43

Art. IV.? Translation of the JapjL By M. Macauliffk,

M.R.A.S., I.C.S. (retired).

Tjih Japji is the prayer which must bo repeated every

all true Sikhs. It was
morning by composed by Balm
Nanak in advanced years, and gives a brief summary of
his idea of God, religion, ethics, and cosmogony. His
views on these are found
much further expanded
subjects
in his other compositions incorporated in the Ad Granth.
The Sikhs regard the Japji as the key to the teaching of
the early Gurus.
Last year I printed and privately circulated among
learned Sikhs a translation of the for the
rough Japji
favour ofcorrection and return. The translation was
returned to me with corrections and suggestions by very
many learned and distinguished Sikhs, among whom I may
mention His Highness Prince Ripdaman Singh (Tikka Sahib
of Nabha), Baba Sumer Singh (Mahant, Patna Sahib),
Sirdar Lilaram Watanmal (Subordinate Judge, Sind), Sirdar
Kahn Singh of Nabha, Sirdar Aya Singh (District Judge,
Punjab), Bhais Bhngwuu Singh and Hazara Singh of
Amritsar, Bhai Avatar Singh, Bhai Lachhman Singh, and
others whom I beg to thank for the assistance rendered me.
The corrections and suggestions received I have now placed
before several gyanis or professional interpreters of tho
Granth Sahib, at the headof whom is Bhai Sardul Singh
Gyani, Amritsar; the
and result is the following amended
translation. have not been able to accept all
My gyanis
the corrections and suggestions received, because some very
obviously did not suit the context; but all of thera have
been carefully considered, and none rejected, it is believed,
without sufficient reason.
 44 TRANSLATION OF THE JAIM I.

The Japji is perhaps one of the most difficult of human

compositions. The notes appended to the translation may

give some, but a very idea of the struggle
only inadequate,
the gyanis and myself have had with the text. The Ad
Granth, also called the Granth Sahib, is now unintelligible
to the great mass of the Sikhs, and in a generation or two
there will bo hardly any gyanis left, and the Sikh religion
will be lost, or have become absorbed, in Hinduism if there
be no translation now made in some literary language.

THE JAPJI.

There is but one God whose name is true, the Creator,1

devoid of fear and enmity, immortal, unborn, self-existent2;
by the favour of the Guru.8

Repeat His name.

The True One was in the beginning; the True One was
in the primal age.
The True One is4 now also, 0 Nanak,5 the True One also
shall be.

1Karta it is perhaps not necessary to translate the word purukh.

purnl-h.
It means male or creative Agency. The all-pervading spirit in union with
a female element uttered a word from which sprang creation. In tho Granth
Sahib the Gnrns speak of God as a male and themselves as females.
2 Saibhan is derived from the Sanskrit swayamhhu, which I have fouud in this
passage in a very aucicnt Sikh MS.
3 Gur rarsad. 1 have translated these words iu deference to the of
opinions
the majority of the Sikhs; hut with several learned I have no doubt that
gyanis
as epithets of God, the great and bountiful. Vide Candler's
they wore intended
Sanskrit Dictionary under the words yur and prasadwit. Guru Ntinak had no
human guru ; his guru was God. It was during the spiritual sunroniacy of his
successors the favour of tho Guru was invoked, and deemed indispensable for
deliverance.
* l
Jlhi, also.' There are two bh'xs iu this line which some say are idiomatic.
1 have very little doubt that the first bhi is nu obsolete past tense of the defective
verb bhu, and that the verse ought to be translated?The True One is, was, and
also shall be.
6 lu Orieutal it is usual for tho poet to iuscrfc his real or
poetical works
assumed name iu the eud of a composition or section of a composition. This
 TRANSLATION OF THE JAPJI. 45

I.

By thinking I cannot obtain a conception of Him, even

though I think hundreds of thousands of times.

l
Even though I be silent and keep my attention firmly fixed
on Him, I cannot preserve silence.

Hungry for God, my hunger ceaseth not though I obtain the

load of the worlds.
If man should have thousands and hundreds of thousands of
devices, even one would not assist him in obtaining God.
How shall man become true before God? How shall the veil
of falsehood be rent ?2
By walking, 0 Nanak, according to the will3 of the Com
mander as
preordained.

II.

order are produced

By His bodies ; His order cannot be
described.
order souls4 aro infused into them ; by nis
By His order
greatness is obtained.
men are high or low;
By His order by Ilia order they obtain
or
preordained pain pleasure.
His order some obtain their reward;5 by His order
By
others must ever wander in transmigration.
All are subject to His order ; none is exempt from it.
He who understandeth God's order, 0 Nanak, is never guilty
of egoism.0

practice is unknown to European poets except in tho case of' professed imitators
of Oriental poetry. Wero I therefore to omit the word Nanak' wherever it
occurs, I should lie consulting the taste of European readers, but the Sikhs do
not desire such an omission.
1 *
Liv, the Sanskrit lipsa, longing.' It sometimes appears to correspond to
the English word 'love.'
2 Also translated?How shall the line of falsehood be broken?
8
llajai, raja, the Arabic raza, the divine pleasure.
4 Iu
these, two lines some suppose akar to refer to the non-sentient, jiv to the
sentient world.
6 That to he blended with God.
is,
6 would not be guilty of saying haun main,
Literally, i.e., I exist by myself
independently of God. This is the sin of spiritual pride.
 46 TRANSLATION OF THE JAPJI.

III.

Who can sing His power P Who has power to sing it P l

Who can sing His gifts or know His
signs Pa
Who can His attributes, His greatness, and His deeds P3
sing
Who can sing His knowledge whose study is arduous ?
Who can who fashioneth the body and again
sing Him,
destroyeth it P
Who can sing Him, who taketh away life and again re
stored it?
Who can sing Him, who appeareth to be far, but is known
to be near?
Who can sing Him, who is ^//-seeing and omnipresent?4
In describing Him there would never be an end.
Millions of men give millions upon millions of descriptions
but they fail
of Him, to describe Him.
The Giver giveth ; tho receiver groweth weary of receiving.
In every age man subsisteth by His bounty.
The Commander by His order hath laid out the way of the
world.

Nanak, God, who is free from care, is happy.

IV.

True is the Lord, true isHis name; it is uttered with endless

love.5

People pray and bog, "Give me, give me"; the Giver giveth
His gifts,
1
Also translated?Whoever has the power.
3 Also translated?He who knows his signs.
3 Char is understood to he a contracted form of aehar. Some translate tho
'
word excellent,* and make it an epithet of tvadiai.
4 The lines of this are also translated :?
precediug pauri
Some sing His power according to their abilities;
Some sing His gifts according to their knowledgo of His signs;
Some sing His attributes, His greatness, aud His deeds ;
Some sing His whose study is arduous;
kuowlcdpe
Some siug that He fashioneth the body aud agaiu destroyeth it;
Some that He taketh away the soul and again rcstorcth it;
Some that He appeareth far from mortal gage ;
Some that He is nil-seeing and omnipresent.
5 Also translated?His attributes are described iu endless languages.
 TRANSLATION OF THE JAIMI. 47

Then what can we offer Him whereby His court may be seen?
What words shall we utter with our lips, on hearing which
He may love us ?
At the ambrosial hour of morning meditate on the true name
and Godfs greatness.
The Kind One will give us a robe of honour, and by His
favour we shall reach the gate of salvation.1
Nanak, we shall thus know that God is true.2
altogether

V.

He is not established, nor is He created.

The pure one existeth by Himself.
They who worshipped Him have obtained honour.
Nanak, sing the praines of Him, who is the Treasury of
excellencies.

Sing and hear and put His love in your hearts.

Thus shall your sorrows be
removed, and you shall be
absorbed in Him who is the abode of happiness.3
Under tho Guru's instruction God's word is heard] under
the Guru's instruction its knowledge is acquired;
under the Guru's instruction man learns that God is
everywhere contained.4

The Guru is Shiva; the Guru is Vishnu and Brahma ; the

Guru is Parbati, Lakhshmi, and Saraswati.5
1 This ver.se is also our former acts wo acquire this human
translated?By
vesture, aud by God's favour reach tbu gate of salvation.
8 This verso is
commonly translated?We shall then know that God is all in all
Himself?but this translation does not appear to harmonize with the preceding
part8 of the pauri.
Also translated?And you shall take happiness to your homes.
1 This
very didlctilt verso is also translated?
(1) The voice of God is found as well iu other compositions as in the Vedas;
thi! voice of God is all-pervading.
(2) The pious know tho Guru's instruction, that God is everywhere con
tained.
(3) Tho voice of the Guru is as tbe Vedas for the holy; they are absorbed
in it.
6 This verse is also
translated?
(1) He is greater than Shiva; greater than Vishnu and^ Brahma ; greater
thau Parbati, Lakhshmi, and Saraswati.
(2) For tho holy the Guru is Shiva ; the Guru is Vishnu and tbe
Brahma;
Guru is rarbati, Lakhshmi, and Saraswati.
Tho tenth Guru says: '*
Khanda prithmo saj ke Jin sab sansar upaiya." (God
 48 TRANSLATION OF THE JAPJI.

If I knew Him, should I not describe Him ? He cannot be

described by words.
one thing to me?
My Guru hath explained
That there is but one Bestower on all living ; may
beings
I not forget Him !

VI.

If I please Him, that is my place of pilgrimage to batho in ;

if I please Him not, what ablutions shall I make P
What can all the created creatures I behold obtain without
precious good acts ?
Precious stones, jewels, and gems shall be treasured up in thy
heart if thou hearken to even one word of the Guru.
The Guru hath explained one thing to me?
That there is but one Bestower on all
living beings; may
I not forget Him !

VII.

Were man to live through the four ages, yea ten times
longer,
Were hoto be known on the nine continents, and were
everybody to follow in his train,1
Were he to obtain a great name and praise and renown2 in
the world,
If God's look of favour fell not on him, no one would
notice him.
He would be accounted a worm worms, and even
among
sinners would impute sin to him.

first created the sword, the emblem of Death, and then the world.) So here
Shiva obtains precedence as the ageut of destruction. The word uttered by
God became the source of knowledge of Him through the Guru in the three forms
of Shiva, Vishnu, and Brahma.
1 That
is, to show him respect.
2 Jas is
praise in one's presence, kirat praise in one'a absence.
 TRANSLATION OP THE JAPJI. 49

Nanak, God may bestow virtue on those who are devoid of

it, as well as on those who already possess it;
But no such person is seen as can bestow virtue upon Him.

VIII.

By hearing the name of God men become Sidhs, Pirs, Surs,

and Naths.1
By hearing the name man understandeth the real nature of the
earth, its supporting bull,2 and Heaven.
By hearing the name man ohtaineth a knowledge of the
continents, the worlds, and the nether regions.
By hearing the name death doth not affect one.3
Nanak, the saints are ever happy.
By hearing the name sorrow and sin are no more.

IX.

By hearing the name man becoraeth as Shiva, Brahma, and

Indra.

By hearing the name even the low become highly lauded.4

By hearing the name the way of the jogi and the secrets
of the body arc obtained.
By hearing the name man nnderstandeth the real nature of
the Shastras, the Simritis, and the Vedas.5
Nanak, the saints are ever happy.
the name sorrow and sin arc no more.
By hearing

1 Sidhs are men who have

acquired supernatural powers by asceticism ; Pir>
are Muhammadan saints; Surs are demigods; Naths aro superiors among jogi*.
2 The bull which
the Hindus believe supports the earth. This is not believed
in by the Sikhs. Sec below, pauri XVI.
* Man shall not die
4 Also again, but obtain deliverance.
* There translated?By hearing the name one is praised by high and low.
are six Shastras, Simritis, nnd four Vedas.
twenty-seven
j.h.a.s. 1900. 4
 50 TRANSLATION OF THE JAPJI.

X.

By hearing the name truth, contentment, and divine know

are obtained.
ledge
Hearing the name is equal to bathing at the sixty-eight
places of pilgrimage.1
By hearing the name and reading it man obtaineth honour.2
on God.3
By hearing the name the mind is composed and fixed
Nanak, the saints are ever happy.
sorrow and sin are no more.
By hearing the name

XI.

the name, the depth of the sea of virtue is

By hearing
sounded.4

By hearing the name men become shekhs,5 pirs, and emperors.

By hearing the name a blind man findeth his way.
By hearing the name the unfathomable becometh fathomable.
Nanak, the saints are ever happy.
ure no more.
By hoaring the namo sorrow and sin

XII.

The condition of him who obeyeth God cannot be described.

Whoever tryeth to describe it, shall afterward repent.
There is no paper, or pen, or writer
To describe the condition of him who obeyeth God.
80 pure is God's name,
Whoever obeyeth God knoweth the pleasure of it in his own
heart.6

1 is the number of holy places in the of the Hindus.

Sixty-eight
2 Also* opinion
translated?On hearing the "name man obtaineth honour by tho know
h dge acquired.
3
Or?By hearing the name mail easily nieditateth upon God.
* Also translated?Man
acquircth the best virtues.
5 Shekhs are mouks.
fi really superiors of Mithammadau
Literally, he kuows it in his own mind, that is, he obtains a pleasure which
is incommunicable.
 TRANSLATION OF THE JAPJI. 51

XIII.
By obeying wisdom and understanding
Him enter the mind.
By Him man knoweth all worlds.1
obeying
man suffereth not punishment.2
By obeying Him
man shall not depart with Jam.3
By obeying Him
So pure is God's name,
Whoever obeyeth God knoweth the pleasure of it in his own
heart.

XIV.

By obeying Him man's path is not obstructed.

man departeth with honour and distinction.
By obeying Him
By obeying Him
man proceedeth in ecstasy4 on his way.
Him man formeth an alliance with virtue.
By obeying
So pure is God's name,
Whoever obeyeth God knoweth the pleasure of it in his own
heart.

XV.

By obeying Him man obtaincth the gate of salvation.

By obeying Him man is saved with his family.
By obeying Him the Guru is saved, and saveth his disciples.
By obeying Him, 0 Nanak, man wandcreth not in quest
of alms/'
So pure is God's name,
Whoever obeyeth God knoweth the pleasure of it in his own
heart.

1
Bhawan. According to Hindus and Musalmans there are fourteen worlds
all forming the universe.
% cateth not blows on his mouth.
3 Literally,
Jam, the God of Death, known as Yuma in Sanskrit writings. This verse
means that man shall not die again, but bo absorbed in God.
* This word is understood to be for magan.
Mtigun. Thoso who read mayu
na trauslatc?
(1) By obeying Him man proceedeth not by the path of destruction.
(2) Man proceedeth by the broad, not the narrow way.
6
This is explained to mean?Docs not wander iu transmigration.
 52 .TRANSLATION"OF THE JAPJI.

XVI.
The elect1 are acceptable, the elect are distinguished.
The elect obtain honour in God's court.
The elect shed lustre 2 on the courts of kings.
The attention of the elect is bestowed on the one Guru.8
If anyone say he can form an idea of God, he may say so,
But the Creator's works cannot be numbered.
The bull that is spoken of is righteousness, the offspring of
mercy,
Which supported by patience maintaincth the order of nature.4
Whoever understandeth this is a true man.
What a load there is upon the bull!5
this earth there arc more more and more.
Beyond worlds,
What power can support their weight P
The names of living things, their species, and colours,
Have all been written with a flowing pen.
Does anyone know how to write an account of them ?
If the account were written, how great it would be !
What power and beautiful form are thine, 0 God.
Who hath power0 to know how great Thy gifts are?
By one word7 Thou didst effect the expausion of the world,
Whereby hundreds of thousands of rivers were produced.
What power have I to describe Thee P
I cannot even once be a sacrifice unto Thee.
Whatever pleaseth Thee is good.
Thou, 0 Formless One, art ever secure.

1 'five.'
ranch, literally The number conveys tho idea of selection. There
is a Hindustani "
proverb, Panchon men Faranieskwar hni" (Where live are
assembled, God is in the midst of them). Others say that punch refers to the
live classes of persons previously mentioned?those who walk according to God's
will, who know Him to he true, who praise Him, who hear His name, and who
obey Him.
2*This is the interpretation in his
of sohabi given by Bhni Chanda Singh
ou the Granth Sahib.
commentary
3 The elect have one God as their Guru or
4 spiritual guide, and meditate on Him.
Suf, the thread on which the world is
strung.
The Guru menus by pntienco
the adjusted balance of the world, everything being in equipoise.
8 Here Guru Nanak
6 I understand hit obviously rejects tho Hiudu story of the bull. '
as the Arabic hiwwat. If kut be held to mean food,1
a meaning which the word so pronounced also bears in Arabic, the verse will he
translated-?Who knoweth the extent of Thy gifts of sustenance?
7 The " am olio, let me
Hindus believe this is Eko aliani, bahu ayani"?I
become mauy.
 TRANSLATION OF THE JAPJI. 53

XVII.

Numberless Thy worshippers,1 and numberless Thy lovers;

Numberless Thine adorers, and numberless those who perform
austerities for Thee;
Numberless the reciters of sacred books and Vedas ;
Numberless Thy jogis whoso hearts are indifferent to the
world;
Numberless the saints who ponder on Thine attributes and
divine knowledge;
Numberless Thy true men; numberless Thine almsgivers ;
Numberless Thy heroes who face the steel of their enemies;2
Numberless Thy worshippers who
silent lovingly fix their
thoughts upon Thee.
What power have I to describe Thee?
I cannot even once be a sacrifice unto Thee.
Whatever pleaseth Thee is good.
0 Formless One, Thou art ever secure.

XVIII.
.Numberless aro tho fools appallingly blind;
Numberless are the thieves aud devourers of others' property ;*
Numberless those who establish their sovereignty by force;4
Numberless the cut-throats and murderers ;
Numberless the sinners who pride themselves on committing sin ;
Numberless the liars who roam about lying ;
Numberless the filthy5 who enjoy filthy gain ;
Numberless the slanderers who carry loads of calumny on
their heads;
Nanak thus describeth the degraded.
1 cannot even once bo a sacrifice unto Thee.

1 of God's name. Here the word is used hy metonymy

Literally, repetitions
for those who repeat God's name.
3 who eat irou with their mouths.
Literally,
3Huramkhor. '
This word means eaters of forbidden food.*
4 Also trannlatnd?Numberless literallyaro those who issue oppressive orders.
5Malcch?Whose desires arc filthy, and who are deemed the lowest of the low,
complete outcasts.
 54 TRANSLATION OF THE JAFJL

Whatever pleaseth Thee is good.

0 Formless One, Thou art ever secure.

XIX.

Numberless Thy names, and numberless Thy places.

Completely beyond reachl are Thy numberless worlds.
Numberless those who repeat Thy name with all the strength
of their intellects.2
By letters3 we repeat Thy name, by letters we praise Thee;
By letters we acquire divine knowledge, and sing Thy praises
and Thine attributes;
By letters we write and utter the word4 of God;
By the letters recorded on man's head his destiny is declared.5
He who inscribeth them on others, beareth not them on His
own head.

As He ordaineth, so shall man obtain.

As great Thy creation, O God, so great Thy fame!
There is no place without Thy name.
What power have I to describe Thee P
1 cannot even once be a sacrifice unto Thee.

Whatever pleaseth Thee is good.

0 Formless One, Thou art ever secure.

XX.

When the hands, feet, and other members of the body are
covered with filth,
It is removed by washing with water.

1 '
Jgam, from a meaning not* aud gam 'to go.'
2 Also translated?

(1) With their bodies reversed, that is, standing on their heads, a form of
religious austerity practised in India.
(2) Those who try to describe Thee shall have to carry loads of sin on their
heads.
8 Letters here
appear to 'mean sacred literature.
4 JBan menus custom/ Here it is understood to be used for bam.
5 Also generally
translated?His uuiou with God is determined.
 TRANSLATION OF THE JAPJI. 55

are
When thy clothes polluted,
Apply soap, and the impurity shall be washed away.
So when the mind is defiled by sin,
It is cleansed by the colour1 of the name.
Men do not become saints or sinners by merely calling
themselves so.

The recording angels take with them a record of man's acts.

It is he himself soweth, and he himself eateth.
Nanak, man suffereth transmigration by God's order.

XXI.

Pilgrimage, austerities, mercy, and almsgiving on general

aud special occasions2
Whoever performeth, may obtain some little honour.
But he who heareth and obeyeth and loveth God iu his heart,
Shall wash off his impurity in the place
pilgrimage of
within him.
All virtues are thine, O Lord; none are mine.
There is no devotion without virtue.
From the self-existent proceeded Maya (athi), whence issued
a word which produced Brahma and the rest3?
"Thou art true, Thou art beautiful, there is ever pleasure
in Thy heart \"
What the time, what the epoch, what the lunar day, and
what the week-day,
What the season, and what the month, when the world was
created,
The pandits did not discover; had they done so, they would
have recorded it iu the Puranas.
Nor did the kazis4 discover it; had they done so, they would
have recorded it in the Kuran.

1 a a colour, water in which the washing of

Rang. Literally, dye, powder
tho name has been dissolved. Laundrvmcu iu India use indigo in washing.
a Dat means
dan, gifts at religions festivals.
3 Tho verse isgeneral almsgiviug; "
also translated?" Illessiug ou Thee ! is said to have been tho
first salutation that Brahma addressed Thee.
* Baba Nanak means the scribes who reduced the Kuran to
writing.
 56 TRANSLATION OF THE JAFJI.

Neither the jogi nor any other mortal knows the lunar day,
or the or the season, or the month.
week-day,
When the Creator fashioned the world only he Himself
knoweth.
How shall I address Thee, 0 God ? how shall I praise Thee P
how shall I describe Thee? and how shall I know
Thee ?
Saith Nanak, speaketh of Thee, one wiser than
everj'body
the other.
Great is the Lord, great is His name; it is only what He
doeth that cometh to pass.1
Nanak, he who is spiritually proud shall not be honoured
on his arrival in the next world.

XXII.

There arc hundreds of thousands of nether and upper regions.

Men have grown weary at last of search ing, for God's limits;
the Vedas say one thing, that God has no limit.2
The thousands of Puranas3 aud Muhammadan books4 toll
that in reality there is but one principle.5
If God can be described by writing, then describe llirn; but
such description is impossible.
0 Nanak, call Him great; only He Himself knoweth how
great Ho is.

1 That
is, mau can do nothing of himself. Whatever ho docs proceeds
lrom God.
7 is true, the source of kuowledgo,
"Satyau jnanam anantan Rrahm"?God
without end. The verse is also translated?Tho Vedas have at last grown weary
of searchiug for God's limits, but they cannot give the slightest description
of Him.
8 There are only eighteen Parana*. The iu the text moans
expression
a thousand times or an indefinite number. The word saltans is also
eighteen
understood by the gyanis to refer to rishis aud learned men of indefinite numbers.
4Kitcba is understood to mean the four books accepted learned Muham
by
madaus?the Old Testament, the Psalms of David, the New Testament, and tho
Kuran.
ft That
is, that God is the root or principle of all things. "Eko Brnhm, dutiyo
uastyev."
 TRANSLATION OF THE JAPJI. 07

XXIII.
Praisers praise God, but have not acquired a
knowledge
of Him,
As rivers and streams fall into the sea, but know not its
extent.

Kings andemperors who possess oceans and mountains of

l
property and wealth
Arc not equal to the worm which forgctteth not God in its
heart.

XXIV.

There is no
limit to God's praises;2 to those who repeat
them then; is no limit.
There is no limit to His mercy, and to His gilts there is no
limit.
There is no limit to what God seeth, no limit to what Ho
heareth.
The limit of the secret of His heart cannot be known.
The limit of His creation cannot be known; neither His
limit nor His end can be ascertained.3
To know His limits how many vex their hearts.4
His limits cannot be ascertained;
Nobody knoweth His limits.
The more we the more that remains to be said.
say,
Great is the Lord, and exalted is His seat.
His exalted name is higher than the most exalted.
Wero else over so
anyone exalted,
Then ho would
know that exalted Being.
How groat Ho is He knoweth Himself.
Nanak, God bostoweth gifts on those on whom He looks with
favour and mercy.

1
Also translated?As the sea is the kiug of stream*, so is God the monarch
of men. Those who possess mountainous wealth, etc.
2 Also
translated?There is no limit to tho Praised One,
3
Literally, "neither His near nor His further side can bo known," a
metaphor
taken from the banks of a river.
* '
Billah, literally cry in pain.'
 58 TRANSLATION OF THE JAPJI.

XXV.
His many bounties* cannot be recorded.
He is a great giver and hath not a
particle of covetousness.
How many, yea, countless heroes beg of Him!
How many others whose number cauuot be conceived !
How many pine away in sin !
How manyporsons receive yet deny God's gifts!
How many fools there are who merely eat!
How many are ever dying in distress and want!
O giver, these come from Thee.
things also
Whether we shall again be enclosed in a body or obtain
deliverance dependeth on Thy will:
Nobody can interfere with it.
If any fool2 try to interfere with it,
He shall know himself the punishment he shall suffer.
God himself knoweth to whom He should give, and He
Himself giveth.
Only very few acknowledge this.3
He to whom God hath the boon of praising and
given
lauding Him,
O Nanak, is the King of kings.1

XXVI.

Priceless are Thine attributes, 0 God, and Thy

priceless
dealings;5
Priceless Thy dealers,6 priceless Thy storehouses ;
Priceless is what cometh from Thee, and priceless what is
taken away;

1Kami ' '

in Sanskrit is work,' iu Persiau kinduess, favour, or bounty.' Tho
context seems to show that the last mentioned is inteudcd.
2 Khaik. "
This word is also found in the Sri ltag ki war?thno nahin
khaika."
3 The favours are obtained
majority of people suppose that God's through
a mediator.
4 Also translated?To those few, 0 Nanak, the King of kings
Giveth the boon of praising nnd lauding Him.
5
In the True name.
6 That
is, religious men who deal in the True name.
 TRANSLATION OF THE JAIM I. 59

Priceless Thy rate and priceless the time for dealing ;l

Priceless Thy justice and priceless Thy court;
Priceless Thy weights and priceless Thy measures;2
Priceless Thy gifts and priceless Thy marks;
PricelessThy mercy and priceless Thy ordinances.
How beyond all prico Thou art cannot be stated.
Ever speaking of Thee men continue to fix their thoughts
on Thee.3

Those who read the Vedas and Puranas speak of Thee;

Learned men speak of Thee and deliver discourses on Thee ;
Brahmas speak of Thee, and Indras speak of Thee;
The milkmaids and Krishna speak of Thee;
Shivas speak of Thee, the Sidhs speak of Thee;
All the Budhas Thou hast created speak of Thee;
The demons speak of Thee, the gods speak of Thee;
Thy demigods, men, munis, and servants speak of Thee;
How many speak of Thee or attempt to speak of Thee !
How many depart while speaking of Thee!
If thou wert to create as many more as Thou hast created,
Even then few of them would be able to speak adequately
of Thee.
Thou be as as Thou
mayest great pleasest.
Nanak, only the True one Himself knoweth how great He is.
If anyone were to speak improperly of God,
Write him down as the most ignorant of all men.

XXVII.

What is that gate, what is that mansion, where Thou, 0 God,

sittest and watchest over all things ?
How many musicians sing various and countless songs to
Thee !

1 Also translated?Priceless is thy love, and priceless those who are absorbed
in it.
8 I read
pranwn lor par wan. If the latter be read, the translation will be
Priceless Thy weights and priceless Thine acceptance of mortals. A third
translation is?Priceless Thy scale and priceless Thy weights.
:1Also that Thou art priceless men continue to fix their
translated?Repeating
attention on Thee.
 CO TRANSLATION OF THE JAPJI.

How many musical measures

with their consorts, and how
many singers sing Thee !l
Wind, water, and fire sing Thee; Dharmraj sings at Thy gate.
The recording angels,2 who know how to write and on whose
3
record Dharmraj judgeth, sing Thee.
Ishar,4 Brahma, and Devi,5 ever beautiful as adorned by Thee,
sing Thee.
Indar, seated on His throne, with the gods at Thy gate sing
Thee.
Sidhs6 in meditation sing Thee; holy men in contemplation
sing Thee.
Tho continent, the true, and the patient sing Thee; un

yielding heroes sing Thee.

The pandits and the supreme Rikhis,7 reading their Vedas,
sing Thee in every ago.
The lovely celestial maids who beguile the heart in the upper,
middle,8 and nether regions sing Thee.
The jewels9 created by Thee with the sixty-eight places of
pilgrimage sing Thee.
Mighty warriors and divine heroes sing Thee; tho four
sources of life 10 sing Thee.
The continents, the worlds, and the universe made and

supported by Thy hands sing Thee.

1 There are six rags or musical measures, which have each five raginis as their
eousorte, and eight minor rags as their offspring.
2 Chitr and *
Gupt. Chitr means 'visible,' Gupt invisible.' According to
the Sikhs, Chitr records man's overt acts, Gupt the designs of his heart. In
Sanskrit literature Chitrgupt is one person, the lteeordcr of Yama.
8 The Pluto of the Greeks.
? A title of Shiva.
s
Tho female energy of nature. She has numerous names in Sanskrit literature
fi Men who have
acquired .supernatural power by tho practice of jog.
1 There are said to be seven supreme Rikhis, sons oi Ihahma. Tho Vedas
Mire written
by ltikhis.
'
* lish.' It is bore understood to be the earth.
JFai'h, literally
''
According to the Hindus, Vishnu iu bis Karmavatara assumed tho shape of
a tortoise which tho earth while the god6 churned the oceau. t'rom
supported
the ocean were produced the fourteen gems or
jewels here referred to. They
arc Lakhshmi, wile of Vishnu, the moon, a white horse with seven heads, a holy
sage, a prodigious elephant, the tree of plenty, tho all-yielding cow, etc.
10 The Hindus enumerate four sources of life, and say that auimnls arc born
from egg*, wombs, the earth, and perspiration.
 TRANSLATION OF THE JAIM I. 61

The please Thee, and who are imbued with Thy

saints who
love1 sing Thee.
The many others who sing Thee I cannot remember; how
could Nanak recount them ? 2
That God is ever true, He is the true Lord, and the true
name.

He who made this world is and shall be ; he shall neither

depart nor be made to depart.8
He who through Maya created things of different colours,
descriptions, and species,
Beholdcth His handiwork which attesteth His greatness.

1 Jtamle ran nak, which

is literally an abode of pleasure. The reading
would remove all difficulty, has been suggested.
2 The
following is offered as a free blank verse paraphrase of this pauii ?:
What is that gate, that mansion what, where thou
Dost sit and watch o'er all Thy wondrous works V
Many the harps and songs which time Thy praise,
Yea, countless; Thy musicians who can tell ?
How many measures sung with high delight,
And voices which exult Thy peerless name !
To Thee sing water, wind, and breathing lire;
To Thee sings Dharaturaj iu regions drear;
To Thee sing th' angels who men's deeds record
For judgment final by that king of death.
To Thee sing Shiva, Brahma, and the Queen
Of Ilcav'u with radiant beauty ever erown'd ;
To Thee sing India and th' attendant gods
Around Thy throne and seraphs at Thy gate.
To Then sing Sidhs in meditation deop,
And holy men who ponder but on Thee.
To Thee sing chaste and patient of mankind,
heroes of true faith approved.
Unyielding
To Thee sing pandits and the chiefs of saints;
The ages four and Yeds to them assigned.
To Thee sing maidens who delight, the sense,
This world of ours, high heaven, and hell below.
To Thee sing gems from Vishnu's sea that rose,
And eight and sixty spots of pilgrims' haunt.
To Thee sing heroes and the men of might;
The sources four from which all life doth spring.
To Thee sing regions, orbs, and universe,
(heated, cherished, and upheld by Thee !
To Theo sing those whoso deeds delight Thine eye,
The hosts that wear the colours of Thy faith.
All things beside which sing
Thy glorious name,
Could ne'er be told by Nanak's lowly song.
8 Also translated?

(1) Creation shall depart, but not lie who made it.
(2) He who made creation shall not he born or die.
<)2 TRANSLATION OF THE JAPJI.

He will do what pleaseth Himself; no order ma}' be issued

to Him.
He is king, the king of kings, 0 Nanak; all remain subject
to His will.

XXVIII.
Make contentment thine
earrings, modesty and self-respect
meditation
thy wallet, the ashes to smear on thy body.
Make thy body, which is only a morsel for death, thy
beggar's coat, and faith thy rulo of life and thy staff.1
Make association with all thine Ai Panth,2 and the conquest
of thy heart the conquest of the world.

Hail !3 Hail to Him,

The primal, the pure,4 without beginning, the indestructible,
the same in every age!

XXIX.
Make divine knowledge thy food, compassion thy store
keeper, and the voice which is in every heart tho
pipe to call to meats.
Make Him who strung the whole world on His
hath string
thy spiritual Lord; let wealth and supernatural
power be relishes for others.
Union and separation is the law which rcgulateth the world.5
By destiny we receive our
portion.
Hail ! Hail to Him,
The primal, the pure, without bogiuning, the indestructible,
the saine in every age!

1
Jogis wear earrings, patched coats, rub ashes on their bodies, and carry
a wallet and a stall. The verse is also translated?Make the chastening of thy
body, not yet wedded to death, thy patched coat, and faith thy beggar's staff.
2"A sect of jogis.
3Adcsh moans
! the ordinary salutation of jogis. Baba Nanak that this
salutation should only be offered to God.
4 a blue colour, as Krishna
Anil, literally, not of
5 Also translated?Favourable
is represented.
and unfavourable destinies 6hape men's actions.
 TRANSLATION OF THE JAPJI. 6'J

XXX.

One Maya in union with God gave birth to three acceptable

children.1
One of them is the creator, the second the provider, the
third performoth the function of destroyer.2
As it pleaseth God, lie directeth them by His orders.
but is not seen is very
He beholdeth them, by them. This
mar veil ous.

Hail ! Hail to Him,

Tho primal, tho pure, without beginning, the indestructible,
the same in every age !

XXXI.

His seat and his storehouses3 aro in every world.

What was to be put into them was put in at ono time,4
The Creator beholdeth His creation.
Nanak, true is the work of the True One.

Hail ! Hail to Him,

The primal, the pure, without beginning, the indestructible,
the same in every age!

XXXII.
Were one
tongue to become a hundred thousand, and a
hundred thousand to become twontyfold more,
I would utter the name of the one Lord of the world
hundreds of thousands of times with all my tongues.

1
Chele, literally 'disciples.'
2 Lai
may either mean absorption or reaper (lave). Both meaning9 convey
tho idea of destruction.
3 To human necessities.
4 That supplybefore man is
is, born, his portion is fully allotted him.
 64 TRANSLATION OF THE JAPJI.

In this way I should ascend the stairs of the Lord, and

become one with Him.1
On hearing of the exaltation of the religious the vile become
jealous.2
Nanak, theformer have found God, while false is the boasting
of the false.

XXXIII.
I have no strength to speak and no strength to be silent.3
I have no strength to ask and no strength to give;
I have no strength to live and no strength to die;
I have no to acquire empire or wealth, which
strength
a commotion in the heart.
produce
I have no strength to meditate on Thee or ponder on divine

knowledge;
I have no strength to find the way to escape from the world.
He in whose arm there is strength may see what ho can do.
Nanak, no one is of superior or inferior strength beforo God.

XXXIV.
God created nights, seasons, lunar days, and week-days,
Wind, water, fire, and the nether regions.
In the midst of these He established the earth as a temple.4
In it He placed living beings of different habits and
descriptions.

1 Some this way I should ascend the stairs of honour by

gyanis translate-In
the tweuty-one chambers of the vertebral column. That is, I should conduct
God renoses, aud where I should find him. The
my breath to the braiu where
five lumbar, seven dorsal, and nine cervical vertebrae
jogis enumerate through
which tho breath passes to the braiu.
2 on bearing matters connected with heaven worms grow jealous.
Literally,
s This means that man has no strength to do anything without
hyperbole
God's assistance.
* Dharmsal. This word means a large building in which divino
generally
is held, where travellers obtnlu free accommodation, and children receivo
worship
religious instruction.
 TRANSLATION of the jaimi. 65

Their names are various and endless,

And they are judged according to their acts.
True is God, and true is His court.
There the elect are accepted and honoured.
The Merciful One marketh them according to their acts.1
Tho bad aud the good shall there be distinguished.
Nanak, on arrival there, this shall be seen.

XXXV.

Such is the practice in the realm of righteousness.

I now describe the condition of the realm of knowledge.
How many winds, waters, and fires! how many Krishnas
and Shivas!
How many Brahmas2 who fashioned worlds! how many
forms, colours, and garbs!
How many lands of grace like thisl3 how many mountains!
how many Dhrus * and instructors5 such as his !
How many Indras, how many moons and suns, how many
and countries !
regions
How many Sidhs, Budhs, and Naths ! how many goddesses
and representations of them !
How many demigods and demons! how many saints, how
many jewels and seas!
How many sources of life! how many and how
languages!
many lines of kings !
How many possessors of divine knowledge! how many
worshippers! Nanak, there is no end of them.

1 Or?God marketh those on whom He looketh with favour.

2 The Hindus
believe it was through tho agency of Brahma God created
the world.
3 "Where men the results of their acts.
4 reap
Dhru, a mau wlio, owiug to his virtues, is said to have been raised to the
skies as the polar star.
5 who to
Narad, instructed him obtain such dignity.

j.r.a.8. 1900. 5
 66 TRANSLATION OP THE JAINTI.

XXXVI.

In the realm of knowledge the light of divine is

knowledge
resplendent.
There are heard songs from which millions of and
joys
pleasures proceed.

"Beauty is the characteristic of the realm of happiness.1

There things are fashioned in an incomparable manner.
What is done there cannot be described.
Whoever endeavoureth to describe it shall afterwards repent.
There are fashioned knowledge, wisdom, intellect, and under
standing ;
And there too is fashioned the skill of demigods and men of
supernatural power.

XXXVII.
Force is the characteristic of the realm of action.2
Incomparable are those who dwell therein.
There are very powerful warriors and heroes.
are filled with the might of Rama.
They
There are many Sitas 3 in the midst of greatness.
Their beauty cannot be described.
They die not, neither are they led astray,4
In whose hearts God dwelleth.
There dwell congregations of saints;

They rejoice; the True One is in their hearts.

God dwelleth in the realm of truth.
He looketh on its denizens with an eye of favour, and
rendereth them happy.
There are continents, worlds, and universes.

1 Sharm khaud. *
Sharm is here not the Persian
l
sharm shame,' nor tho
' Jlani is under
Sanskrit shram toil.' It is the Sanskrit sharmnn, happiness.'
stood to be for Mn. The verse is also translated?Beautiful aro the words of
those who have obtained the realm of tho happy.
2 That
is, the world.
3 Sita's name is introduced here as she was the wife of Rama
apparently
mentioned in tho preceding line.
4 Art ' are not deceived.'
thagejah, literally
 TRANSLATION OF THE JAPJI. 67

Whoover trieth to describe them shall never arrive at an end.

There are worlds
upon worlds and forms upon forms.
They perform their functions according to God's orders.
God beholding and contemplating them is pleased.
Nanak, to describe them were as hard as iron.

XXXVIII.
Make continence Thy furnace, forbearance Thy goldsmith,
Understanding Thine anvil, divine knowledge Thy tools,
Tho fear of God Thy bellows, austerities Thy fire,
Divine love Thy crucible, and melt God's name therein.
In such a true mint the Word shall be coined.
This is the practice of those on whom God looketh with an
eye of favour.

Nanak, the Kind One, by a glance maketh them happy.

SLOK.

The air is the Guru, water our father, and the great earth
our mother;
and aro our two nurses, male and female, who sot
Day night
the whole world a-playing.1
Merits and demerits shall be read out in tho presence of the
judge.
According to men's acts, some shall be near and others
distant from God.
Those who have pondered on the name and
departed after
the completion of their toil,
Shall have their countenances made bright, 0 Nanak; how
many shall be emancipated in company with them!

1Here the denizens of the world are likened to children. Their father is said
to be water, the human sperm; tbe earth like a mother affords them nutriment;
day supplies them with occupation ; the night lulls them to rest; and the breath
of the Guru imparts divine instruction. In the East it is usual for the rich to
have two nurses for a child?a female nurse by uight and a male nurse to
accompany and play with it by day.