Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
The long night feels heavy when the heart is missing the One it loves; sleep will not come. Everything I once dressed up in — sweet treats, pretty things, easy comforts — feels empty when the deepest love is far away; none of it counts for much. What use is being caught up in youth and looking good, if the heart runs dry? But the soul finds its Beloved the moment the meeting is given as grace; without that love, the heart cannot rest.
The Chhant form uses the soul-bride (saa dhan) longing for the Husband-Lord (pir) as an image of the soul aching for the One. This opening stanza (||1||) sets the night of separation. Per wellbeing rules, the literal's "wine of youthful pride has ruined her, her breasts no longer yield milk" is dropped — replaced with "if the heart runs dry" — keeping the meaning (outer beauty is empty without inner love) without the gendered-body image. Union comes only as grace (milai milaaee).
What is something you've missed so much that nothing else could quite replace it?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI