One spark of the Name, and the ache no medicine could reach finally eases.
The Arc
This shabad names three pains — separation, dying, and disease — that no ordinary cure can touch. Forgetting the One and chasing pleasures lets unease rise on its own; a life's worth is like sandalwood's fragrance, lasting only while the breath does; but one spark of the Name turns the body golden and eases the deepest ache.
Key Vocabulary
dukh vaychhorhaa — the ache of separation, felt as hunger.
vaid / daaroo — the doctor and the medicine that cannot reach this ache.
chandan kaa fal — sandalwood's worth is its fragrance.
kanchan kaa-i-aa — the golden body, shining with a spark of the Name.
Themes and Cross-Connections
The medicine metaphor continues into the next shabad, where the Name becomes a recipe. Viraha is the deepest of the three named pains, waiting for its true cure.
For Raag Malaar
Separation-longing named tenderly and answered by the Name — the raag's ache resolved with a single spark.
Translation Notes
Messenger of Death (jamdoot) is rendered as the fear of dying. O foolish doctor is softened to a kind address. The blind mortal receives his punishment (sajaa-ay) is rendered as the natural cost of seeking healing in the wrong place, not a punishment handed down.
One spark of the Name, and the ache no medicine could reach finally eases.
The Arc
This shabad names three pains — separation, dying, and disease — that no ordinary cure can touch. Forgetting the One and chasing pleasures lets unease rise on its own; a life's worth is like sandalwood's fragrance, lasting only while the breath does; but one spark of the Name turns the body golden and eases the deepest ache.
Key Vocabulary
Themes and Cross-Connections
The medicine metaphor continues into the next shabad, where the Name becomes a recipe. Viraha is the deepest of the three named pains, waiting for its true cure.
For Raag Malaar
Separation-longing named tenderly and answered by the Name — the raag's ache resolved with a single spark.
Translation Notes
Messenger of Death (jamdoot) is rendered as the fear of dying. O foolish doctor is softened to a kind address. The blind mortal receives his punishment (sajaa-ay) is rendered as the natural cost of seeking healing in the wrong place, not a punishment handed down.