Dasven Padshah Da Granth

The ''Dasam Granth'' (Gurmukhi: ਦਸਮ ਗ੍ਰੰਥ ''dasama gratha'') is a collection of various manuscripts in Sikhism containing compositions attributed to Guru Gobind Singh.Dasam Granth
Encyclopædia Britannica, pages 2, 67 Guru Gobind Singh ordained the sacred text Guru Granth Sahib as his successor, eternally ending the line of human Gurus. It is the primary holy scripture of the Sikhs and regarded by Sikhs as the living embodiment of Ten Gurus. Bachittar Natak is a part of ("Dasam Granth") composition

The standard edition of the text contains 1,428 pages with 17,293 verses in 18 sections. These are set in the form of hymns and poems mostly in the Braj language (Old western Hindi), with some parts in Avadhi, Punjabi, Hindi and Persian. The script is written almost entirely in Gurmukhi, except for the Guru Gobind Singh's letters to Aurangzeb—''Zafarnama'' and the ''Hikaaitaan''—written in the Persian alphabet., pp. 53–54

The ''Dasam Granth'' contains hymns, from Hindu texts, which are a retelling of the feminine in the form of goddess Durga, an autobiography, letter to the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, as well as reverential discussion of warriors and theology. The scripture was recited in full within Nirmala Sikhs in the contemporary era. Parts of it are popularly retold from Hindu Puranas, for the benefit of the common man, who had no access to Hindu texts of the time. Compositions of the Dasam ''Granth'' include Jaap Sahib, Tav-Prasad Savaiye and Kabiyo Baach Benti Chaupai which are part of the Nitnem or daily prayers and also part of the Amrit Sanchar or initiation ceremony of Khalsa Sikhs.

''Zafarnama'' and ''Hikayats'' in a different style and format appended to it in the mid 18th century. Other manuscripts are said to include the Patna bir and the Mani Singh Vali bir all originated in mid to late 18th century. These manuscripts include the writings that are questioned by most Sikhs in the contemporary era, such as the '' Ugradanti'' and ''Bhagauti Astotar''.

Authorship

Although the compositions of the ''Dasam Granth'' are traditionally accepted to be written by Guru Gobind Singh, there have been questions of the authenticity of the entirety of ''Dasam Granth'' from time of compilation. There are three major views on the authorship of the ''Dasam Granth'':
# The traditional view is that the entire work was composed by Guru Gobind Singh himself.
# The entire collection was compiled by the poets in the Guru's entourage.
# Only a part of the work was composed by the Guru, while the rest was composed by the other poets.

In his religious court at Paonta Sahib and Anandpur Guru Gobind Singh had employed 52 poets, who translated several classical texts into Braj Bhasha. Most of the writing compiled at Paonta Sahib was lost while the Guru's camp was crossing the Sirsa river before the Battle of Chamkaur in 1704. There were copiers available at the Guru's place who made several copies of the writings, and other writings may have been included too which may have led to authenticity issues. Later, Bhai Mani Singh compiled all the available works under the title ''Dasam Granth''.

The traditional scholars claim that all the works in ''Dasam Granth'' were composed by the Guru himself, on the basis of Bhai Mani Singh's letter. But the veracity of the letter has been examined by scholars and found to be unreliable. An example of varying style can be seen in the sections 'Chandi Charitar' and 'Bhagauti ki War'

Historical writings

The following are historical books after the demise of Guru Gobind Singh which mention that the compositions in the present ''Dasam Granth'' was written by Guru Gobind Singh:
* Rehitnama Bhai Nand Lal mentioned Jaap Sahib is an important Bani for a Sikh.Rehitnama Bhai Nand Lal
* Rehitnama Chaupa Singh Chibber quotes various lines from Bachitar Natak, 33 Swiayey, Chopai Sahib, Jaap Sahib.Rehitnama Chaupa Singh Chibber
* In 1711, Sri Gur Sobha was written by the poet Senapat and mentioned a conversation of Guru Gobind Singh and Akal Purakh, and written three of its Adhyay on base of Bachitar Natak.Sri Gur Sbha Granth, Poet Senapat, Piara Singh Padam
* In 1741, Parchian Srvadas Kian quoted lines from Rama Avtar, 33 Swaiyey and mentioned Zafarnama with Hikayats.
* in 1751, Gurbilas Patshahi 10 – Koyar Singh Kalal, mentioned Guru Gobind Singh composed Bachitar Natak, Krisna Avtar, Bisan Avtar, Akal Ustat, Jaap Sahib, Zafarnama, Hikayats etc. This is first Granth mentioned Guruship of Guru Granth Shahib.
* In 1766, Kesar Singh Chibber in Bansavalinama writes that Guru Gobind Singh ordered the Guru Granth Sahib and Dasam Granth be kept separate. Kesar Singh frequently quotes Ugardanti, Bachitar Natak, Khalsa Mehima and many other compositions.
* In 1766, Sri Guru Mahima Parkash – Sarup Chand Bhalla, mentioned about various Banis of Guru Gobind Singh and compilation of ''Dasam Granth''
* In 1790, Guru Kian Sakhian – Svarup Singh Kashish, mentioned Guru Gobind Singh composed, Bachitar Natak, Krishna Avtar, Shastarnaam Mala, 33 Swaiyey etc.
* In 1797, Gurbilas Patshahi 10 – Sukkha Singh, mentioned compositions of Guru Gobind Singh.
* In 1812, J. B. Malcolm, in SKetch of Sikhs mentioned about ''Dasam Granth'' as Bani of Guru Gobind Singh.

Structure

The standard print edition of the ''Dasam Granth'', since 1902, has 1,428 pages.

The standard official edition contains 17,293 verses in 18 sections. These are set in the form of hymns and poems mostly in the Braj Bhasha (Old western Hindi), with some parts in Avadhi, Punjabi, Hindi and Persian language. The script is almost entirely the Gurmukhi script except for the letter of the Sikh Guru to Aurangzeb – ''Zafarnama'', and the ''Hikayat'' in the Persian script.

Contents

The ''Dasam Granth'' has many sections covering a wide range of topics:

Role in Sikh liturgy, access

The compositions within ''Dasam Granth'' play a huge role in Sikh liturgy, which is prescribed by Sikh Rehat Maryada:
* Jaap Sahib is part of Nitnem, which Sikh recites daily in morning.Page 133, Sikhs in the Diaspora, Surinder Singh Bakhshi, Dr Surinder Singh Bakhshi, 2009''The Japu, the Jaapu and the Ten Sawayyas (Quartets) – beginning "Sarwag sudh"-- in the morning.'': Chapter III, Article IV, Sikh Rehat Maryada
* Tav-Prasad Savaiye, again a bani of Nitnem, is part of Akal Ustat composition, which is recited daily in morning along with above.
* Benti Chaupai, is part of Sri Charitropakhyan, which is recited in morning as well as evening prayers.
* Jaap, Tav Prasad Savaiye and Chaupai are read while preparing Khande Batey Ki Pahul for Khalsa initiation.
* The first stanza of the Sikh ardās is from Chandi di Var.
* As per Sikh Rehat Maryada, a stanza of Chaubis Avtar, "pae gahe jab te tumre", should be comprised in So Dar Rehras.''iii) the Sawayya beginning with the words "pae gahe jab te tumre"'': Article IV, Chapter III, Sikh Rehat Maryada

In the Nihang tradition – considered heretical by the Khalsa Sikhs, the ''Dasam Granth'' is given equal scriptural status as the ''Adi Granth'' (first volume). Chandi di Var is also an important prayer among Nihang and Namdhari Sikhs.

Except for the liturgical portions and some cherrypicked verses of the ''Dasam Granth'' that are widely shared and used, few Sikhs have read the complete ''Dasam Granth'' or know its contents. Most do not have access to it in its entirety, as the generic printed or translated versions do not include all its sections and verses. In its history, the entire text was in the active possession of the Khalsa soldiers.

Manuscripts

The oldest known manuscript of ''Dasam Granth'' is likely the Anandpuri bir. It is dated to the 1690s, but a few folio pages on Zafarnama and Hikayats were definitely added later, because they are composed after 1700, are in a different style and format, lacking the folio numbers present on all pages elsewhere. These letters of Guru Gobind Singh were likely appended to it in the early 18th century. According to another view, the earliest surviving manuscript of the complete text is dated to 1713, and the early manuscript versions have minor variations.

Other important manuscripts include the Patna bir (1698 CE) found in Bihar, and the Mani Singh Vali bir (1713) found in Punjab. The Mani Singh bir includes hymns of the Banno version of the ''Adi Granth''. It is also unique in that it presents the Zafarnama and Hikayats in both Perso-Arabic Nastaliq script and the Gurmukhi script. The Bhai Mani Singh manuscript of ''Dasam Granth'' has been dated to 1721, was produced with the support of Mata Sundari, states Gobind Mansukhani.

The early Anandpuri, Patna and Mani Singh manuscripts include writing that are disputed in the contemporary era, as well as sections such as the ''Ugradanti'' and ''Sri Bhagauti Astotra'' that were, for some reason, removed from these manuscripts in the official versions of ''Dasam Granth'' in the 20th century by Singh Sabha Movement activists.

According to the Indologist Wendy Doniger, many orthodox Sikhs credit the authorship and compilation of the earliest ''Dasam Granth'' manuscript to Guru Gobind Singh directly, while other Sikhs and some scholars consider the text to have been authored and compiled partly by him and partly by many poets in his court at Anandpur.

Prior to 1902, there were numerous incomplete portions of manuscripts of ''Dasam Granth'' in circulation within the Sikh community along with the complete, but somewhat variant, major versions such as the Anandpuri and Patna birs. In 1885, during the Singh Sabha Movement, an organization called the Gurmat Granth Pracharak Sabha was founded by Sikhs to study the Sikh literature. This organization, with a request from Amritsar Singh Sabha, established the Sodhak Committee in 1897. The members of this committee studied 32 manuscripts of ''Dasam Granth'' from different parts of the Indian subcontinent. The committee deleted some hymns found in the different old manuscripts of the text, merged the others and thus created a 1,428-page version thereafter called the standard edition of the ''Dasam Granth''. The standard edition was first published in 1902. It is this version that has predominantly been distributed to scholars and studied in and outside India. However, the prestige of the ''Dasam Granth'' was well established in the Sikh community during the Sikh Empire, as noted in 1812 by colonial-era scholar Malcolm. According to Robin Rinehart – a scholar of Sikhism and Sikh literature, modern copies of the ''Dasam Granth'' in Punjabi, and its English translations, often do not include the entire standard edition text and do not follow the same ordering either.

See also

* History of Dasam Granth
*Sarbloh Granth
* Guru Gobind Singh
*Guru Granth Sahib

Notes

References

External links

Debating the Dasam Granth
Christopher Shackle (2012)
Framing the Dasam Granth Debate: Throwing the Baby with the Bath Water
Pashaura Singh (2015)
Presence and Absence: Constructions of Gender in Dasam Granth Exegesis
Robin Rinehart (2019)
{{Dasven Padshah Da Granth

Indian religious texts
Sikh scripture
18th-century manuscripts