Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Even the most powerful rulers run everywhere to conquer and collect. That same restless "me" wears them out. Chasing and grabbing, they tire themselves out and start the whole tiring cycle over again.
This one says even a king cannot conquer his way to peace.
Ha-umai kar raajay baho dhaaveh — acting from ego, kings rush off on campaign after campaign. Raajay means kings. Guru Nanak picks the grandest example of the ego he can find. Power does not free anyone from the ego. It only makes the tiredness bigger.
Ha-umai khapeh janam mar aavahi — through ego they wear themselves out, and they die and come back again. Janam mar is the wheel of birth and death, turning round and round. It can also be read gently as a restless life that never lands, because it is always chasing the next win.
Think of a video game where you beat one level and a harder one pops up at once. You never get to put the controller down.
The lesson is not that kings are bad. It is that no amount of getting can fill a hungry ego.
Have you noticed that getting the thing you wanted often just makes you want the next thing?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI