Payo Ji Maine Ram Ratan Dhan Payo – Mirabai

The jewel that keeps growing

"I have found the wealth of the jewel of Ram's name." In six short lines, Mirabai turns the language of a merchant's ledger — capital, spending, theft, interest — into a song about grace. Everything else, she says, can be spent, lost or stolen; this one treasure only grows. The bhajan is in the Rajasthani-tinged Hindi of Mira's padas, and in performance the opening line is repeated as a refrain after every couplet.

Line-by-line meaning

1. Payo ji maine Ram ratan dhan payo — "I have found it: the treasure of the jewel of Ram['s name]."
2. Vastu amolik di mere satguru, kirpa kari apnayo — "My true guru gave me this priceless thing; in his grace he made me his own."
3. Janam janam ki poonji pai, jag mein sabhi khovayo — "I have gained the capital of many lifetimes" — and for it, everything worldly has been let go.
4. Kharchai na khootai, chor na lootai, din din badhat savayo — "Spending does not use it up, thieves cannot rob it; day by day it grows by a quarter more." Savaya, one and a quarter, is the merchant's word for a steady gain.
5. Sat ki naav khevatiya satguru, bhavsagar tar aayo — "The boat is truth, the boatman is the satguru — I have crossed the ocean of worldly life."
6. Mira ke prabhu Giridhar Nagar, harakh harakh jas gayo — "Mira's Lord is Giridhar Nagar (Krishna, lifter of Govardhan); overflowing with joy, I sing his glory."

Ram or Krishna?

Mira's chosen Lord is Krishna as Giridhar Gopal, and the signature line names him. "Ram" in the first line is used as it is by the sant poets — as the name of God itself, the Name that the guru gives. That is why the bhajan is sung equally in Ram and Krishna temples, and why its title phrase is often translated simply as "the jewel of God's name".

Who was Mira's satguru?

The pad praises a satguru without naming him. A strong tradition, reflected in other padas attributed to Mira, holds that she accepted Sant Ravidas (Raidas) as her guru. Historians debate how far this can be confirmed, but it is the most widely held view in the bhakti tradition.

Mirabai in brief

Mira was a 16th-century Rajput princess of Merta in Rajasthan, married into the royal house of Mewar, who from childhood regarded Krishna as her true husband. Her songs, the legends of her trials at the Mewar court, and her final years at Dwarka made her the most beloved woman poet of the bhakti movement. Thousands of padas are sung in her name; scholars note that only some can be traced to her with confidence, but this one is among the most firmly established in tradition.

How it reached every home

The Hindustani musician D. V. Paluskar made the bhajan famous in the mid-20th century, and Lata Mangeshkar's recording took it into every household. It is sung at satsangs, school assemblies and temple kirtans, and its title even lent its words to a 2015 Hindi film.

Frequently asked questions

Who wrote "Payo Ji Maine Ram Ratan Dhan Payo"?

Mirabai, the 16th-century Krishna-devotee poet of Rajasthan. The last line carries her signature: "Mira ke prabhu Giridhar Nagar".

What is "Ram ratan dhan"?

"The wealth of the jewel of Ram" — the divine Name received from the guru, which Mira calls the only wealth that cannot be lost.

What does "din din badhat savayo" mean?

"Day by day it grows by a quarter more" — savaya (1¼) is a trader's term for profit. The Name, unlike money, only increases.

Is this bhajan about Ram or Krishna?

Mira's Lord is Krishna (Giridhar Nagar); "Ram" here means the Name of God, as in the sant tradition. It is sung for both.

Who made the bhajan famous?

Pandit D. V. Paluskar's rendition made it widely known, and Lata Mangeshkar's later recording made it a household bhajan.

Is the text the same everywhere?

The six lines are stable, with small differences of spelling (e.g. "mhain to" for "maine", "amolak" for "amolik") between Rajasthani and standard-Hindi versions.