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{{Short description|Sikh text}}
{{Italic title}}
{{Infobox book
| image = Folio 31 of a Sri Gur Sobha manuscript, circa 19th century.jpg
| caption = Folio of a ''Sri Gur Sobha'' manuscript, circa 19th century
| name = Sri Gur Sobha
| language =
| genre = [[Sikhism]]
| published =
| author = Sainapati
| country =
| pub_date = 1711
}}
{{Sikh literature}}

'''''Sri Gur Sobha''''', also known as '''''Sri Gur Sobha Granth''''', is a poetic literary work written by the [[Kavi Darbar|court-poet]] Sainapati that covers the life of [[Guru Gobind Singh]] and the establishment of the [[Khalsa]] order.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Sainapati |first=Chandra Sain |title=Sri Gur Sobha (Sainapati): English Translation |publisher=Institute of Sikh Studies |year=2014 |isbn=9788185815350 |location=Chandigarh |translator-last=Singh |translator-first=Kulwant}}</ref><ref name=":322" /><ref name=":9" /><ref name=":02">{{Cite book |last=Singh |first=Gurmukh |title=The Encyclopedia of Sikhism |publisher=Punjabi University |year=2004 |isbn=817380530X |editor-last=Singh |editor-first=Harbans |edition=2nd |volume=4: S–Z |location=Patiala |pages=236–238}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Grewal |first=J. S. |title=The Khalsa: Sikh and Non-Sikh Perspectives |publisher=Manohar |year=2004 |isbn=9788173045806 |pages=35 |chapter=Introduction}}</ref> It is one of the ''[[Gurbilases]]''.<ref name=":322" /> The overarching motif of the work consists of praise of the tenth guru.<ref name=":02" />

== Description ==
The title of the text translates to "radiance of the guru".<ref name=":9" /> It was the first text of the Gurbilas genre and it narrates the life of Guru Gobind Singh and the establishment of the Khalsa order.<ref name=":322" /><ref name=":9" /> The text was written in Gurmukhi in a language that is described as a mixture of [[Braj Bhasha|Braj]] and [[Punjabi language|eastern Punjabi]] that is Sanskritized.<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|page=vii}}<ref name=":02" /> Its content has been described as partly eulogizing and partly historical.<ref name=":02" /> According to Sikh scholar J. S. Grewal, the Sri Gur Sobha is based "partly on personal observation and partly on hearsay and poetic imagination."<ref name=":1" /> Within the work, certain historical events are described through poetry, such as specific battles that the Sikhs fought, Mughal in-fighting, diplomacy between the Sikhs and the Mughals, and the assassination attempt on the guru's life at [[Nanded]] in the [[Deccan Plateau|Deccan]].<ref name=":02" /> Thus, the work has historiographical significance.<ref name=":02" /> The work contains references to particular terms, such as ''misl'', which it uses to describe a military unit, which helps our understanding of the meaning particular vocabulary held at the time.<ref name=":02" />

=== Chapters ===
The work is divided into twenty chapters or cantos.<ref name=":02" /> Six out of twenty of the cantos directly eulogizes the Sikh guru or the Khalsa, with many of the rest of the cantos also containing laudatory lines.<ref name=":02" /> The name of each chapter and its general contents being as follows:<ref name=":02" />

# ''Panth Pragās Barnan'' – opens with introductory stanzas, gives a list of the ten Sikh gurus, and states that the reason Guru Gobind Singh established the Khalsa Panth was based upon a divine order.<ref name=":02" />
# ''Teg Pragās'' – describes the [[Battle of Bhangani]].<ref name=":02" />
# ''Rājan Het Saṅgrām'' – describes the [[Battle of Nadaun]].<ref name=":02" />
# battles with Khanzada and Hussain Khan<ref name=":02" />
# ''Bachan Pragās'' – end of the ''[[masand]]'' system and establishment of the Khalsa order.<ref name=":02" />
# ''Bachan Bichār'' – describing the paragon Khalsa.<ref name=":02" />
# ''Rahit Pragās'' – explaining the ''[[modus vivendi]]'' of the Khalsa, known as ''[[rehat]]''.<ref name=":02" />
# [[First Battle of Anandpur (1704)|First battle of Anandpur]]<ref name=":02" />
# Battle of Nirmohgarh<ref name=":02" />
# [[Battle of Basoli|Battles of Basoli]] and Kalmot<ref name=":02" />
# [[Second siege of Anandpur|Second battle of Anandpur]]<ref name=":02" />
# [[battle of Chamkaur]]<ref name=":02" />
# ''Kalā Pragās'' – covering the [[Guru Gobind Singh Marg]], when the tenth guru escaped from [[Chamkaur Sahib|Chamkaur]] and is travelling through the [[Malwa (Punjab)|Malwa region]], containing the [[battle of Muktsar]] and the ''[[Zafarnama (letter)|Zafarnama]]'' epistle.<ref name=":02" />
# ''Kīchak Mār'' – journey toward the south and the battle of Baghaur.<ref name=":02" />
# ''Zikr Bādshāhī'' – [[Mughal war of succession (1707–1709)]]<ref name=":02" />
# ''Mulāqāt Bādshāh Kī'' – meeting with Mughal emperor [[Bahadur Shah I|Bahadur Shah]].<ref name=":02" />
# ''Sāhibzādā kā Judh ar Zikr Rāh Kā'' – travels through [[Rajasthan]] and a skirmish at [[Chittorgarh]].<ref name=":02" />
# ''Jotī Jot Samāvaṇā'' – [[Joti Jot|death]] of Guru Gobind Singh<ref name=":02" />
# ''Agam Pragās'' – author's opinion on the future of the Khalsa<ref name=":02" />
# ''Sarb Upamā'' – obeisance to the all-pervading divine<ref name=":02" />

== History ==
This text was completed by the [[Kavi Darbar|court poet]] Sainapati in 1711.<ref name=":322">{{Cite book |last=Hasrat |first=B. J. |title=The Encyclopedia of Sikhism |publisher=Punjabi University |year=2004 |isbn=817380530X |editor-last=Singh |editor-first=Harbans |edition=2nd |volume=4: S–Z |location=Patiala |pages=179–181}}</ref><ref name=":9">{{Cite web |last=McLeod |first=William Hewat |date=11 August 2024 |title=Sikh literature |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Sikhism/Sikh-literature |access-date=25 August 2024 |website=Britannica}}</ref> Sainapati was a [[Kavi Darbar|patron poet]] of the Sikh guru.<ref name=":322" /> Whilst the author does not give his actual name or his pen-name in the work, the author can be identified through comparative analysis with works such as ''Chanakya Niti'' and ''Sri Sain Sukh'', which were written by Sainapati.<ref name=":02" />

Two manuscripts of the work were kept in the collection of the [[Sikh Reference Library]] at the [[Golden Temple]] complex in Amritsar but were lost in the events of [[Operation Blue Star]] in 1984.<ref name=":02" />

=== Dating ===
The text itself claiming it was written on [[Bhadon]] ''sudi'' 15, 1758 [[Vikram Samvat|Bk.]], corresponding to 6 September 1701 in the Gregorian calendar.<ref name=":02" /> However, since the work contains stories of Guru Gobind Singh's life from after 1701 and until his death in 1708, it is believed that 1701 is when the first draft of the Sri Gur Sobha was prepared by Sainapati, with the author working on it overtime until it was finished in 1711.<ref name=":02" /> According to Gurmukh Singh, Sainapati was enlarging the initial draft overtime in-order to produce the final work.<ref name=":02" />

=== Publishing ===
The text fell into obscurity until it was rediscovered by [[Akali Kaur Singh Nihang|Akali Kaur Singh]] and published by Bhai Nanak Singh Kirpal Singh Hazuria, Amritsar, in December 1925.<ref name=":02" /> [[Ganda Singh (historian)|Ganda Singh]] brought out another edition of the text that was published by the Punjabi University, Patiala in 1967.<ref name=":02" />

== Translation ==
The text was translated into English by Kulwant Singh in 2014.<ref name=":0" />

== References ==
<references />

[[Category:Sikh literature]]

Sri Gur Sobha - Revision history

Dlife: Starting Initial Details With Sources...