Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
I am the Lord God's minstrel — and I have come to His Door.
The Lord heard my sad cries from deep within me, and He called me — His minstrel — into His Presence.
The Lord asked me: 'Why have you come here?'
And I said: 'O Merciful God — give me this one gift: let me meditate on Your Name, continuously, without stopping.'
And so the Lord, the Great Giver, inspired Nanak to chant the Name — and blessed him with robes of honor.
The minstrel parable
The Vaar closes with a parable — a story set at the Lord's Court, narrated by Nanak in first person. After 21 Paurees of cosmic scope, theological depth, and social critique, the Vaar ends with this: a minstrel at a door.
Hau Dhādī hare, Har Prabhu mere — "I am a minstrel of the Lord God, my Lord and Master; I have come to the Lord's Door." In the courts of the Punjabi nobility, the dhādī was the court minstrel — the praise-singer whose function was to celebrate the lord's deeds and sing his glory. Guru Ram Das takes this role for himself in relation to the divine: he is the Lord's minstrel, come to the divine court.
"He heard my sad cries from within"
Har andar sunī pūkar, Dhādī bulanā — "The Lord has heard my sad cries from within; He has called me, His minstrel, into His Presence." The Lord hears from within — not from outside, not from across a distance. The minstrel's cry from inside the Lord's own creation is heard inside the Lord's own awareness. The Lord calls the minstrel in.
The one request
Kī'ā Har Prabh, dhādī kī? dhādo nit dhiā'in soi — "The Lord called His minstrel in, and asked, 'Why have you come here?' [And I said:] 'O Merciful God, please grant me the gift of continual meditation on the Lord's Name.'" Of all the things the minstrel could ask for in the Lord's presence — wealth, power, long life, fame — the only request is for the Name. Continuous meditation. Nothing else.
Robes of honor
Nānak dhādī Har nāmu, pāt pāi'ā — "And so the Lord, the Great Giver, inspired Nanak to chant the Lord's Name, and blessed him with robes of honor." The Lord gives the minstrel what was asked and wraps the gift in honor. The robes (pāt) are the patron's gift of recognition — the sign that the minstrel's service has been received and valued.
The Vaar ends here: Nanak at the Lord's door, asking only for the Name, and receiving it. After everything — the Vanajaaraa, the Shaloks, the Paurees, the cosmic sweep — this is where it comes to rest. The minstrel. The door. The request for the Name. The gift.
*If you could ask the Lord for one thing — just one thing — what would it be? And does that request tell you anything about what you actually value most?*
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI