The body grows old and tired, and the ache runs deep; but the Name is cool, healing water, and the door of peace opens by grace.
The Arc
Bhikhan, whose two shabads close the Sorath Bhagat section, sings of aging, illness, and healing. Pauri 0: the years gather, eyes moisten, strength thins, hair turns milk-white, the voice grows rough, what shall a small mortal do? The Rahao (Pauri 1): O Beloved, Gardener of the world, be my Physician and lift up the one who loves You. Pauri 2: head heavy, body worn, a deep ache no ordinary remedy can reach. Pauri 3 resolves in hope: the Name is nectar-water, the finest medicine in the world, and by grace the door of freedom has opened.
Key Vocabulary
tan kheenaa / kes dudh vaanee: the body grown weak, hair milk-white, aging named tenderly
baid banvaaree: the Beloved as Physician and Gardener of the world-garden
bedan... aukhadh naahee: an ache no ordinary medicine can cure
amrit jal niramal: the Name as pure nectar-water, the true medicine
gur parsaad... mokh duaaraa: by grace, the door of freedom and peace
Themes and Cross-Connections
A tender companion to the project's handling of aging and mortality in the Alaahnian (Wadahans) and the healing raag Todee. The whole arc moves from frailty to healing: the Name as amrit jal (nectar-water) and the door of freedom opening by Gurprasad, grace always given, never earned (philosophy.md). Bhikhan's Physician-and-Gardener imagery is among Gurbani's gentlest pictures of divine care.
For Raag Sorath
Sorath's warmth carries this shabad of aging and healing with great tenderness; the raag holds both the honest ache and the cool comfort of its answer.
Translation Notes
BHAGAT ATTRIBUTION: source header Raag Sorath banee bhagat Bheekhan kee, so titled and commented as Bhagat Bhikhan.
WELLBEING (SENSITIVE, handled with care): aging and illness are named honestly but never made frightening, milk-white hair and a tired voice rendered tenderly; the physical suffering is briefly stated and reframed as a longing that only love can answer; the whole shabad is bent firmly toward hope, healing, and the open door of peace.
INTERFAITH: baid banvaaree (Physician, Gardener of the world) held as a warm, universal image of divine care.
The body grows old and tired, and the ache runs deep; but the Name is cool, healing water, and the door of peace opens by grace.
The Arc
Bhikhan, whose two shabads close the Sorath Bhagat section, sings of aging, illness, and healing. Pauri 0: the years gather, eyes moisten, strength thins, hair turns milk-white, the voice grows rough, what shall a small mortal do? The Rahao (Pauri 1): O Beloved, Gardener of the world, be my Physician and lift up the one who loves You. Pauri 2: head heavy, body worn, a deep ache no ordinary remedy can reach. Pauri 3 resolves in hope: the Name is nectar-water, the finest medicine in the world, and by grace the door of freedom has opened.
Key Vocabulary
Themes and Cross-Connections
A tender companion to the project's handling of aging and mortality in the Alaahnian (Wadahans) and the healing raag Todee. The whole arc moves from frailty to healing: the Name as amrit jal (nectar-water) and the door of freedom opening by Gurprasad, grace always given, never earned (philosophy.md). Bhikhan's Physician-and-Gardener imagery is among Gurbani's gentlest pictures of divine care.
For Raag Sorath
Sorath's warmth carries this shabad of aging and healing with great tenderness; the raag holds both the honest ache and the cool comfort of its answer.
Translation Notes
Last updated: 2026