Shri Guru Nanak Dev Ji, after departing from…
Shri Guru Nanak Dev Ji, after departing from Panipat, arrived in Karnal. As per His nature, He chose to stay in a neighborhood of the lower-class society. Under a peepal tree, He began performing kirtan (devotional singing) daily. After the kirtan, He would deliver discourses for the seekers, due to which the congregation (sangat) gradually started increasing.
One distressed woman came to Guru Ji with a complaint, saying that her family’s elders tormented her and looked down upon her because she had not given birth to boys as they wished, but only daughters. Hearing this, Guru Ji consoled her and said, “Everything is in the hands of the Almighty. Tomorrow, bring your husband and mother-in-law to me.”
The next day, the woman brought her husband and mother-in-law along. During the kirtan, Guru Ji recited the following verse:
Bhaṇḍ jamīai bhaṇḍ nimīai bhaṇḍ mangaṇ vīāhu Bhaṇḍ hovai dōsatī bhaṇḍahu chalai rāhu
Bhaṇḍu muā bhaṇḍu bhālīai bhaṇḍi hovai baṅdhānu Sō kiu maṅdā ākhīai jit jaṅmāhi rājān (Raag Asa, Ang 473)
Explaining its meaning, Guru Ji said that women are the strength of society. We should not look down upon them or condemn them, for they, as mothers, are the creators of all. The same bhaṇḍ (women) whom society criticizes are the ones who give birth to great saints, emperors, and rulers. If we sincerely reflect, we realize that without bhaṇḍ (women), the very existence of human society is unimaginable.
Women are essential in every aspect of life. If, according to our desires, only sons were born everywhere, then how would this world continue? Therefore, interfering in the workings of nature is not appropriate. One should remain content with His divine will (Hukam), for that is what benefits all.
After hearing this teaching, the woman’s husband and mother-in-law became content with their fate and took an oath never to taunt her again over this matter. After spending a few more days there, Guru Ji departed for the Kurukshetra Mela due to the approaching solar eclipse gathering.