Branded with a thousand marks of disgrace, Indra cried in shame.
ਪਰਸ ਰਾਮੁ ਰੋਵੈ ਘਰਿ ਆਇਆ ॥
paras raam rovai ghar aa-i-aa.
Paras Raam returned home crying.
ਅਜੈ ਸੁ ਰੋਵੈ ਭੀਖਿਆ ਖਾਇ ॥
ajai so rovai bheekhi-aa khaa-ay.
Ajai cried and wept, when he was made to eat the manure he had given, pretending it was charity.
ਐਸੀ ਦਰਗਹ ਮਿਲੈ ਸਜਾਇ ॥
aisee dargeh milai sajaa-ay.
Such is the punishment received in the Court of the Lord.
ਰੋਵੈ ਰਾਮੁ ਨਿਕਾਲਾ ਭਇਆ ॥
rovai raam nikaalaa bha-i-aa.
Rama wept when he was sent into exile,
ਸੀਤਾ ਲਖਮਣੁ ਵਿਛੁੜਿ ਗਇਆ ॥
seetaa lakhman vichhurh ga-i-aa.
and separated from Sita and Lakhshman.
ਰੋਵੈ ਦਹਸਿਰੁ ਲੰਕ ਗਵਾਇ ॥
rovai dehsir lank gavaa-ay.
The ten-headed Raawan wept when he lost Sri Lanka,
ਜਿਨਿ ਸੀਤਾ ਆਦੀ ਡਉਰੂ ਵਾਇ ॥
jin seetaa aadee da-uroo vaa-ay.
but he stole away Sita with the beat of his tambourine.
ਰੋਵਹਿ ਪਾਂਡਵ ਭਏ ਮਜੂਰ ॥
roveh paaNdav bha-ay majoor.
The Paandavas were made slaves, and wept,
ਜਿਨ ਕੈ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਹਤ ਹਦੂਰਿ ॥
jin kai su-aamee rahat hadoor.
but they once lived in the Presence of the Lord.
ਰੋਵੈ ਜਨਮੇਜਾ ਖੁਇ ਗਇਆ ॥
rovai janmayjaa khu-ay ga-i-aa.
Janmayjaa wept, that he had lost his way.
ਏਕੀ ਕਾਰਣਿ ਪਾਪੀ ਭਇਆ ॥
aykee kaaran paapee bha-i-aa.
One mistake, and he became a sinner.
ਰੋਵਹਿ ਸੇਖ ਮਸਾਇਕ ਪੀਰ ॥
roveh saykh masaa-ik peer.
The Shaykhs, Pirs and spiritual teachers weep;
ਅੰਤਿ ਕਾਲਿ ਮਤੁ ਲਾਗੈ ਭੀੜ ॥
ant kaal mat laagai bheerh.
at the very last instant, they suffer in agony.
ਰੋਵਹਿ ਰਾਜੇ ਕੰਨ ਪੜਾਇ ॥
roveh raajay kann parhaa-ay.
The kings weep - their ears are cut;
ਘਰਿ ਘਰਿ ਮਾਗਹਿ ਭੀਖਿਆ ਜਾਇ ॥
ghar ghar maageh bheekhi-aa jaa-ay.
they go begging from house to house.
ਰੋਵਹਿ ਕਿਰਪਨ ਸੰਚਹਿ ਧਨੁ ਜਾਇ ॥
roveh kirpan saNcheh Dhan jaa-ay.
The miser weeps; he has to leave behind the wealth he has gathered.
ਪੰਡਿਤ ਰੋਵਹਿ ਗਿਆਨੁ ਗਵਾਇ ॥
pandit roveh gi-aan gavaa-ay.
The Pandit, the religious scholar, weeps when his learning is gone.
ਬਾਲੀ ਰੋਵੈ ਨਾਹਿ ਭਤਾਰੁ ॥
baalee rovai naahi bhataar.
The young woman weeps because she has no husband.
ਨਾਨਕ ਦੁਖੀਆ ਸਭੁ ਸੰਸਾਰੁ ॥
naanak dukhee-aa sabh sansaar.
O Nanak, the whole world is suffering.
ਮੰਨੇ ਨਾਉ ਸੋਈ ਜਿਣਿ ਜਾਇ ॥
mannay naa-o so-ee jin jaa-ay.
He alone is victorious, who believes in the Lord's Name.
ਅਉਰੀ ਕਰਮ ਨ ਲੇਖੈ ਲਾਇ ॥੧॥
a-uree karam na laykhai laa-ay. ||1||
No other action is of any account. ||1||
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
In plain words
Marked with a thousand signs of shame, Indra cried.
Paras Raam went home crying.
Ajai cried and wept when he was made to eat the dung he had handed out, pretending it was charity. Such is the punishment of the Court of the One.
Rama wept when he was sent away from home, apart from Sita and Lakhshman.
Ten-headed Raawan wept when he lost Lanka, though he had carried Sita off to the beat of a little drum.
The Paandava brothers wept when they were made servants, though once they had lived close to the One.
Janmayjaa wept that he had lost his way: one mistake, and he became a wrongdoer.
Shaykhs, Pirs and spiritual teachers weep; at the very end they suffer in pain.
Kings weep, punished and shamed, going begging from house to house.
The miser weeps, leaving behind the wealth he gathered. The scholar weeps when his learning is gone. The young woman weeps because she has no husband.
Nanak says: the whole world is in sorrow.
Only the one who trusts the Naam wins. No other action counts at all.
Fame and power spared no one, only the Name holds steady through it all.
The deeper layer
Everyone in the world meets sorrow, even the greatest. Only trusting the Naam brings the win that lasts.
He names one famous figure after another, and each one weeps. Indra, king of the gods in old stories, cried in shame. Parasuraam came home crying. Raam wept when he was sent away from home, apart from Sita and Lakhman. Raavan wept when he lost Lanka. The five Paandav brothers wept when they were made servants. Shaykhs and Peers, Muslim spiritual teachers, weep too. So do kings, misers and scholars.
The list takes stories from the Hindu epics and from the Muslim world side by side. Sorrow and change come to everyone, of every faith and every rank. Guru Nanak is not making fun of anyone. He is showing that fame, power, money and learning all pass.
Think of the tallest sandcastle on the beach. It is grand, but the tide still comes. Mannay naa-o so-ee jin jaa-ay means "the one who trusts the Name, only that one wins." No other action counts in the same way.
A Question to Sit With
What in your life do you hope will still be standing when everything changeable has changed?
