Paw Bara Lyrics by Sunil Santha

All the sin-laden of this world,
raised up upon the cross,
all the sin-laden of this world,
you who gave your life upon it and saved the world,
Jesus, thanks be to you
Jesus, thanks be to you

Born into this world of a virgin’s womb,
thirty-three years,
raining down the Dhamma like a great ocean, comforting the world,
in the thirty-third year, an offering made to the world,
Son of God, Jesus, your name is worshipped through the three worlds

All the sin-laden of this world,
raised up upon the cross,
all the sin-laden of this world,
you who gave your life upon it and saved the world,
Jesus, thanks be to you
Jesus, thanks be to you

Hanging there upon the cross,
giving great compassion to the world,
you gave your Mother to be our mother too
ocean of wisdom and power, ocean of compassion,
Jesus, may your cross be our own cross forever

All the sin-laden of this world,
raised up upon the cross,
all the sin-laden of this world,
you who gave your life upon it and saved the world,
Jesus, thanks be to you
Jesus, thanks be to you

Having given your life and been laid to rest, they say,
you showed the whole world a wonder,
from among the dead you rose up, Jesus, this Sunday
ah, ah, the great wonder, where is the dead body in the grave?
Jesus God, like the lord of the three worlds, blessed and auspicious be

All the sin-laden of this world,
raised up upon the cross,
all the sin-laden of this world,
you who gave your life upon it and saved the world,
Jesus, thanks be to you
Jesus, thanks be to you

This is a Sinhala Christian hymn that carries the whole story of Good Friday and Easter, and one of its most striking features is how it tells that Christian story in warmly Buddhist-flavoured Sinhala, the mark of Sunil Santha’s music. It opens at the cross: taking up “all the sin-laden of this world,” Jesus “gave his life upon it and saved the world,” and the refrain answers simply, “Jesus, thanks be to you.”

The middle verses trace his life and death. Born “of a virgin’s womb,” he lived “thirty-three years,” and in a beautiful cross-cultural image the song says he spent them “raining down the Dhamma like a great ocean, comforting the world,” using the Buddhist word for sacred teaching to describe Christ’s ministry. His whole life becomes “an offering made to the world,” and his name is “worshipped through the three worlds.” Then, hanging on the cross and “giving great compassion to the world,” he “gave his Mother to be our mother too,” recalling the moment at Calvary when Jesus entrusted Mary to his followers. The worshipper prays, “may your cross be our own cross forever.”

The final verse is Easter itself, told with genuine wonder. Laid to rest after giving his life, “you showed the whole world a wonder,” rising “from among the dead this Sunday.” The song even voices the astonishment of the empty tomb, “ah, the great wonder, where is the dead body in the grave?” and ends in blessing, hailing Jesus as “like the lord of the three worlds.” What the listener is left with is a hymn of gratitude and awe, the Christian gospel of sacrifice and resurrection sung in the tender, syncretic voice of Sri Lanka.