"The slanderer, by Guru's Grace, has been turned away."
The Arc
A shabad about being the target of slander — and not answering with revenge. The harm turned aside by grace, not counterattack (v.0); the devotee's real security is inner wealth "never used up," so even death's noose can't find them (v.1); the slander undoes itself — actions return to their doer — and the whole world witnesses it (v.2).
Key Vocabulary
nindak — slanderer; one actively working to harm your name.
"Shiva's arrow" — a mythic image for the decisive, grace-given stopping of the harm.
naam ratan / jewel of the Name — the wealth that grows the more it is spent.
Translation Notes
"With Shiva's arrow, He shot his head off" (sees kutti-o) is figurative borrowing of a mythic image; it means the harm was decisively disarmed, not a literal violence the devotee performs. The children's text renders it as the attack simply losing its power, keeping the non-revenge teaching central.
Themes and Cross-Connections
The slandered-stay-at-peace theme recurs across Guru Arjan's Aasaa shabads (B00C735, 766). Actions-return-to-doer is the tradition's moral-law refrain. Wealth-that-grows-when-spent connects to every "jewel of the Name" verse.
For Raag Todee
A pastorally important shabad for children facing unkindness: you don't have to win the war against those who tear you down — trust can disarm the harm, and reality keeps its own accounts.
"The slanderer, by Guru's Grace, has been turned away."
The Arc
A shabad about being the target of slander — and not answering with revenge. The harm turned aside by grace, not counterattack (v.0); the devotee's real security is inner wealth "never used up," so even death's noose can't find them (v.1); the slander undoes itself — actions return to their doer — and the whole world witnesses it (v.2).
Key Vocabulary
Translation Notes
"With Shiva's arrow, He shot his head off" (sees kutti-o) is figurative borrowing of a mythic image; it means the harm was decisively disarmed, not a literal violence the devotee performs. The children's text renders it as the attack simply losing its power, keeping the non-revenge teaching central.
Themes and Cross-Connections
The slandered-stay-at-peace theme recurs across Guru Arjan's Aasaa shabads (B00C735, 766). Actions-return-to-doer is the tradition's moral-law refrain. Wealth-that-grows-when-spent connects to every "jewel of the Name" verse.
For Raag Todee
A pastorally important shabad for children facing unkindness: you don't have to win the war against those who tear you down — trust can disarm the harm, and reality keeps its own accounts.