Synopsis Early morning, called the ambrosial hour, when the day is yet to dawn, the countryside as much as the towns in the Punjab reverberate with a soulful melody wafting from the Gurudwaras, the Sikh temples, which brings the soothing message of peace to every hut and home. It is the recitation of the Sukhmani, a composition of Guru Arjan Dev, the fifth Sikh Guru. It is believed that listening to or recitation of this composition works miracles. It relieves sorrow and suffering, makes for domestic peace and harmony and fulfills the long-cherished desires – lovers meet, court cases and settled, the barren wombs are blessed with babies, the foes are befriended, investments fetch dividends. More than a ritual, the Sukhmani is a poetic work of epic dimensions, marked for its ideative pace and rhythmic pliancy. Popularly known as psalm of peace, it reveals the secret of freedom from the bondage of birth and death. More often than not, the Sukhmani is recited by the devout along with the prescribed Sikh prayers (Nitnem).