Raag Kaanraa
Commentary

Raag Kaanraa, Partaal, Mehl 4 (Guru Ram Das)

Sing and listen, and the old weight lifts; peace ripens like fruit.

The Arc

The last of Guru Ram Das's partaals here. The rahau joins singing and listening as the twin cleansing of praise. The shabad honors those who hold the One with one mind and one heart, finding peace in the Name, and closes on the fruit of peace ripening in devoted hearts and the glad wish to serve them.

Key Vocabulary

  • jas gaavat paap lahaan — singing praise lifts the old weight.
  • ik man ik chit — one mind, one heart; undivided attention.
  • naam niDhaan — the Name, treasure of bliss.
  • sukh fal — the fruit of peace, ripening in the heart.

Themes and Cross-Connections

The pairing of singing (praise) with listening (suniai) reflects the Suniai teaching: deep listening is itself a path. The gathered mind (ik man ik chit) answers the scattered, running mind pictured earlier in the raag.

For Raag Kaanraa

This partaal rounds off Guru Ram Das's Kaanraa cycle by turning longing into peace: the fruit ripens, the heart gathers into one, and the singer asks only to serve those who love the One.

Translation Notes

bhav sinDh (the terrifying world-ocean) is rendered as wide, rough waters safely crossed, keeping the sense of passage while softening the frightening kernel for a child.

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