Sikh Studies) Part-I Paper-Vi Sikh Scripture and Literature Ii Lesson No
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M.A. ( SIKH STUDIES) PART-I PAPER-VI SIKH SCRIPTURE AND LITERATURE II LESSON NO. 2 AUTHOR : DR. DHARM SINGH DASAM GRANTH : INTRODUCTION, AUTHENTICITY OF AUTHORSHIP AND CONTENTS (a) Introduction : The Dasam Granth is an anthology of verses generally attributed to Guru Gobind Singh. Though attributed to the Guru and some of its compositions are part of the daily Sikh regimen of prayers, yet its authorship has been a subject of controversy. Dasam Granth does not enjoy the scriptural status like the Guru Granth Sahib as all its verses are not believed to be revelatory in character. The different compositions in Dasam Granth were composed by the Guru at different times and places, but most of them were written before 1704 when he had to evacuate Anandpur, with the exception of Zafarnamah which he composed and despatched to Emperor Aurangzib from Dina Kangar (in the modern-day Faridkot district of the Punjab) in AD 1705 and a few other smaller compositions which he might have composed after the evacuation of Anandpur or during the breathing spell at Damdama Sahib (Talwandi Sabo) in the present-day Bathinda district, during the fall and winter of AD 1705-06. Tradition holds that many manuscript copies of these compositions were current during the Guru’s own lifetime. It is also believed that the Guru himself got same manuscripts prepared. Some devotees also made copies for their personal use. However, the number of compositions and their order were not identical in these anthologies. The original manuscripts were possibly lost in the aftermath of evacuation. The first authentic and comprehensive volume was compiled by Bhai Mani Singh (d. AD 1737), a devoted follower of the Guru, sometime between 1716 and 1737 by tracing and collecting whatever could be salvaged or whatever had been preserved with certain Sikhs who had retained copies of some of the banis with them. He is believed to have undertaken and completed the job under instruction of Mata Sundari, wife of Guru Gobind Singh. However, there is uncertainty about the present location of this recension. In its absence, the discrepancies in the text of the extant recensions have continued to cause many a misgiving. An effort was made by the Gurmat Granth Pracharak Sabha, Amritsar, in order to remove these misgivings. The work was entrusted to this Sabha (established in 1885) by the Khalsa Diwan, Amritsar. The Sodhak Committee appointed by this Sabha collected thirty-two different recensions which were studied by prominent scholars and the ologians. Formal discussions were held at the Akal Takht, Amritsar, for eight months during June 1895-February 1896, and a Report based on these deliberations was prepared. The Report, published in AD 1 M.A. (Sikh Studies) Part-I 2 Paper-VI 1897, prepared a standardized text of the Granth and also stated that the entire volume was the work of the Guru. As a result of the deliberations of the Committee, a recension of the Dasam Granth was brought out in 1902 by the Wazir Hind Press, Amritsar, which is generally believed to comprise as authentic version of the text as possible. The entire Dasam Granth is rhymed poetry consisting of prayers, psalms eulogising Akal, autobiography, heroic tales from the Puranic mythology and epic literature of India with an obvious emphasis on their reorientation and reinterpretation, an Epistle of Victory addressed to Emperor Aurangzib, moralistic stories and so on. The script used throughout is Gurmukhi, though the language for the most part is medieval Hindi of the Eastern Gangetic plains, also known as Braj, with the exception of Var Sri Bhagauti Ji Ki (popularly known as Chandi di Var) and a hymn in Ramkali raga or measure (mitra piare nun........ )which are in Punjabi language, and the Zofarnamah, along with the following Hikayats, which is in Persian. The following is the list of compositions included in the Dasam Granth : 1. Japu 2. Akal Ustati (In fact, there is no such title at the head of this bani which ends with the words” ustat sampuranan” or the eulogy concludes. Since the entire composition is a eulogy of the Akal, or the Ultimate Reality, it has come to be called as Akal Usati 3. Bachitra Natak 4. Chandi Charitra Ukti Bilas 5. Chandi Charitra 6. Var Sri Bhagouti Ji Ki 7. Chaubis Avtar 8. Brahma Avtar 9. Rudra Avtar 10. Gian Prabodh 11. Ramakli hymns 12. Swaiyye 13. Sastra Nam Mala 14. Pakhyan Charitra 15. Zofarnama 16. Hikayat Of these the Chandi Charitras, Chaubis Avtar, Brahma Avrtar and Rudra Avtar are sometimes counted part of the Bachitra Natak, as Hikayats are that of Zafarnamah, thus reducing the total number of compositions in Dasam Granth from sixteen to ten. (b) Authenticity of Authorship Of the compositions included in the Dasam Granth, a few bear the authentic phrase “sri mukhvak patshahi ( also written as patisahi) 10” or the holy Word from the mouth of the Tenth Master. These are Japu, Bachitra Natak, Swaiyye and Zafarnamah. Some other compositions have only “patsahi 10” or the Tenth Master at their head. M.A. (Sikh Studies) Part-I 3 Paper-VI These are Akal Ustati, Var Sri Bhagauti Ji Ki, Gian Prabodh, Chaubis Avtar, sabdas or hymns in Ramkali measure, Sastra Nam Mala and Pakhyan Charitra, Brahma Avtar, Rudra Avtar and Hikayats fall in this category. This difference has been one of the reasons which have led many scholars to conclude that not all of these compositions are Guru’s own. Dharam Pal Ashta has given some very cogent and convincing arguments to infer that “all the parts of the Dasam Granth were composed by Guru Gobind Singh himself....... If at all, any of the court-poets had any hand in the composition of the Granth, it was purely of the nature of an amanuensis. It is quite possible that the Guru dictated his poems to any of his court poets. This does not necessarily mean that they had composed any part of the Granth....... It may, therefore, in the end, he said with confidence that the Dasam Granth is the work of Guru Gobind Singh’s own.” Earlier, the Sodhak committee, comprising the known Sikh scholars and theologians of the day, had also given a similar opinion: their argument, as has later on been taken up by Taran Singh in his famous treatise on different exegetical schools (Gurbani dian Viakhia Pranalian) given here is that just as bani or hymns of the Gurus following Guru Nanak have been elucidation and explanation of what the latter had written, the verses of Guru Gobind Singh should also be read in the same context. The Report specifically refers to his compositions with Puranic background as exegetical of the Puranic and other mythological references in the hymns of Guru Granth Sahib. Maybe the Guru also wanted that the Sikhs should not have to seek guidance and help of Hindu scholars to fully comprehend the connotations of mythological allusions in the Scripture. He retold such stories to bring out their meaning in the Sikh context. Thereafter, scholars like Giani Bishan Singh, Trilochan Singh, Piara Singh Padam, et al.also opined that the entire text in the Granth is from the Guru’s pen. Harbhajan Singh (Gurmukhi Lipi men Uplabdh Hindi kavya Ka Alochanatamak Adhyan) and Mahip Singh ( Guru Gobind Singh aur Unki Hindi Kavita) also accept the entire given text as genuine and authentic. There are, however, certain scholars who question the authenticity and authorship of some of the compositions. The Bhasaur school (for example, see Ran Singh, Dasam Granth Nirnaya) was the most vocal in this category. Loehlin also feels that “the writings included in the granth of the Tenth Guru were composed at different times by Guru Gobind Singh and his band of fifty-two poets and translators.” Similarly, Mohan Singh Diwana (History of Panjabi Literature) and Khushwant Singh (A History of the Sikhs) hold that certain compositions in the Dasam Granth are not the Guru’s own but of his court poets. Of them, Mohan Singh Diwana simply passes his judgment without giving any arguments in support of his contention, and that is perhaps why he later on changed his stance. Ratan Singh Jaggi was also one with this school of thought and once expressed his doubts about the authorship of some of the compositions as included in the Dasam Granth. His Dasam Granth da Kartritav holds this view. Dr Jaggi seems to have erred in his interpretation of certain M.A. (Sikh Studies) Part-I 4 Paper-VI compositions of the Dasam Granth from the Puranic perspective because these compositions are not mere adaptations from the Puranic literature but its reinterpretation in the broader framework of Sikh metaphysical thought. However, the learned scholar himself seemed on unsure ground because he accepted the same compositions as Guru’s own in his Guru Gobind Singh di Bani Vich Sutantarta di Bhavana (1967). His Dasam Granth Parichaya (1991) simply glosses over the controversy and discusses the given text. His recent exegetical study of the Granth implicitly accepts the entire text as the Guru’s work. The SGPC has also tried to resolve the issue. It once deputed by Randhir Singh to study the issue of authorship in detail and come out with his conclusions. His findings were then published by the SGPC in book form. Bhai Randhir Singh’s Shabad-Murati makes a cogent argument against those who question the authenticity of authorship of certain compositions. Although the Akal Takht has not so far issued any edict as regards this controversy yet its involvement in the decision of the Sodhak Committee is obvious since all the deliberations were held at the Akal Takht.