Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
He shines with the conch, the wheel, the prayer beads and the tilak; seeing his glory, Death's messenger is scared away.
He becomes fearless, the power of the Lord thunders through him, and the pain of birth and death is taken away.
A heart turned toward the One becomes fearless, even of death.
The verse names the sankh (a conch shell), the chakar (a round wheel), the maalaa (prayer beads) and the tilak (a mark on the forehead). These are signs worn by Vaishnavs, devotees of Vishnu. They show a heart turned toward the One.
Daykh partaap jam dari-o: seeing such glory, Death's messenger backs away. The heart of it is fear. A person full of the One is no longer ruled by the fear of death.
Nirbha-o bha-ay: they become fearless. The strength of the One thunders through them. Think of one small drummer in a big band, suddenly loud and strong because the whole band is behind them. Janam maran santaap hiri-o: the pain of being born and dying again is taken away.
What would you do today if you weren't afraid?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI