Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
That wealth you feel so proud of? It belongs to no one — not to you, not to anyone.
One day you'll set down all the passing pleasures it buys, and wish you had leaned on something that lasts.
The money we feel proud of belongs to no one.
Dhan is wealth. Garab is the pride we take in it. So dhan kiseh na aap means "that wealth belongs to no one." It only passes through our hands. Think of a library book. You can enjoy it for a while, but one day it goes back on the shelf.
Bikhi-aa ras are pleasures that fade fast. We leave them behind in an instant. Pachhutaap is the regret of someone who leaned on what could not hold them up. So the verse gently cools the pride we build on money.
What lasts longer than the things money can buy?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI