Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Thousands of pounds of gold, thousands of pounds of silver. A king above thousands of kings.
Thousands of soldiers, thousands of drums and spears. An emperor with thousands of horses.
But there is a sea of fire and water, too deep to measure, that has to be crossed.
The other shore cannot be seen. Only the sound of crying can be heard.
Nanak says: there it will be known who is a king and who is an emperor.
At the end of life, gold, armies and crowns weigh nothing. Everyone comes to the same crossing.
Lakh man su-inaa lakh man rupaa: thousands of pounds of gold and silver, a king over kings, armies, drums and horses. Then comes the saa-ir, the sea of fire and water that has to be crossed, its far shore out of sight.
Naanak othai jaanee-ahi saah kay-ee paatisaah: there it will be known who is a king. The crossing is the great leveler. What counts there is what a person carries inside, and no army can carry that for anyone.
If you could only carry things that live inside you, what would you want to have gathered?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI