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{{short description|Verse letter from Guru Gobind Singh Sahib to Aurangzeb Mughal Emperor of India}}
{{Short description|Verse letter from Guru Gobind Singh Sahib to Aurangzeb Mughal Emperor in India}}
{{Other uses|Zafarnama (disambiguation){{!}}Zafarnama}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2021}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2021}}
{{Refimprove|date=July 2021}}
{{Infobox poem
{{Infobox poem
| name = Zafarnamah <br> ਜ਼ਫ਼ਰਨਾਮਾ <br> ‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌ظفرنامہ
| name             = Zafarnamah <br> ਜ਼ਫ਼ਰਨਾਮਾ <br>{{Nastaliq|ظفرنامه}}
| author = [[Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji]]
| author           = [[Guru Gobind Singh]]
|image   =File:Zafarnama.jpg  
| image             = File:Zafarnama.jpg
| country = [[Mughal Empire]] (present day [[India]])
| caption          = Folios of the copy prepared by Bhai Daya Singh of the original work
| written = 1705
| country           = [[Mughal Empire]] (present day [[India]])
| language = [[Persian language|Persian]]
| written           = 1705
| genre = Religion, Letter
| language         = [[Persian language|Persian]]
| subject = Apostlicity of Humanity
| genre             = Religion, Letter
| meter = Chantt
| subject           = War, religion, morality, and justice
| original_title = Zafarnāmāh
| meter             = Chantt
| couplets = 111
| original_title   = Zafarnāmāh
| followed_by =[[Akal Ustat]]
| couplets         = 111
| lines            = 111 verses<ref>{{cite book |last1=Makin |first1=Gursharan Singh |title=Zafarnama: The Epistle of Victory |publisher=Lahore Book Shop |isbn=8176471798 |pages=13 |edition=1st}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Singha |first1=H.S. |title=The Encyclopedia of Sikhism (Over 1000 Entries) |date=2000 |publisher=Hemkunt Press |isbn=9788170103011 |pages=54}}</ref>
| preceded_by      = [[Sri Charitropakhyan|Charitropakhyan]]
| followed_by       = [[Hikaaitaan|Hikayats]]
}}
}}
{{refimprove|date=July 2021}}
{{Dasam Granth sidebar}}
The '''''Zafarnāma''''' ({{lang-pa|ਜ਼ਫ਼ਰਨਾਮਾ}}, {{lang-fa|{{nastaliq|ظفرنامہ}}}}, lit. ''Epistle of Victory'') was a spiritual  victory letter sent by Sri Guru [[Gobind Singh]] in 1705 to the [[Mughal Empire|Mughal]] Emperor of India, [[Aurangzeb]] after the [[Battle of Chamkaur (1704)|Battle of Chamkaur]]. The letter is written in [[Persian language|Persian]] script and verse.<ref>{{cite book |title=Gobind Singh: Prophet of peace |isbn=9380213646}}</ref> There are more than one versions of the text. Another manuscript of 24 verses called 'Fatehnama' is also available. <ref>[https://srec.gurmat.info/srecarticles/sridasamgranthsahib/zafarnama.html Sikh Research and Education Center: Articles on Sri Dasam Granth Sahib:Zafarnama]</ref>The version currently in circulation found in the Dasam Granth, the compilation of Guru Gobind Singh’s poetry, is in Gurmukhi script and Persian verse.
Guru Gobind Singh  sent Bhai Daya Singh with the help of Naib Subedar Haji Sardar Shah to deliver the Zafarnama to Emperor Aurangzeb in Ahmednagar on 5 January 1707, the last day of Ramadaan that year.


In this letter, [[Guru Gobind Singh Ji]] reminds [[Aurangzeb]] how he and his soldiers had broken their oaths sworn upon the [[Quran|Qur'an]] when they promised safe passage to the Guru but launched a hidden attack of 100’000 men on forty famished Sikh soldiers. He tells Aurangzeb this was not a battle, it was a slaughter. As such, in spite of losing most of his Sikhs in this attack, he had won a moral victory over the Emperor who had broken his vows to Allah. He also states that despite sending a huge army to capture or kill the Guru, the Mughal forces did not succeed in their mission.
The '''''Zafarnāma''''' ([[Gurmukhi]]: ਜ਼ਫ਼ਰਨਾਮਾ; {{langx|fa|{{nastaliq|ظفرنامہ}}|lit=Epistle of Victory|translit=Zafarnameh}}) was a spiritual victory letter sent by Guru [[Gobind Singh]] in 1705 to the [[Mughal Empire|Mughal]] Emperor of India, [[Aurangzeb]], after the [[Battle of Chamkaur (1704)|Battle of Chamkaur]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Grewal |first=J. S. |title=Guru Gobind Singh (1666–1708): Master of the White Hawk |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2019 |edition=1st |chapter=Appendix 9A: Perspectives on the Zafarnama}}</ref>


In the 111 verses of this notice, Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji rebukes Aurangzeb for his weaknesses as a human being and for excesses as a leader. [[Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji]] also confirms his confidence and his unflinching faith in the Almighty even after suffering extreme personal loss of his father, mother, all four of his sons, and many fellow Sikhs to Aurangzeb's tyranny.
== Background ==
Sri Guru Guru Gobind Singh then invites Aurangzeb to meet him in Kangar village near Bathinda (Punjab) and assures him the Brar tribe will not harm him (Aurangzeb) as they are under his command.
In the aftermath of the [[Battle of Chamkaur|second battle of Chamkaur]], the Guru wanted to write a letter of condemnation to the Mughal emperor for breaking his oath swore upon the [[Quran]] by attacking the Sikhs who were evacuating the fort of Anandpur after a long siege when they were promised safe passage by Aurangzeb.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Nārā |first=Īshara Siṅgha |title=Safarnama and Zafarnama: Being an Account of the Travels of Guru Gobind Singh and the Epistle of Moral Victory Written by Him to Emperor Aurangzeb |publisher=Nara Publications |year=1985 |pages=129–130 |translator-last=Singh |translator-first=Joginder}}</ref><ref name=":1" /> The Guru did not rely upon the Mughal couriers to deliver the letter as he did not trust them to do so and he wanted to know how the emperor would react to its contents so he decided to send [[Daya Singh]] and [[Dharam Singh (Sikhism)|Dharam Singh]] to deliver the letter personally.<ref name=":2" /> Daya Singh had previously delivered a letter from the Guru addressed to the emperor from Ghulal on 26 December 1704.<ref name=":2" /> Guru Gobind Singh sent 5 Singhs including Daya Singh,<ref name=":2" /> Dharam Singh<ref name=":2" /> and Sambhal Singh with the help of Naib Subedar Haji Sardar Shah to deliver the Zafarnama to Emperor Aurangzeb in Ahmednagar on 5 January 1707, the last day of Ramadaan that year.{{Cn|date=June 2023}}
"On the way there will be no danger to your life, for, the whole tribe of Brars accepts my command. (59)"


Of the 111 verses, the maximum numbers of 34 verses are to praise God; 32 deal with Aurangzeb’s invitation for the Guru to meet him and the Guru's refusal to meet the Emperor&nbsp;– instead the Guru asks Aurangzeb to visit him; 24 verses detail the events in the [[Battle of Chamkaur]], which took place on 22 December 1704; 15 verses reprove [[Aurangzeb]] for breaking promise given by him and by his agents to the Guru; In verses 78 and 79, Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji had also warned Aurangzeb about the resolve of the [[Khalsa]] not to rest till his evil empire is destroyed; 6 verses praise Aurangzeb. In spite of losing his four beloved sons, his Kingdom of Anandpur Sahib, Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji thanked the God for everything. He accepted the fortune and mentioned in Zafarnama that he still won as he didn't betray or cheat. He and his Sikh army fought courageously and laid their lives for the good. They fought a war against evil with pristine intention and no one with bad intentions can defeat him as God is always by his side.
The letter was written at Kangar village in modern-day Bathinda district and dispatched from the same place, or from the nearby village of Dina in modern-day Moga district.<ref name=":02">{{Cite book |last=Singh |first=Harbans |title=The Encyclopedia of Sikhism |publisher=Punjabi University, Patiala |volume=I: A-D |pages=484–485}}</ref><ref name=":12">{{Cite book |last=Fenech |first=Louis E. |title=The Sikh Zafar-namah of Guru Gobind Singh: A Discursive Blade in the Heart of the Mughal Empire |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2013 |isbn=9780199931439 |pages=24–25}}</ref> According to Sikh tradition, the village of Dina located near the district's border with the neighbouring [[Bathinda district]] is where [[Guru Gobind Singh]] rested for a few days after the [[Battle of Chamkaur|Second Battle of Chamkaur]].<ref name=":02" /> Scholar Louis E. Fenech states the Guru rested at Dina at the house (specifically an upper story room called a ''chubārā'') of a local Sikh named Bhai Desu Tarkhan after sending the Zafarnama from Kangar village, entrusted in the hands of Bhai Dharam Singh and Bhai Daya Singh.<ref name=":12" /> A gurdwara, ''Zafarnama Gurdwara Lohgarh Sahib Pind Dina Patishahi Dasvin'', commemorates his stay at Dina, Moga, and a sign there claims the Guru stayed at the location for 3 months and 13 days.<ref name=":12" /> [[Harbans Singh]] in ''The Encyclopedia of Sikhism'' states the Guru only stayed at Dina for a few days conversely to the claims of the Gurdwara.<ref name=":02" /> He further states that he stayed with two local Sikhs named Chaudhry Shamir and Lakhmir, the grandsons of a local chieftain named Rai Jodh, whom had served the sixth Sikh guru, Hargobind, and fought and died at the [[Battle of Lahira|Battle of Mehraj]].<ref name=":02" /> Guru Gobind Singh gathered an army of hundreds of locals from Dina and the surrounding area and continued on his journey.<ref name=":02" />


Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji
== Content ==
wrote this letter from the village of Dina in [[Malwa (Punjab)|Malwa region]] of the [[Punjab region|Punjab]]. ''Sri'' ''Guru Gobind Singh Ji'' spent few days at Dina and then moved to Dod, [[Kotkapura]], [[Dhilwan Kalan]], [[Jaitu]], [[Shri Muktsar Sahib]], [[Lakhi Jangal]], and [[Damdama Sahib]]. Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji's last fight with Mughal Army happened at Khidrane Di Dhaab, now called [[Sri Muktsar Sahib]].
[[Christopher Shackle]] divides the work into five parts:<ref name=":1" />


One of the most quoted verses from the ''Zafarnama'' is verse 22:
# the invocation of God
# the loss of Anandpur
# the battle of Chamkaur
# the address to Aurangzeb
# the conclusion


:''"Chun kar az hameh heelate dar guzasht,''
In this letter, [[Guru Gobind Singh Ji|Guru Gobind Singh]] reminds [[Aurangzeb]] how he and his soldiers had broken their oaths sworn upon the [[Quran|Qur'an]],<ref>{{Cite book |last=Singh |first=Guru Gobind |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NnbebvjLAPUC&pg=PT7 |title=Zafarnama |date=2015-09-15 |publisher=Penguin UK |isbn=978-81-8475-595-4 |language=en}}</ref> when they promised safe passage to the Guru but launched a hidden attack of an army described as much larger, on forty famished Sikh soldiers. He tells Aurangzeb this was not a battle, it was a slaughter. As such, in spite of losing most of his Sikhs in this attack, he had won a moral victory over the Emperor who had broken his vows to Allah. He also states that despite sending a huge army to capture or kill the Guru, the Mughal forces did not succeed in their mission.
:''Halal ast burdan bi-shamsheer dast.''
:When all has been tried, yet
:Justice is not in sight,
:It is then right to pick up the sword,
:It is then right to fight"<ref>{{Cite book|title=Zafarnama|last=Singh|first=Guru Gobind|publisher=Penguin Books India|year=2011|isbn=9780670085569|location=New Delhi, India|pages=23|translator-last=Sarna|translator-first=Navtej}}</ref>


== Notes ==
In the 111 verses of this notice, Guru Gobind Singh rebukes Aurangzeb for his weaknesses as a human being and for his lack of morality as a leader.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Singh |first=Guru Gobind |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NnbebvjLAPUC&pg=PT6 |title=Zafarnama |date=2015-09-15 |publisher=Penguin UK |isbn=978-81-8475-595-4 |language=en}}</ref> [[Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji|Guru Gobind Singh]] also confirms his confidence and his unflinching faith in the Almighty even after suffering extreme personal loss of his father, mother, all four of his sons, and many fellow Sikhs to Aurangzeb's tyranny.
It is said that a copy of the ''Zafarnama'', written by the Guru himself, was found with the Mahant of Patna Sahib in 1890 and one Babu Jagan Nath made a copy; this copy was somehow misplaced by him. Since Babu Jagan Nath was himself a scholar in [[Persian language]], he could reproduce it from his memory and got it printed in Nagri Parcharni Patrika in Benaras. He is also believed to have sent a copy to Sardar Umrao Singh Shergill in [[Amritsar]] who is said to have given it to Khalsa college and which in turn reproduced in Makhzan-e-Twarikh Sikhan. In Punjab newspapers, it first appeared in the Khalsa Samachar of 16 July 1942. Then in 1944, Kapur Singh ICS published it in Urdu Ajit of Lahore under the heading "Fatehnama". It is quite possible that in the process of translations and publications of the ''Zafarnama'' at different stages, some verses were not reproduced correctly and what we have today is not the original ''Zafarnama'' of the Guru in its entirety. The abrupt end of the ''Zafarnama'' also indicates that it is not complete and that some verses have been left out. Objections raised by some scholars on the authenticity of a few verses may be viewed in this context.
Guru Gobind Singh then invites Aurangzeb to meet him in Kangar village near Bathinda (Punjab) and assures him the Brar tribe will not harm him (Aurangzeb) as they are under his command.


==Criticism==
"On the way there will be no danger to your life, for, the whole tribe of Brars accepts my command."


As mentioned above, there is more than one version available. Scholars have criticized the text to have been tampered with or fabricated,<ref>Sikh Research and Education Center: Articles on Sri Dasam Granth Sahib: [https://srec.gurmat.info/srecarticles/sridasamgranthsahib/zafarnama.html Zafarnama]</ref> based on the following content:
Of the 111 or 112<ref name=":3">{{Cite book |last=Gandhi |first=Surjit Singh |title=A Historian's Approach to Guru Gobind Singh |publisher=Singh Bros. |year=2004 |isbn=9788172053062 |pages=293}}</ref> verses, the maximum numbers of 34 verses are to praise God; 32 deal with Aurangzeb’s invitation for the Guru to meet him and the Guru's refusal to meet the Emperor – instead the Guru asks Aurangzeb to visit him; 24 verses detail the events in the [[Battle of Chamkaur]], which took place on 22 December 1704; 15 verses reprove [[Aurangzeb]] for breaking promise given by him and by his agents to the Guru; In verses 78 and 79, Guru Gobind Singh had also warned Aurangzeb about the resolve of the [[Khalsa]] not to rest till the Mughal Empire is destroyed; 6 verses praise Aurangzeb.


1. According to the text, Guru Gobind Singh addresses Aurangzeb, the person responsible for the murder of his father Guru Tegh Bahadur and his 2 sons, as 'Sarvar-i-Kainat', Sovereign of Universe, which can only be used for God. <ref>Search Gurbani-Sri Dasam Granth Sahib, Zafarnama, [https://www.searchgurbani.com/dasam-granth/page/2748 Verse 66.1]</ref><br>
In the work, the criteria for invoking [[Dharamyudh (Sikhism)|dharamyudh]] is listed:<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Deol |first=Taran |date=7 October 2019 |title=Zafarnama, the 'Victory Letter' That Guru Gobind Singh Wrote to Aurangzeb |work=The Print |url=https://theprint.in/theprint-profile/zafarnama-victory-letter-guru-gobind-singh-wrote-aurangzeb/301792/}}</ref><ref name=":1" />
2. The text shows Guru Gobind Singh indulging in self-praise while challenging the 86 yr old Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb to a personal duel. It shows the Guru in poor light, bent upon avenging his son's death, calling himself a hooded cobra:<br>
"What, if you have killed my four sons, the hooded cobra still sits coiled up".<ref>Search Gurbani-Sri Dasam Granth Sahib, Zafarnama, [https://www.searchgurbani.com/dasam-granth/page/2754 Verse 78.1]</ref>
<br>
3. The most objectionable verse is where the Guru proudly proclaims himself as 'Butshikan' (idol breaker) and gloats that he broke the idols of Hindu temples during his campaign to subdue the Hill Rajahs-<br>
"I vanquished the vicious hill chiefs, they were idol-worshippers and I am idol-breaker".<ref>Search Gurbani-Sri Dasam Granth Sahib, Zafarnama, [https://www.searchgurbani.com/dasam-granth/page/2756 Verse 95]</ref>  
<br>
If this is true, then there is no difference between Aurangzeb, the tyrannical fanatic, and the Guru, who claimed to be the 'Saviour of Dharma'. This is an extreme insult to Guru Gobind Singh, who advised his own father Guru Tegh Bahadur to sacrifice his own life for the sake of Dharma. Moreover, his writings in [[Dasam Granth]] are diametrically opposite to these claims of breaking idols. His obeisances to Goddess [[Bhavani]] and the incarnations of Lord [[Vishnu]] are all examples of the [[Saguna Brahman]] (personal deity), which is intrinsic to idol-worship.


{{Quotation|<poem>O great Yogmaya ! Thou art the eternal Bhavani in the past, present and future</poem>|Guru Gobind Singh|Sri Dasam Granth|Chaubῑs Autār|Krishnā Avtār 625 <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.searchgurbani.com/dasam-granth/page/625|title=Search Gurbani: Dasam Granth Sahib}}</ref>}}<br>
{{Blockquote|text={{Verse translation|lang=fa|{{nq|چو کار از همه حیلتی در گسست}}
{{nq|حلالست بردن بشمشیر دست}}|All modes of redressing the wrong having failed,
raising of sword is pious and just.}}|author=Guru Gobind Singh|title=''Zafarnama'', verse 22}}


{{Quotation|<poem>O great Yogmaya ! He whose Glory is known in all the three worlds, even Sheshnaga could not comprehend whose limits and even the Vedas could not know whose myself, His name is Krishna, the son of Nand</poem>|Guru Gobind Singh|Sri Dasam Granth|Chaubῑs Autār|Krishnā Avtār 828 <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.searchgurbani.com/dasam-granth/page/828|title=Search Gurbani: Dasam Granth Sahib}}</ref>}}<br>
The original Persian line, which has several translations, is borrowed almost word-for-word from [[Saadi Shirazi|Saadi]]'s works which were popular across the [[Persianate society|Persian-speaking Islamic world]], specifically the first chapter of [[Bustan (book)|Bustan]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://fa.wikisource.org/wiki/%DA%A9%D9%84%DB%8C%D8%A7%D8%AA_%D8%B3%D8%B9%D8%AF%DB%8C/%D8%A8%D9%88%D8%B3%D8%AA%D8%A7%D9%86/%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%A8_%D8%A7%D9%88%D9%84/%D9%87%D9%85%DB%8C_%D8%AA%D8%A7_%D8%A8%D8%B1%D8%A2%DB%8C%D8%AF_%D8%A8%D9%87_%D8%AA%D8%AF%D8%A8%DB%8C%D8%B1_%DA%A9%D8%A7%D8%B1 |language=fa |title=Bustan, chapter 1}}</ref> (a chapter which deals with "how to treat a tyrant who strikes fear in the hearts of the pure") and the eighth chapter of [[Gulistan (book)|Gulistan]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://fa.wikisource.org/wiki/%DA%A9%D9%84%DB%8C%D8%A7%D8%AA_%D8%B3%D8%B9%D8%AF%DB%8C/%DA%AF%D9%84%D8%B3%D8%AA%D8%A7%D9%86/%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%A8_%D9%87%D8%B4%D8%AA%D9%85 |language=fa |title=Gulistan, chapter 8}}</ref>, with the replacement of دست (hand; figuratively: trick) with کار (deed; figuratively: strategy). It serves as a recontextualization of a popular work which would be familiar to Aurangzeb, with the purpose of undercutting Aurangzeb's authority by using ideas from his favorite works of literature against him. This line was later appropriated by [[Lahore Singh Sabha]] intellectuals, unaware of the connection to Saadi, as a summary of the Sikh ideals of [[Miri Piri|miri piri]] and [[Dharamyudh (Sikhism)|dharam yuddh]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Fenech |first1=Louis E. |title=The Sikh Zafar-namah of Guru Gobind Singh: A Discursive Blade in the Heart of the Mughal Empire |date=2013 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-993143-9 |pages=55-56}}</ref>


{{Quotation|<poem>O great Yogmaya ! He, who will listen to this story and sing it, he will be free from the sufferings and sins. The reward of the devotion to Vishnu (and his incarnation Ram) that no ailment of any kind will touch him.</poem>|Guru Gobind Singh|Sri Dasam Granth|Chaubῑs Autār|Rām Avtār 546 <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.searchgurbani.com/dasam-granth/page/546|title=Search Gurbani: Dasam Granth Sahib}}</ref>}}
The work is sometimes considered to be the first of the ''[[Hikaaitaan|Hikayats]]'', with the remaining 11 works following it in the Dasam Granth.<ref name=":1" />


==References==
== Language ==
{{Reflist}}
The letter is written in [[Persian language|Persian]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Gobind Singh: Prophet of peace |isbn=9380213646}}</ref> However, in one recension there are four verses in [[Braj Bhasha|Braj]].<ref name=":3" /> It was originally written in the [[Perso-Arabic]] script rather than in [[Gurmukhi]].<ref name="hss54">{{cite book |last=Singha |first=H. S. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gqIbJz7vMn0C |title=The Encyclopedia of Sikhism (over 1000 Entries) |publisher=Hemkunt Press |year=2000 |isbn=978-81-7010-301-1}}, pp. 53–54</ref> The version currently in circulation found in the Dasam Granth, the compilation of Guru Gobind Singh’s poetry, is in Gurmukhi script and Persian verse. Copies printed and sold today are usually in Gurmukhi script.<ref name=":1" />


==External links==
== Manuscripts ==
* [http://archimedespress.co.uk/books Sri Dasam Granth Sahib: Questions and Answers: The book on Sri Dasam Granth Sahib]  
[[File:Opening folio of a copy prepared by Bhai Daya Singh of Guru Gobind Singh's Zafarnama composition.jpg|thumb|Opening folio of a copy prepared by [[Daya Singh|Bhai Daya Singh]] (one of the inaugural/original quintet of Panj Piare) of Guru Gobind Singh's Zafarnama composition. Digitized by [[Panjab Digital Library]].]]
A still-extant copy of the original document is said to have been prepared by [[Daya Singh|Bhai Daya Singh]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Sharma |first=Sarika |date=23 April 2023 |title=20 Years of Panjab Digital Library: 6.5 Crore Manuscripts & Counting |work=The Tribune |url=https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/features/20-years-of-panjab-digital-library-6-5-crore-manuscripts-counting-500128}}</ref>
 
== Authenticity ==
Academics Anil Chander Banerjee and Christopher Shackle believe the extant work is not the authentic one as originally written by Guru Gobind Singh.<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":1" /> According to Banerjee, the current text is unsuited for [[Diplomacy|political correspondence]] and the original letter may have been written in [[prose]] which was later transformed into a [[Poetry|poetic]] piece, which is the present composition that has been handed down.<ref name=":3" /> A similar position was held by Shackle, who thought the original work was in prose but was later rewritten in a poetic style, emulated upon the epic [[Metre (poetry)|metres]] of the [[Ferdowsi]]'s ''[[Shahnameh|Shahnama]]'', effectively borrowing elements of Islamicate literature to have a more powerful effect of undercutting the "moral authority" of the recipient, Aurangzeb, a devout Muslim.<ref name=":1" /> One view is that the original prose of the authentic letter by the Guru was transformed into poetry by [[Bhai Nand Lal]], but Banerjee finds holes in this theory as the text is incorporated as part of the Dasam Granth, presented as the Guru's writings alongside other works of his.<ref name=":3" /> 
 
The ''Zafarnama'' is similar to the ''[[Fatehnama]]'', another purported work ascribed to the tenth Guru.<ref name=":3" /> The Fatehnama survives as a work of complete couplets and one incomplete couplet.<ref name=":3" />
 
== Translations ==
The work was first translated into [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]].<ref name=":0" /> It has been translated into [[English language|English]] by [[Navtej Sarna]].<ref name=":0" />
 
== See also ==
 
* [[Sikh scriptures]]
* [[Guru Granth Sahib]]
 
== References ==
{{reflist}}
 
== External links ==
* [http://archimedespress.co.uk/books Sri Dasam Granth Sahib: Questions and Answers: The book on Sri Dasam Granth Sahib] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151212051909/http://archimedespress.co.uk/books |date=12 December 2015 }}
*[http://www.panjabdigilib.org/webuser/searches/displayPage.jsp?ID=369&page=1&CategoryID=3&Searched= Manuscripts of Zafarnama]
*[http://www.panjabdigilib.org/webuser/searches/displayPage.jsp?ID=369&page=1&CategoryID=3&Searched= Manuscripts of Zafarnama]
*[http://www.panjabdigilib.org/webuser/searches/displayPage.jsp?ID=15911&page=1&CategoryID=1&Searched= Download English Translation of Zafarnama]
*[http://www.panjabdigilib.org/webuser/searches/displayPage.jsp?ID=15911&page=1&CategoryID=1&Searched= Download English Translation of Zafarnama]
*[http://www.sikhs.org/transl5.htm English Translation of Zafarnama]
*[http://www.sikhs.org/transl5.htm English Translation of Zafarnama]
*[http://www.zafarnama.com/Pages/Download.html Zafarnama in Gurmukhi, Perso-Arabic and Latin script with English translations]
*[http://www.zafarnama.com/Pages/Download.html Zafarnama in Gurmukhi, Perso-Arabic and Latin script with English translations] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110517032217/http://www.zafarnama.com/Pages/Download.html |date=17 May 2011 }}
*[http://www.5abi.com/itihasak/zafarnama-h1.htm: Epistle of Victory]
*[http://www.5abi.com/itihasak/zafarnama-h1.htm: Epistle of Victory]{{Dead link|date=July 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20050301110822/http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_612147,0011000100070003.htm Hindustan Times, The Zafarnama]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20050301110822/http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_612147,0011000100070003.htm Hindustan Times, The Zafarnama]
*[http://www.dhansikhi.com/category/images/zafarnama/ Zafarnama Quotes by DHANSIKHI]
*[http://www.dhansikhi.com/category/images/zafarnama/ Zafarnama Quotes by DHANSIKHI]


{{Dasven Padshah Da Granth}}
{{Dasam Granth}}
 
{{Sikhism}}
{{Sikhism}}


[[Category:Sikh literature]]
[[Category:Dasam Granth]]
[[Category:History of Sikhism]]
[[Category:History of Sikhism]]
[[Category:Persian-language literature]]
[[Category:Persian-language literature]]
[[Category:Dasam Granth]]
[[Category:Indian literature]]
[[Category:Indian literature]]
[[Category:Indian religious texts]]
[[Category:Indian religious texts]]
[[Category:Indian manuscripts]]
[[Category:Indian manuscripts]]

Latest revision as of 22:56, 26 February 2026


For other uses, see Zafarnama.
Zafarnamah
ਜ਼ਫ਼ਰਨਾਮਾ
ظفرنامه 
by Guru Gobind Singh
Folios of the copy prepared by Bhai Daya Singh of the original work
Original titleZafarnāmāh
Written1705
CountryMughal Empire (present day India)
LanguagePersian
Subject(s)War, religion, morality, and justice
Genre(s)Religion, Letter
MeterChantt
Lines111 verses[1][2]
Preceded byCharitropakhyan
Followed byHikayats
Part of a series on
Dasam Granth
Dasam Granth - (ਦਸਮ ਗ੍ਰੰਥ ਸਾਹਿਬ)
Banis
Other Related Banis
Various aspects
Idolatry Prohibition

The Zafarnāma (Gurmukhi: ਜ਼ਫ਼ਰਨਾਮਾ; Script error: The function "langx" does not exist.) was a spiritual victory letter sent by Guru Gobind Singh in 1705 to the Mughal Emperor of India, Aurangzeb, after the Battle of Chamkaur.[3]

Background[edit | edit source]

In the aftermath of the second battle of Chamkaur, the Guru wanted to write a letter of condemnation to the Mughal emperor for breaking his oath swore upon the Quran by attacking the Sikhs who were evacuating the fort of Anandpur after a long siege when they were promised safe passage by Aurangzeb.[4][3] The Guru did not rely upon the Mughal couriers to deliver the letter as he did not trust them to do so and he wanted to know how the emperor would react to its contents so he decided to send Daya Singh and Dharam Singh to deliver the letter personally.[4] Daya Singh had previously delivered a letter from the Guru addressed to the emperor from Ghulal on 26 December 1704.[4] Guru Gobind Singh sent 5 Singhs including Daya Singh,[4] Dharam Singh[4] and Sambhal Singh with the help of Naib Subedar Haji Sardar Shah to deliver the Zafarnama to Emperor Aurangzeb in Ahmednagar on 5 January 1707, the last day of Ramadaan that year.[citation needed]

The letter was written at Kangar village in modern-day Bathinda district and dispatched from the same place, or from the nearby village of Dina in modern-day Moga district.[5][6] According to Sikh tradition, the village of Dina located near the district's border with the neighbouring Bathinda district is where Guru Gobind Singh rested for a few days after the Second Battle of Chamkaur.[5] Scholar Louis E. Fenech states the Guru rested at Dina at the house (specifically an upper story room called a chubārā) of a local Sikh named Bhai Desu Tarkhan after sending the Zafarnama from Kangar village, entrusted in the hands of Bhai Dharam Singh and Bhai Daya Singh.[6] A gurdwara, Zafarnama Gurdwara Lohgarh Sahib Pind Dina Patishahi Dasvin, commemorates his stay at Dina, Moga, and a sign there claims the Guru stayed at the location for 3 months and 13 days.[6] Harbans Singh in The Encyclopedia of Sikhism states the Guru only stayed at Dina for a few days conversely to the claims of the Gurdwara.[5] He further states that he stayed with two local Sikhs named Chaudhry Shamir and Lakhmir, the grandsons of a local chieftain named Rai Jodh, whom had served the sixth Sikh guru, Hargobind, and fought and died at the Battle of Mehraj.[5] Guru Gobind Singh gathered an army of hundreds of locals from Dina and the surrounding area and continued on his journey.[5]

Content[edit | edit source]

Christopher Shackle divides the work into five parts:[3]

  1. the invocation of God
  2. the loss of Anandpur
  3. the battle of Chamkaur
  4. the address to Aurangzeb
  5. the conclusion

In this letter, Guru Gobind Singh reminds Aurangzeb how he and his soldiers had broken their oaths sworn upon the Qur'an,[7] when they promised safe passage to the Guru but launched a hidden attack of an army described as much larger, on forty famished Sikh soldiers. He tells Aurangzeb this was not a battle, it was a slaughter. As such, in spite of losing most of his Sikhs in this attack, he had won a moral victory over the Emperor who had broken his vows to Allah. He also states that despite sending a huge army to capture or kill the Guru, the Mughal forces did not succeed in their mission.

In the 111 verses of this notice, Guru Gobind Singh rebukes Aurangzeb for his weaknesses as a human being and for his lack of morality as a leader.[8] Guru Gobind Singh also confirms his confidence and his unflinching faith in the Almighty even after suffering extreme personal loss of his father, mother, all four of his sons, and many fellow Sikhs to Aurangzeb's tyranny. Guru Gobind Singh then invites Aurangzeb to meet him in Kangar village near Bathinda (Punjab) and assures him the Brar tribe will not harm him (Aurangzeb) as they are under his command.

"On the way there will be no danger to your life, for, the whole tribe of Brars accepts my command."

Of the 111 or 112[9] verses, the maximum numbers of 34 verses are to praise God; 32 deal with Aurangzeb’s invitation for the Guru to meet him and the Guru's refusal to meet the Emperor – instead the Guru asks Aurangzeb to visit him; 24 verses detail the events in the Battle of Chamkaur, which took place on 22 December 1704; 15 verses reprove Aurangzeb for breaking promise given by him and by his agents to the Guru; In verses 78 and 79, Guru Gobind Singh had also warned Aurangzeb about the resolve of the Khalsa not to rest till the Mughal Empire is destroyed; 6 verses praise Aurangzeb.

In the work, the criteria for invoking dharamyudh is listed:[10][3]

{| role="presentation" style="margin-left:1em;"

|- style="vertical-align: top;"

|

چو کار از همه حیلتی در گسست
حلالست بردن بشمشیر دست

|style="padding-left: 2em;"|

All modes of redressing the wrong having failed,
raising of sword is pious and just.

|- style="display: none;" | |style="padding-left: 2em;"|

|}

— Guru Gobind Singh, Zafarnama, verse 22

The original Persian line, which has several translations, is borrowed almost word-for-word from Saadi's works which were popular across the Persian-speaking Islamic world, specifically the first chapter of Bustan[11] (a chapter which deals with "how to treat a tyrant who strikes fear in the hearts of the pure") and the eighth chapter of Gulistan[12], with the replacement of دست (hand; figuratively: trick) with کار (deed; figuratively: strategy). It serves as a recontextualization of a popular work which would be familiar to Aurangzeb, with the purpose of undercutting Aurangzeb's authority by using ideas from his favorite works of literature against him. This line was later appropriated by Lahore Singh Sabha intellectuals, unaware of the connection to Saadi, as a summary of the Sikh ideals of miri piri and dharam yuddh.[13]

The work is sometimes considered to be the first of the Hikayats, with the remaining 11 works following it in the Dasam Granth.[3]

Language[edit | edit source]

The letter is written in Persian.[14] However, in one recension there are four verses in Braj.[9] It was originally written in the Perso-Arabic script rather than in Gurmukhi.[15] The version currently in circulation found in the Dasam Granth, the compilation of Guru Gobind Singh’s poetry, is in Gurmukhi script and Persian verse. Copies printed and sold today are usually in Gurmukhi script.[3]

Manuscripts[edit | edit source]

Opening folio of a copy prepared by Bhai Daya Singh (one of the inaugural/original quintet of Panj Piare) of Guru Gobind Singh's Zafarnama composition. Digitized by Panjab Digital Library.

A still-extant copy of the original document is said to have been prepared by Bhai Daya Singh.[16]

Authenticity[edit | edit source]

Academics Anil Chander Banerjee and Christopher Shackle believe the extant work is not the authentic one as originally written by Guru Gobind Singh.[9][3] According to Banerjee, the current text is unsuited for political correspondence and the original letter may have been written in prose which was later transformed into a poetic piece, which is the present composition that has been handed down.[9] A similar position was held by Shackle, who thought the original work was in prose but was later rewritten in a poetic style, emulated upon the epic metres of the Ferdowsi's Shahnama, effectively borrowing elements of Islamicate literature to have a more powerful effect of undercutting the "moral authority" of the recipient, Aurangzeb, a devout Muslim.[3] One view is that the original prose of the authentic letter by the Guru was transformed into poetry by Bhai Nand Lal, but Banerjee finds holes in this theory as the text is incorporated as part of the Dasam Granth, presented as the Guru's writings alongside other works of his.[9]

The Zafarnama is similar to the Fatehnama, another purported work ascribed to the tenth Guru.[9] The Fatehnama survives as a work of complete couplets and one incomplete couplet.[9]

Translations[edit | edit source]

The work was first translated into Punjabi.[10] It has been translated into English by Navtej Sarna.[10]

See also[edit | edit source]

References[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ Makin, Gursharan Singh. Zafarnama: The Epistle of Victory (1st ed.). Lahore Book Shop. p. 13. ISBN 8176471798.
  2. ↑ Singha, H.S. (2000). The Encyclopedia of Sikhism (Over 1000 Entries). Hemkunt Press. p. 54. ISBN 9788170103011.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 Grewal, J. S. (2019). "Appendix 9A: Perspectives on the Zafarnama". Guru Gobind Singh (1666–1708): Master of the White Hawk (1st ed.). Oxford University Press.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Nārā, Īshara Siṅgha (1985). Safarnama and Zafarnama: Being an Account of the Travels of Guru Gobind Singh and the Epistle of Moral Victory Written by Him to Emperor Aurangzeb. Translated by Singh, Joginder. Nara Publications. pp. 129–130.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Singh, Harbans. The Encyclopedia of Sikhism. Vol. I: A-D. Punjabi University, Patiala. pp. 484–485.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Fenech, Louis E. (2013). The Sikh Zafar-namah of Guru Gobind Singh: A Discursive Blade in the Heart of the Mughal Empire. Oxford University Press. pp. 24–25. ISBN 9780199931439.
  7. ↑ Singh, Guru Gobind (15 September 2015). Zafarnama. Penguin UK. ISBN 978-81-8475-595-4.
  8. ↑ Singh, Guru Gobind (15 September 2015). Zafarnama. Penguin UK. ISBN 978-81-8475-595-4.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 9.6 Gandhi, Surjit Singh (2004). A Historian's Approach to Guru Gobind Singh. Singh Bros. p. 293. ISBN 9788172053062.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Deol, Taran (7 October 2019). "Zafarnama, the 'Victory Letter' That Guru Gobind Singh Wrote to Aurangzeb". The Print.
  11. ↑ "Bustan, chapter 1" (in فارسی).
  12. ↑ "Gulistan, chapter 8" (in فارسی).
  13. ↑ Fenech, Louis E. (2013). The Sikh Zafar-namah of Guru Gobind Singh: A Discursive Blade in the Heart of the Mughal Empire. Oxford University Press. pp. 55–56. ISBN 978-0-19-993143-9.
  14. ↑ Gobind Singh: Prophet of peace. ISBN 9380213646.
  15. ↑ Singha, H. S. (2000). The Encyclopedia of Sikhism (over 1000 Entries). Hemkunt Press. ISBN 978-81-7010-301-1., pp. 53–54
  16. ↑ Sharma, Sarika (23 April 2023). "20 Years of Panjab Digital Library: 6.5 Crore Manuscripts & Counting". The Tribune.

External links[edit | edit source]

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