You are watched over with the steady, faithful care a herdsman gives his herd — night and day — and gathered, at last, into the lap of goodness.
The Arc
This eight-verse hymn opens the "Sixteen Ashtapadees of Gwaarayree Gauree" and is set in Gauree Bairaagan, the tender, reflective strain. Pauri 0 gives the keynote image: as a dairy farmer cares for his cows night and day, so the One cherishes and protects us — and the soul is filled with peace. The Rahao (Pauri 1) is the heart-cry: protect me here and everywhere, You who are gentle with the humble; I sit in Your shelter — bless me with the Glance of Grace. Pauri 2 sees the One everywhere and names it Giver and Enjoyer both, as close as the breath. Pauri 3 explains why the inner dark lingers (no reflection, no wonder) and how it lifts. Pauri 4 watches the world worn out by greed and pride, and finds the true door of freedom. Pauri 5 locates the boundless One's palace within one's own being. Pauri 6 is the arms-open truth of a passing life — the bucket rising and falling on its rope. Pauri 7 uncovers the treasure of the Word within, reached by setting the small "me" aside. Pauri 8 lands on the Glance of Grace gathering the soul into the lap of goodness — a union never broken.
Key Vocabulary
go-ilee: the herdsman/dairy-farmer — the tender keynote image of steady, daily care
deen dayaalaa: merciful to the meek — the One's gentleness toward the humble
nadar / sarnaagat: the Glance of Grace / taking sanctuary
daataa bhugtaa: Giver and Enjoyer both — the nondual One who gives, receives, delights
dol badhaa kas jayvree: the bucket tied to the rope — life's risings and fallings
gun ank samaavai: settling into the lap of virtue — grace gathering the soul like a child
Themes and Cross-Connections
The herdsman image is a fresh face of philosophy.md's Gurprasad — grace as steady, faithful, always-there care, not a reward. Pauri 2's daataa bhugtaa is pure Ik Onkar (no second: the One gives and receives). The inward palace (Pauri 5) and the treasure-within reached by losing aap (Pauri 7) are Sahaj and Haumai together — the destination is inside, the ego the only doorkeeper. The bucket-on-a-rope (Pauri 6) is Nanak's memento-mori rendered as perspective, not fear.
For Raag Gauree
Bairaagan is the wistful, longing-tinged strain of Gauree, and it suits this hymn's blend of tenderness and impermanence. The mood is trusting and intimate — a soul in the shelter of a gentle Protector, watched over like a herd, gathered at last into a lap.
Translation Notes
SSK renders faaseh jam jaalaa (Pauri 6) with the "noose of Death"; per wellbeing rules the frightening death-noose is turned toward its truer meaning — the folly of clinging to what we cannot keep — keeping the arms-open teaching.
mil aap gavaa-ee-ai (Pauri 7): SSK "eradicating conceit" is rendered as gently setting the small self aside (ego as doorkeeper, not criminal).
You are watched over with the steady, faithful care a herdsman gives his herd — night and day — and gathered, at last, into the lap of goodness.
The Arc
This eight-verse hymn opens the "Sixteen Ashtapadees of Gwaarayree Gauree" and is set in Gauree Bairaagan, the tender, reflective strain. Pauri 0 gives the keynote image: as a dairy farmer cares for his cows night and day, so the One cherishes and protects us — and the soul is filled with peace. The Rahao (Pauri 1) is the heart-cry: protect me here and everywhere, You who are gentle with the humble; I sit in Your shelter — bless me with the Glance of Grace. Pauri 2 sees the One everywhere and names it Giver and Enjoyer both, as close as the breath. Pauri 3 explains why the inner dark lingers (no reflection, no wonder) and how it lifts. Pauri 4 watches the world worn out by greed and pride, and finds the true door of freedom. Pauri 5 locates the boundless One's palace within one's own being. Pauri 6 is the arms-open truth of a passing life — the bucket rising and falling on its rope. Pauri 7 uncovers the treasure of the Word within, reached by setting the small "me" aside. Pauri 8 lands on the Glance of Grace gathering the soul into the lap of goodness — a union never broken.
Key Vocabulary
Themes and Cross-Connections
The herdsman image is a fresh face of philosophy.md's Gurprasad — grace as steady, faithful, always-there care, not a reward. Pauri 2's daataa bhugtaa is pure Ik Onkar (no second: the One gives and receives). The inward palace (Pauri 5) and the treasure-within reached by losing aap (Pauri 7) are Sahaj and Haumai together — the destination is inside, the ego the only doorkeeper. The bucket-on-a-rope (Pauri 6) is Nanak's memento-mori rendered as perspective, not fear.
For Raag Gauree
Bairaagan is the wistful, longing-tinged strain of Gauree, and it suits this hymn's blend of tenderness and impermanence. The mood is trusting and intimate — a soul in the shelter of a gentle Protector, watched over like a herd, gathered at last into a lap.
Translation Notes
Last updated: 2026