of Guru Arjan's deliverance shabads, recalling a real hostile scheme (named Sulhi in tradition) that collapsed before it could reach the Guru's people. The Rahau names the rescue and the reach that never landed. The middle verse gives the deep teaching — ill-will consumes its own author, as in the Vaars — with the grim imagery set aside. The close turns to what lasts: hoarded things slip away, but faithfulness to the humble endures, and gratitude, not vengeance, closes the song.
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
This shabad references a real threat to Guru Arjan (Sulhi, in the tradition). SSK's graphic imagery — an axe severing the head, the body reduced to dust — is set aside per the project's wellbeing and evenhandedness rules. The kept teaching is that harm turned back on its own author while the innocent were protected; the tone is gratitude, not gloating, and no group is disparaged. The memento-mori of hoarded wealth slipping away is rendered gently, without funeral dread.
Last updated: 2026-07-08