ਬਾਬਾ ਕੁੰਮਾ ਮਾਸ਼ਕੀ ਦੀ ਛੰਨ
Baba Kumma Mashki's Hut
Bilingual Punjabi + English From Sikh history: Baba Kumma Mashki and Mata Gujri Ji All ages
ਪੋਹ ਦੀ ਇੱਕ ਕਹਿਰ ਦੀ ਠੰਢੀ ਰਾਤ, ਸਰਸਾ ਉੱਤੇ ਗੁਰੂ ਜੀ ਤੋਂ ਵਿਛੜ ਕੇ, ਮਾਤਾ ਗੁਜਰੀ ਜੀ ਅਤੇ ਦੋਵੇਂ ਛੋਟੇ ਸਾਹਿਬਜ਼ਾਦਿਆਂ ਨੂੰ ਪਹਿਲਾ ਟਿਕਾਣਾ ਇੱਕ ਗ਼ਰੀਬ ਮਾਸ਼ਕੀ ਦੀ ਕੱਖਾਂ ਦੀ ਛੰਨ ਵਿੱਚ ਮਿਲਿਆ।
On a freezing Poh night, parted from Guru Ji at the Sarsa, Mata Gujri Ji and the two younger Sahibzade found their first shelter in the straw hut of a poor water-carrier.
। , ਜ਼ੋਰਾਵਰ ਫ਼ਤਿਹ ਨਾਲ ਤੁਰੇ । , , ਖੇਰੂੰ-ਖੇਰੂੰ ।
Near the Sarsa river, on a bitter night in the month of Poh, Mata Gujri Ji walked with her two grandsons, Baba Zorawar Singh Ji and Baba Fateh Singh Ji. In the dark and the rush at the Sarsa, the family had been scattered.
, ਆਰਾਮ ।
The wind was cold, and there was nowhere warm to rest.
ਰਹਿੰਦਾ , ਕੁੰਮਾ । , ਢੋਣ ਵਾਲਾ। ਗ਼ਰੀਬ । , ।
Near the river lived a man whom people called Kumma. He was a mashki, a man who carried water. He was very poor. His clothes were torn, and his home was a little hut, a chhann, with a roof of straw.
ਸਤਿਕਾਰ ਦਿੰਦੇ। , ਬਖ਼ਸ਼, ਨਾਲ । ਕੁੰਮਾ ।
People gave him no respect. No one ever said his real name, Karim Bakhsh, with honour. To them he was only Kumma.
ਕੁੰਮਾ , ਆਰਾਮ । ਗ਼ਰੀਬ , ਦਿੰਦਾ, ।
But on that cold night, it was to the straw hut of Baba Kumma Mashki that Mata Gujri Ji and the Sahibzade came, and it was there that they rested. The little chhann of a poor water-carrier, a man nobody honoured, became the first resting place of the Guru's family after the river.
ਕੁੰਮਾ ਜਾਂਦਾ । , ਸਤਿਕਾਰ ਨਾਲ । ਦਿੰਦਾ, ।
That place is still called Chhann Baba Kumma Mashki. Every Poh the sangat gathers there, and now everyone calls him Baba, with love and respect. The man whom nobody honoured is remembered by the whole Panth.
ਆਓ, ਕੁੰਮਾ , , ਜ਼ੋਰਾਵਰ ਫ਼ਤਿਹ ਆਰਾਮ । ।
So let us remember Baba Kumma Mashki, and the seva he did on that cold night, when his little straw hut became a resting place for Mata Gujri Ji, Baba Zorawar Singh Ji and Baba Fateh Singh Ji. May his seva inspire us too.
ਸ਼ਬਦ-ਅਰਥ · Glossary
- ਸਾਖੀ sakhi
- A true story from the lives of the Gurus and Gursikhs, told to teach and inspire.
- ਸਰਸਾ Sarsa
- A river near Kiratpur Sahib that floods in heavy rain.
- ਪੋਹ Poh
- A winter month in the Sikh calendar, around December and January.
- ਸਾਹਿਬਜ਼ਾਦੇ Sahibzade
- The four sons of Guru Gobind Singh Ji: Baba Ajit Singh Ji, Baba Jujhar Singh Ji, Baba Zorawar Singh Ji and Baba Fateh Singh Ji.
- ਮਾਸ਼ਕੀ mashki
- A water-carrier, who carries water in a leather bag called a mashk.
- ਛੰਨ chhann
- A small hut with a roof of straw.
- ਬਾਬਾ Baba
- A title of love and respect for an elder.
- ਸੰਗਤ sangat
- The company of the Guru’s Sikhs, who come together to remember Waheguru.
- ਪੰਥ Panth
- The whole Sikh community, the Khalsa Panth.
- ਸੇਵਾ seva
- Selfless service, given without wanting anything back.
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Frequently asked questions
- Who was Baba Kumma Mashki?
- He was a poor water-carrier who lived near the Sarsa river. People called him Kumma and gave him little respect; his real name was Karim Bakhsh. After the Sarsa, Mata Gujri Ji and the younger Sahibzade rested in his straw hut, and today the place is called Chhann Baba Kumma Mashki.
- Where is Baba Kumma Mashki remembered?
- Near the Sarsa river, at the place where his straw hut stood. It is called Chhann Baba Kumma Mashki, and the sangat gathers there every Poh.
