Bhai Gurdas Singh

Bhai Gurdas Singh (fl. 18th century), also known as Bhai Gurdas II, was a Sikh during the time of Guru Gobind Singh.[1][2] He is most known for writing a Vaar (folk ballad).[3][4]

Not to be confused with Bhai Gurdas Bhalla, an earlier Sikh saint and writer.
Bhai
Gurdas Singh
Repoussé plaque (gilded panel) depicting Bhai Gurdas Singh (standing at right) presenting himself before Guru Gobind Singh (seated in centre) with an offering, from the Khatwari Dharamsal in Shikarpur, Sindh
Personal
ReligionSikhism
RelationsAlam Singh Nachna (brother)

Biography

He was the brother of Alam Singh Nachna.[1] He served as one of the many poets in the durbar (court) of Guru Gobind Singh.[1]

Vaar

He was an eyewitness to the Vaisakhi event which occurred in Anandpur on 13 April 1699, when the Guru formalized the Khalsa order.[1] He later recounted his account of that day in a Vaar, named the Vaar Sri Bhagaut Ji Ki Patshahi Dasvin Ki, amidst hostilities from Hindus and Muslims alike.[1][2] In a manuscript of the Vaar kept in the collection of the Sikh Reference Library, the work is known under the titled Vaar Bhai Gurdas Ji Ki.[2] The entire work comprises twenty-eight pauris (Indic term for stanzas), with twenty of the pauris praising Guru Gobind Singh and singling out unique aspects of the tenth guru.[2] A common theme emphasized throughout the work is how Guru Gobind Singh transformed the sangat (congregation) of Sikhs into the Khalsa.[2] The comparison is made to the Guru's sword and Kalika, the Indic deity.[2] Reference is made to the predecessor gurus Har Rai, Har Krishan (both on pauri 22) and Tegh Bahadur (pauri 23), with the last containing an account of the Guru's martyrdom in Delhi.[2] The finishing stanzas eulogize the Khalsa.[2] The work was composed in "Hindized Punjabi".[2]

In his Vaar, he states:[1]

The Guru has remembered upon the Kalka and prepare the Amrit of Khanda. Drinking which, this life becomes of fruition.

— Bhai Gurdas Singh, Vaar 41 (Pauri 1, lines 3–4)

In his Vaar, he furthermore stresses the importance of the remembrance and chanting of Akāl (Gurmukhi: ਅਕਾਲ, romanized: Akāla, lit. 'without time', fig. 'immortal') for Sikhs:[1]

Everyone automatically speaks of Guru Gobind Singh Ji who has made them to chant Akaal, Akaal.

— Vaar 41 (Pauri 17, line 10)

This work is commonly appended at the end of Varan Bhai Gurdas as a 41st Vaar on-top of the traditional forty authored by Gurdas Bhalla.[2]

According to Louis E. Fenech and Vir Singh, the 41st Vaar would have been written in the mid-1780s as per internal evidence.[5]

Later life

After the death of his master, Guru Gobind Singh, in 1708, it is said Gurdas Singh traveled to Sindh, where he did missionary work spreading the tenets of Sikhism in the local area of Shikarpur.[1] Traditional lore claims he lived to an impressive age of 150.[1] His life is commemorated in the Khatwari Dharamsal of Bhai Gurdas in Shikarpur, Sindh.[1]

Literary works
  • Vaar Sri Bhagaut Ji Ki Patshahi Dasvin Ki – Vaar on the Amrit Sanchar and Guru Gobind Singh[1][2]
  • Raag Ramkali Ki Vaar[2]
  • Barahmaha Sri Ram Chandar – narration of the separation between Rama and his brother, Bharata, whom were saddened by their uncoupling. Written shortly after the death of Guru Gobind Singh in 1708 to recount how the Sikhs of the time were feeling being separated from their Guru.[1]
  • Pryaye Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji – poetic expounding of the Guru Granth Sahib[1]

References
  1. Sri Dasam Granth: Facts Beyond Doubt (1st ed.). Malaysia: Sri Guru Granth Sahib Academy. 2021. pp. 302–304. ISBN 9781527282773.
  2. Singh, Harbans. The Encyclopedia of Sikhism. Vol. 2: E-L. Punjabi University, Patiala. pp. 139–140.
  3. Kaur, Gurnam (1995). Sikh Value System and Social Change. Publication Bureau, Punjabi University, Patiala. p. 89. ISBN 9788173801341.
  4. Takhar, Opinderjit Kaur; Jakobsh, Doris R. (2023). Global Sikhs: Histories, Practices and Identities. Routledge Critical Sikh Studies. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 9781000847352. 23. Vars are long poems written by Bhai Gurdas. The first 40 vars are written by Bhai Gurdas who was contemporary to the early Gurus. But the 41st var is written, in the opinion of McLeod, by another Gurdas who had written it the eighteenth century. It is likely that information about the eighteenth century sangats of Bihar comes from Gurdas Il. McLeod, Dictionary, 212.
  5. Fenech, Louis E. (2013). "Notes". The Sikh Zafar-namah of Guru Gobind Singh: A Discursive Blade in the Heart of the Mughal Empire. Oxford University Press. p. 246. ISBN 9780199931453.
  • Read the 41st Vaar in PDF format (written in Gurmukhi script): link
  • Read the 41st Vaar online with English translation: link


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