Raag Bilaaval
Commentary

- Raag Bilaaval, Dupda, Mehl 5 (Guru Arjan)

You do not have to prove your worth to be fully held.

The Arc

The Rahau is a child's whole trust: care for me as You see best; I am Your child, You my kind Father. The first verse comes empty-handed, unable even to measure the One's doing, yet already wholly the One's. The close rests in being known before a word is spoken, body and mind cooled by a single kind glance.

Key Vocabulary

  • ji-o bhaavai ti-o partipaal: nurture me as You see fit
  • ham baarik tum pitaa kirpaal: I am the child, You the kind Father
  • mohi nirgun: empty-handed, without merit of my own
  • jee-o pind sabh tumro: soul and body already Yours
  • antarjaamee: the inner-knower
  • tan man seetal... nadar nihaal: body and mind cooled by the glance of grace

Themes and Cross-Connections

Child-and-parent trust and empty-handedness: worth not earned but given, and the deep peace of being understood without explaining. Grace as glance (nadar), freely turned toward us.

For Raag Bilaaval

Bilaaval's warmth -- the settled coolness of a child safe in loving care.

Translation Notes

mohi nirgun gun naahee ko-ee (I am without virtue) is carried as empty-handedness rather than worthlessness, per the self-abasement rule.

Last updated: 2026-07-08

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