Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
The one whom the Master dresses in robes of honor is never again called up to explain their mistakes — all of that is settled, forgiven, done. Nanak would give himself away to that servant; that one is like a precious pearl, drawn up from the deep, deep ocean. Humble on the outside, priceless within.
The shabad closes with the image of honor and a stunning final metaphor. Apunai thaakur jo pehraaiaa — "the one whom the Master himself pehraaiaa (dressed in robes of honor)." In that era, a king would bestow a siropa — a robe of honor — on someone he wished to publicly distinguish. The One dresses the beloved servant in such robes. Recall Shabad 9, where the Beloved adorned his bride: here the Master honors his servant the same way. The servant does not earn the robes; the Master bestows them — grace, again.
And the consequence: bahur na lekhaa puchh bulaaiaa — "no longer is [that one] called to lekhaa (give an account, answer for their record)." This is a profound image of grace and release. In the traditional picture, every soul must one day give a lekhaa — an accounting of all its deeds, good and bad. But the one whom the Master has robed in honor is never called to account again. The accounting is cancelled and the slate wiped. This connects to Shabad 22, where the Guru covered and shielded the seeker — here the covering is total: the very reckoning is dismissed. The verse pictures the devotee as honoured by the Master and no longer called to account.
The final metaphor is luminous: so gahir gabheeraa gauhar — "that one is a gauhar (pearl) of the gahir gabheer (deep, profound, unfathomable) [ocean]." The humble servant — the one carrying water and grinding grain — is revealed to be a pearl drawn from the deepest ocean. To the world, a servant doing chores looks like nothing special. But seen truly, that servant is a rare pearl, formed in the depths, of incalculable worth. Outward humility, inward preciousness. And Nanak kurbaanee — "I am a sacrifice to that servant." The Guru bows not to the powerful or the proud, but to the humble servant who is secretly a pearl. The arc completes: the One woven into its servant (Rahao), the noose exchanged for joyful service (P1), the servant inheriting all and shining by closeness (P2), and finally robed in honor, released from all accounting, revealed as a pearl of the deep (P3). Signed with the lineage's name, Nanak. The lowest servant, in the One's eyes, is the most precious treasure.
The verse calls the humble servant a "pearl of the deep ocean" — precious inside though plain outside. Who in your life looks ordinary but is secretly remarkable? What makes someone a hidden "pearl"?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI