Raag Dhanaasaree
Commentary

Raag Dhanaasaree, Du-Pada (Aartee), Bhagat Dhannaa Jee

O Keeper of the world, this is my aartee — and here, plainly, are the everyday things I bring to You, as to family.

The Arc

Dhannaa, a Jat farmer, calls his whole devotion an aartee and trusts the One to arrange the affairs of the devoted (the Rahao). Then comes the shabad's disarming charm: a list of homely wants — lentils, flour, ghee, shoes, clothes, grain, a cow, a buffalo, a fine horse, a loving companion for the home. Far from crude, the plain list is a picture of complete, childlike trust: nothing is too ordinary to bring to the One.

Key Vocabulary

  • gopaal: Keeper of the world
  • aartaa: aartee, the worship of lights
  • kaaj savaartaa: arranges their affairs
  • maaga-o: I ask
  • geehan: companion of the home
  • layvai mangee: simply asks and receives

Themes and Cross-Connections

Intimacy with the Divine as with family; the humblest daily life brought openly to the One; trust that one is provided for. Connects to philosophy.md's "The Farmer and the Field" and "The Sacred Everyday," and to grace-as-provision.

For Raag Dhanaasaree

The raag of longing turned homeward — the beloved One trusted with the whole of ordinary life.

Translation Notes

This is the "asking" shabad (||2||4||), not the separate Dhannaa hymn "Dhannaa the Jat has met the Lord." maaga-o ("beg") is rendered as open-hearted asking, not begging. The domestic image (ghar kee geehan, "wife of the house") is rendered warmly and respectfully as "a loving partner for the home" for young readers.

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