A Hymn from Shri Guru Granth Sahib(SGGS)
On occasion of Women’s Day, I most humbly post the translation of a very apt hymn from SGGS regarding the Status of Women in Sikhism.
This hymn,originally in Gurmukhi script,was composed by Shri Guru Nanak Dev ji and it is on page 473 of SGGS.
The most common and literal meaning of the hymn is expressed herebelow :
One translation goes thus :
” From woman, man is born; within woman, man is conceived; to woman he is engaged and married. Woman becomes his friend; through woman, the future generations come. When his woman dies, he seeks another woman; to woman he is bound. So why call her bad? From her, kings are born. From woman, woman is born; without woman, there would be no one at all.”
Another translation, in slightly different words,goes like this :
From a woman he is born,
With a woman he is betrothed and married,
With a woman he contracts friendship.
Why denounce her, the one from whom even kings are born ?
None may exist without a woman.”
Brocaji, very profound thoughts on the role and stature of women. Every religion loudly proclaims equality of sexes and the ennobling role of women in society. It is only men who have pulled them down to serve their own interests.
G S P Rao, Hyderabad
Mar 10, 2010
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