Poetic 1-1 Gurbani Translation Project

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Overview

Disrupting traditional paradigms in translating gurbani by invoking a one-to-one word model with disregards to grammar.
Allowing the reader to poetically interpret and learn gurbani words through as objective-as-possible definitions.
Continuing to evolve possible translations as the meanings in the languages of translation evolve.
Providing tools such as contextual notes, historical explanations, and imagery to aid in relating meanings.
Giving power to self-create meanings so people can form meaningful relationships with gurbani.
Taking power away from fundamentalists and trolls by removing the grammatical logic and replacing subjective translations.

Example

Gurbani w/ Vishraam:  ਏਸ ਨਉ ਹੋਰੁ ਥਾਉ ਨਾਹੀ, ਸਬਦਿ ਲਾਗਿ ਸਵਾਰੀਆ ॥

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Sant Singh Khalsa:    There is no place of rest, other than the Name; attached to the Shabad, we are embellished with beauty.

Manmohan Singh (Eng): This body has no other place of rest than the Name, Attaching to the Name, it is embellished.

Manmohan Singh (Pun): ਨਾਮ ਦੇ ਬਾਝੋਂ ਇਸ ਦੇਹ ਨੂੰ ਹੋਰਸ ਕੋਈ ਸੁੱਖ ਦਾ ਟਿਕਾਣਾ ਨਹੀਂ ਨਾਮ ਨਾਲ ਜੁੜ ਇਹ ਸੁਭਾਇਮਾਨ ਹੋ ਜਾਂਦੀ ਹੈ,

Guru Granth Darpan:   ਸਵਾਰੀਆ = ਸੁਚੱਜੇ ਪਾਸੇ ਲਾਈ ਜਾ ਸਕਦੀ ਹੈ। ਤੈਥੋਂ ਬਿਨਾ ਕੋਈ ਹੋਰ ਥਾਂ ਨਹੀਂ ਜਿਥੇ ਇਹ ਸਰੀਰ ਸੁਚੱਜੇ ਪਾਸੇ ਲੱਗ ਸਕੇ। (ਤੇਰੀ ਕ੍ਰਿਪਾ ਨਾਲ ਹੀ) ਇਹ ਗੁਰੂ ਦੇ ਸ਼ਬਦ ਵਿਚ ਲੱਗ ਕੇ ਸੁਧਰ ਸਕਦਾ ਹੈ।

Faridkot Teeka:       ਇਸ ਦੇਹੀ ਕੇ ਸਫਲ ਕਰਨੇ ਕੋ ਤੋ ਔਰ ਕੋਈ ਸਥਾਨ ਨਹੀਂ ਹੈ। ਇਹ ਤੋ ਗੁਰ ਉਪਦੇਸ਼ ਸਾਥ ਲਾਗ ਕੇ ਹੀ ਗੁਰਮੁਖਾਂ ਨੇ ਸਵਾਰੀ ਹੈ॥

Saral Steek:          ਇਸ ਦੇਹੀ ਨੂੰ (ਸਫਲ ਹੋਣ ਲਈ) ਹੋਰ ਕੋਈ ਥਾਂ ਹੈ ਈ ਨਹੀਂ, ਕੇਵਲ ਸ਼ਬਦ ਦੇ ਲੜ ਲੱਗ ਕੇ ਹੀ ਸਵਰ (ਸਫਲ ਹੋ) ਸਕਦੀ ਹੈ।

GurmatBibek:          ਇਸ ਦੇਹੀ ਨੂੰ ਹੋਰ ਕੋਈ ਥਾਂ ਨਹੀਂ ਹੈ (ਬਸ ਕੇਵਲ) ਸ਼ਬਦ (ਸਚੇ ਗੁਰਮਤਿ ਨਾਮ) ਵਿਚ ਲਗ ਕੇ ਹੀ ਸਵਾਰੀ ਜਾ ਸਕਦੀ ਹੈ।

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1-1 Poetic English:
    ਏਸ this
    ਨਉ to
    ਹੋਰੁ else (other, more)
    ਥਾਉ place (space, location)
    ਨਾਹੀ not
    ,
    ਸਬਦਿ by-word, in-word, with-word
    ਲਾਗਿ love, perseverance, connected, engaged, absorbed
    ਸਵਾਰੀਆ 1. to-recover, improving, getting-better, rectifying, fixing; 2. carried-over, transported, passenger-travels
    ॥

    [to this] (body) else place not, by-Word connected improving

    * There can be extra options to remove or fade out the added parentheticals
    * [] implies words are swapped for readability, options can be used to keep it purely 1-1 and remove the brackets
    * An extra field can be used for context; this field can be toggled on and off below the translation line

The above example demonstrates a rough idea of translating each word of gurbani poetically. It's using a mix of Bhai Kahn Singh Nabha's Mahan Kosh, Prof. Sahib Singh's Guru Granth Darpan, and Google Translate / ShabadKosh to derive a one-to-one definition of each word.

In this specific example, if one were to work backwards from the Sant Singh Khalsa translation, it would appear as though the word ਨਉ is perhaps the word ਨਾਉ (Name), as the second half of the sentence uses the word Shabad. This change from Bh. Manmohan Singh's translation could be considered misleading. Instead, in a 1-1 translation, we can show each word's meaning explicitly. That is, as ਨੂੰ (to). This is based on the 3rd definition in Mahan Kosh as well as the translations from Bh. Manmohan Singh, Faridkot Teeka, Bh. Joginder Singh Talwara's (Daar ji's) Saral Steek, and GurmatBibek.

The translation ਸਵਾਰੀ can be horse-rider/passenger or decorated/beautified (ਸਵਾਰ ਦਿੱਤੀ, ਸਜਾਈ, ਸੋਹਣੀ ਬਣਾਈ), hence the popular translation "embellished with beauty" or decorated (as in make-up) via the words, ਸਵਾਰਣਾ, ਸਵਾਰਿਆ and ਸ਼ਿੰਗਾਰਨਾ. (This is evident even in the definition found in Harjinder Singh Gill's (of Santa Monica, CA, USA) SGGS Gurmukhi-{Gurmukhi,English} Dictionary). However, our team would either translate it simply as ਸਵਾਰੀ (passenger) or by translating ਸਵਾਰਣਾ as ਦੁਰੁਸ੍ਤ ਕਰਨਾ / ਸੁਧਾਰਨਾ (to-recover, improving). Again based on a combination of Mahan Kosh definitions and the above translation sources.

Since Sant Singh Khalsa's translations are self-described as a combination of other previous translations, it's very possible the original interpretations were incorrect and carried over in further translation projects (In the above example it draws similarities from Bhai Manmohan Singh's translation). In addition to drawing from previous translations, to manually check every single line for one individual would take a lot of additional time and effort.

This project is a living doument and open-source in the hopes that more people will be able to lend their help to improve wherever they can and whenever they can. That is not to say that the example above is beyond reproach. Research must be done to confirm which dictionary is correct. If both dictionaries have definitions that work, then perhaps other resources can be consulted. Once all other options are exhausted, if it's not possible to distinguish between two translations, perhaps both can be shown and left to the reader to interpret.

Imagery

As history ages, our elderly resources diminish. The faster we can cultivate data on these conflicts (potential or actual) the better. Furthermore, we lose more information from a time period with non-digital technology which Gurbani references.

ਕੋਲੂ ਚਰਖਾ ਚਕੀ ਚਕੁ ॥
The oil-press, the spinning wheel, the grinding stones, the potter's wheel,
ਥਲ ਵਾਰੋਲੇ ਬਹੁਤੁ ਅਨੰਤੁ ॥
the numerous, countless whirlwinds in the desert,
ਲਾਟੂ ਮਾਧਾਣੀਆ ਅਨਗਾਹ ॥
the spinning tops, the churning sticks, the threshers,
ਪੰਖੀ ਭਉਦੀਆ ਲੈਨਿ ਨ ਸਾਹ ॥
the breathless tumblings of the birds,
ਸੂਐ ਚਾੜਿ ਭਵਾਈਅਹਿ ਜੰਤ ॥
and the men moving round and round on spindles
ਨਾਨਕ ਭਉਦਿਆ ਗਣਤ ਨ ਅੰਤ ॥
O Nanak, the tumblers are countless and endless.

(Above passage is using Sant Singh Khalsa translations)

The translations are done well. In the first line the "spinning wheel" refers to the wheel of a cotton spinning machine for making threads. The thresher in the third line directly translates to Corn Thresher (An = Corn, Gah = Thresher). These kinds of references abound in Gurbani. What could help even more is to connect the audience with direct examples. We can provide contextual notes and explanations, but when we consider these words as imagery we are given a potentially stronger and more direct translation.

Though present-day the focus is on an English translation, down the road this project does aim to include pictures and artwork to evoke imaginal translations. Images stimulate the brain or imagination in a way words cannot. This can also encourage younger participants or otherwise punjabi and english illiterate to ask questions, learn about gurbani, or follow along. (Of course one could also incorporate music, but that would be out of the scope of a one-to-one translation, and pushing more towards research or education purposes... Something to address much later on).

Roadblocks

Some goals are difficult to achieve. One such goal is to use english words that are easily definable for a wide-audience. An example of a word that is confusing would be the word "get". In a poetic one-to-one sense (without grammatical context), it's meaning becomes much harder for readers to understand.

Did you get to work? (To arrive)
Did you get a call? (To receive)
Did you get the problem? (To understand)

In reverse it is also hard to sometimes translate words from Gurbani to English in a simple manner. One such difficult word is ਤ. For example how should one translate the word ਤ in the following lines?

ਸਬਦੋ ਤ ਗਾਵਹੁ ਹਰੀ ਕੇਰਾ ਮਨਿ ਜਿਨੀ ਵਸਾਇਆ ॥
ਘਰਿ ਤ ਤੇਰੈ ਸਭੁ ਕਿਛੁ ਹੈ ਜਿਸੁ ਦੇਹਿ ਸੁ ਪਾਵਏ ॥

Thus as we populate words in the "ambiguous words" section, we will be given cues on the difficulty of understanding the translation.

Method

The proposed (rough) process is outlined below:

Create definition list for every gurmukhi word in Shabad OS database
- Compile list of dictionaries (Mahan Kosh, Gurbani-English, etc.)
- Sort dictionaries into keys, split definitions for each key
- Add Google Translated version for each definition (NB quite often inaccurate, sadly)
Create platform for 1-1 Translations
- Viewing as auto-filled by dictionaries
  - Choose an english translation for each definition in the dictionaries
  - Fill in english-translations
- Viewing line by line
  - Show each line as a list of words
  - Show each line's analysis in Guru Granth Darpan
  - Accessing any word (blank or filled) shows a list of definitions
  - User can fill in translation
  - View the list of gurmukhi words with their english counter-part as a review

Ultimately, this will require the hard work of many individuals ranging from amateur to scholar. We already have a list of commited and dedicated contributors, which we hope to grow organically through the sharing of this project as it continues to be worked upon.

When deciding where to start the actual translation process, the proposed method is to begin with most commonly read banis: Nitnem and Asa Di Vaar. Within Nitnem there are two that are read much more than others: Chaupai Sahib (twice a day) and the 6 pauria(n) of Anand Sahib (twice a day). Specifically the goal is to begin with the 6 pauria(n) of Anand Sahib as it is also read at the end of most diwan programs.

6 Pauria(n) of Anand Sahib
Salok from Jap Ji Sahib
Chaupai Sahib
Last chakka of Asa Di Vaar

At this point we would re-evaluate how the translations look as a whole. The diversity in the above 4 translations should provide a good mix of scenarios.

Structure

Json file of translations

Shabad OS DB permalink ID
- Each word of line (as updated in Shabad OS DB)
  - 1-1 English translation
  - Context, notes, explanations of the word
  - Update history of dates, author, and commit codes (Author can be "autofill", meaning it was programatically translated)
- Context, notes, explanations (for the line as a whole)

Json file of dictionaries

Gurmukhi word
- Dictionary
  - Definitions

License

The living document of translations is to be licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International Public License (CC 4.0 BY-SA)

Any supporting programs or code are licensed under the GNU General Public License version 3 (GPLv3).

The various other sources may have respective copyrights which can be found elsewhere online. Gurbani itself has a Public Domain Mark (PDM) according to Shabad OS database.

A text copy of the main license, CC BY-SA 4.0 International, is included in the LICENSE.md file for offline viewing.

shabados/translation