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{{short description|holy book in Sikhism}}
{{short description|Secondary scripture of Sikhism}}
{{italic title}}
{{italic title}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2020}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2020}}
[[File:Dasam Granth frontispiece British Library Manuscript Or 6298 1825-1850 CE.jpg|thumb|An early 19th-century ''Dasam Granth'' manuscript frontispiece (British Library MS Or.6298)|261x261px]]
 
{{Infobox religious text
|religion=[[Sikhism]]
|name=Dasam Granth<br />ਦਸਮ ਗ੍ਰੰਥ
|image=The "Jaap Sahib" from the 1765 "Patna Missal" Dasam Granth Manuscript (cropped).jpg
|caption=Folio of the ''Jaap Sahib'' chapter from the 1765 ''Patna Missal'' manuscript of the Dasam Granth
|author=[[Guru Gobind Singh]]<ref>{{cite book |url=https://aarweb.org/AARMBR/AARMBR/Publications-and-News-/Book-Series/Books/Religion-in-Translation-Series/Debating-the-Dasam-Granth.aspx#:~:text=The%20controversy%20stems%20from%20two,liaisons%20between%20men%20and%20women. |title=Debating the Dasam Granth |series=Religion in Translation |publisher=American Academy of Religion |year=2011 |isbn=978-0199755066}}</ref>
|language=[[Sant Bhasha]] (specifically predominantly [[Braj Bhasha|Braj]],<ref>{{cite book |last1=Fenech |first1=Louis E. |title=Historical Dictionary of Sikhism. |date=2014 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield Publishers |location=Lanham |isbn=9781442236011 |pages=191 |edition=3rd}}</ref> with influences of [[Awadhi language|Awadhi]], [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]], [[Kauravi dialect|Kauravi]], [[Arabic]], and [[Persian language|Persian]])<ref>{{cite book |author1=Sukhbir Singh Kapoor |author2=Mohinder Kaur Kapoor |title=Dasam Granth: An Introductory Study |date=2009 |publisher=Hemkunt Press |isbn=9788170103257 |page=39}}</ref>}}
{{Dasam Granth Sidebar}}
{{Dasam Granth Sidebar}}
The name '''''Dasam Granth''''' is given to a collection of various manuscripts in [[Sikhi]] containing compositions attributed to [[Guru Gobind Singh]].<ref name="hss54" /><ref name="britdasam">[https://www.britannica.com/topic/Dasam-Granth Dasam Granth], Encyclopaedia Britannica</ref><ref name="SinghFenech2014p136">{{cite book|author=Robin Rinehart|editor=Pashaura Singh and Louis E Fenech|title=The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8I0NAwAAQBAJ |year=2014|publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-969930-8 |pages=136–138 }}</ref><ref name="McLeod1990">{{cite book|last=McLeod|first=W. H.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7xIT7OMSJ44C|title=Textual Sources for the Study of Sikhism|publisher=University of Chicago Press|year=1990|isbn=978-0-226-56085-4|author-link=W. H. McLeod}}, pages 2, 67</ref> Guru Gobind Singh ordained the sacred text Guru Granth Sahib as his successor, eternally ending the line of human Gurus. It is the only holy scripture of the Sikhs and regarded by Sikhs as the living embodiment of Ten Gurus.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Singh|first=Kashmir|date=2004|title=Sri Guru Granth Sahib - A Juristic Person|url=https://www.scribd.com/document/22527650/kashmir-singh-sri-guru-granth-sahib-a-juristic-person|url-status=live|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=|website=}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Samachar|first=Asia|date=August 21, 2020|title=Reignition of Dasam Granth controversy|work=Asia Samachar|url=https://asiasamachar.com/2020/08/21/reignition-dasam-granth-controversy/|url-status=live|access-date=}}</ref> Bachiter Natak is a part of ("Dasam Granth") composition<ref>{{Cite web|last=Kaur|first=Jugraj|date=6 Jan 2013|title=Bibi Jugraj Kaur - Dasam Granth Interview|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LsSnCbZ6O4|url-status=live|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=|website=}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Singh Aulakh|first=Dr Ajith|title=Bachitar Natak|publisher=B. Chattar Singh Jiwan Singh Amritsar|year=1980|isbn=|location=India|pages=}}</ref>
{{Sikhism sidebar}}
The '''{{Transliteration|pa|Dasam Granth}}''' ([[Gurmukhi]]: ਦਸਮ ਗ੍ਰੰਥ ''dasama gratha'') is a collection of various poetic compositions attributed to [[Guru Gobind Singh]].<ref name="hss54" /><ref name="britdasam">[https://www.britannica.com/topic/Dasam-Granth Dasam Granth], Encyclopædia Britannica</ref><ref name="SinghFenech2014p136">{{cite book|author=Robin Rinehart|editor=Pashaura Singh and Louis E Fenech|title=The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8I0NAwAAQBAJ |year=2014|publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-969930-8 |pages=136–138 }}</ref><ref name="McLeod1990">{{cite book|last=McLeod|first=W. H.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7xIT7OMSJ44C|title=Textual Sources for the Study of Sikhism|publisher=University of Chicago Press|year=1990|isbn=978-0-226-56085-4|author-link=W. H. McLeod}}, pages 2, 67</ref> It is differentiated from the Guru Granth Sahib due to its focus on martial themes and imagery, such as warfare, weaponry, and other warrior-matters, known collectively as ''bir ras'' (heroic strain of expression), as opposed to the Guru Granth Sahib's ''shanti ras'' (verses that inspire peace).<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |last=Singh |first=Kamalroop |last2=Mann |first2=Gurinder Singh |date=24 January 2016 |title=The Guru’s warrior scripture |url=https://blog.oup.com/2016/01/gurus-warrior-scripture/#sthash.eSGXVZPh.dpuf |access-date=9 November 2025 |website=Oxford University Press}}</ref> According to Kamalroop Singh and [[Gurinder Singh Mann]], the text was composed to prepare the Sikhs for warfare against their Mughal enemy.<ref name=":3" />


The standard edition of the text contains 1,428 pages with 17,293 verses in 18 sections.<ref name="hss54" /><ref name="SinghFenech2014p136" /> These are set in the form of hymns and poems mostly in the [[Braj Bhasha|Braj language]] (Old western Hindi),<ref name="SinghFenech2014p136" /> with some parts in Avadhi, [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]], [[Hindi]] and [[Persian language|Persian]].<ref name="hss54" /> The script is written almost entirely in Gurmukhi, except for the Guru Gobind Singh's letters to [[Aurangzeb]]—''[[Zafarnama (letter)|Zafarnama]]'' and the ''[[Hikaaitaan]]''—written in the [[Persian alphabet]].<ref name="hss54">{{cite book|last=Singha|first=H. S.|title=The Encyclopedia of Sikhism (over 1000 Entries)|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gqIbJz7vMn0C|year=2000|publisher=Hemkunt Press|isbn=978-81-7010-301-1}}, pp. 53–54</ref>
The text previously enjoyed an equal status with the Adi Granth, or [[Guru Granth Sahib]], in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and were installed side by side on the same platform.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Singh |first=Pashaura |date=2015-05-04 |title=Framing the Dasam Granth debate: Throwing the baby out with the bath water! |url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17448727.2015.1032149 |journal=Sikh Formations |language=en |volume=11 |issue=1-2 |pages=108–132 |doi=10.1080/17448727.2015.1032149 |issn=1744-8727|url-access=subscription }}</ref> The ''Dasam Granth'' lost favor during the colonial period when reformist [[Singh Sabha Movement]] scholars couldn't contextualise the reworkings of Puranic stories or the vast collection of 'Tales of Deceit' [[Sri Charitropakhyan]].<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/9781136451010 |title=Teachings of the Sikh Gurus |date=2013-07-04 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-136-45101-0 |editor-last=Shackle |editor-first=Christopher |edition=0 |language=en |doi=10.4324/9781315014449 |editor-last2=Mandair |editor-first2=Arvind}}</ref> A section of Sikhs oppose the scripture and question its authenticity based upon its authorship.<ref name=":3" />


The ''Dasam Granth'' contains hymns, from mythological [[Hindu texts]],<ref name="britdasam" /> which are a retelling of the feminine in the form of goddess [[Durga]],<ref name="britdasam" /><ref name="Nesbitt2016p107">{{cite book|author=Eleanor Nesbitt|title=Sikhism: A Very Short Introduction| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zD8SDAAAQBAJ |year=2016|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-106277-3|pages=107–109}}</ref> an autobiography, letters to others such as the [[Mughal Empire|Mughal emperor]], as well as reverential discussion of warriors and theology.<ref name="SinghFenech2014p136" /> The scripture was recited in full within Nirmala Sikhs in the contemporary era.<ref name="McLeod1990" /><ref name="FenechMcLeod2014p92">{{cite book|author1=Louis E. Fenech|author2=W. H. McLeod|title=Historical Dictionary of Sikhism |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xajcAwAAQBAJ |year=2014|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield Publishers|isbn=978-1-4422-3601-1 |pages=92–94}}</ref> Parts of it are popularly retold from Hindu Purans, for the benefit of the common man, who had no access to Hindu texts of the time.<ref name="McLeod1990" /> Compositions of the Dasam ''Granth'' include [[Jaap Sahib]], [[Tav-Prasad Savaiye]] and [[Chaupai (Sikhism)|Benti Chaupai]] which are part of the [[Nitnem]] or daily prayers and also part of the [[Amrit Sanchar]] or initiation ceremony of Khalsa Sikhs.<ref name="JacobsenMyrvold2012p233">{{cite book|author1=Knut A. Jacobsen|author2=Kristina Myrvold|title=Sikhs Across Borders: Transnational Practices of European Sikhs |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZdZLAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA234 |year=2012|publisher=A&C Black|isbn=978-1-4411-1387-0 |pages=233–234}}</ref>
The standard edition of the text contains 1,428 pages with 17,293 verses in 18 sections.<ref name="SinghFenech2014p136" /><ref name="hss54" /> These are set in the form of hymns and poems mostly in the [[Braj Bhasha|Braj language]] (Old Western Hindi),<ref name="SinghFenech2014p136" /> with some parts in [[Awadhi language|Avadhi]], [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]], [[Hindi]] and [[Persian language|Persian]].<ref name="hss54" /><ref name=":3" /> The script is written almost entirely in [[Gurmukhi]], except for the Guru Gobind Singh's letters to [[Aurangzeb]]—''[[Zafarnama (letter)|Zafarnama]]'' and the ''[[Hikaaitaan]]''—written in the [[Persian alphabet]].<ref name="hss54">{{cite book|last=Singha|first=H. S.|title=The Encyclopedia of Sikhism (over 1000 Entries)|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gqIbJz7vMn0C|year=2000|publisher=Hemkunt Press|isbn=978-81-7010-301-1}}, pp. 53–54</ref>


''Zafarnama'' and ''Hikayats'' in a different style and format appended to it in the mid 18th century.<ref name="FenechMcLeod2014p92" /> 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 Indian mythologies that are questioned by most Sikhs in the contemporary era, as well as sections such as the ''[[Ugardanti|Ugradanti]]'' and ''Sri Bhagauti Astotra''.<ref name="FenechMcLeod2014p92" />
The ''Dasam Granth'' contains hymns, from [[Hindu texts]],<ref name="britdasam" /> which are a retelling of the feminine in the form of goddess [[Durga]],<ref name="Nesbitt2016p107">{{cite book|author=Eleanor Nesbitt|title=Sikhism: A Very Short Introduction| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zD8SDAAAQBAJ |year=2016|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-106277-3|pages=107–109}}</ref><ref name="britdasam" /> an autobiography, letter to the [[Mughal emperor]] [[Aurangzeb]], as well as reverential discussion of warriors and theology.<ref name="SinghFenech2014p136" /> The scripture was recited in full within [[Nirmala (sect)|Nirmala]] Sikhs in the contemporary era.<ref name="McLeod1990" /><ref name="FenechMcLeod2014p92">{{cite book|author1=Louis E. Fenech|author2=W. H. McLeod|title=Historical Dictionary of Sikhism |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xajcAwAAQBAJ |year=2014|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield Publishers|isbn=978-1-4422-3601-1 |pages=92–94}}</ref> Parts of it are retold from Hindu [[Puranas]], for the benefit of the common man, who had no access to Hindu texts of the time.<ref name="McLeod1990" /> Compositions of the Dasam ''Granth'' include [[Jaap Sahib]], [[Tav-Prasad Savaiye]] and [[Chaupai (Sikhism)|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.<ref name="JacobsenMyrvold2012p233">{{cite book|author1=Knut A. Jacobsen|author2=Kristina Myrvold |title=Sikhs Across Borders: Transnational Practices of European Sikhs |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=&pg=PA234 |year=2012|publisher=A&C Black|isbn=978-1-4411-1387-0 |pages=233–234}}</ref>
 
''Zafarnama'' and ''Hikayats'' in a different style and format appended to it in the mid 18th century.<ref name="FenechMcLeod2014p92" /> Other manuscripts are said to include the ''Patna Birs'' and the ''Mani Singh Vali Bir'' all originated in mid to late 18th century. One of the 1698 CE Patna Manuscripts includes various ''[[apocrypha]]l writings'' such as the ''[[Ugardanti|Ugradanti]]'' and ''Bhagauti Astotar''.<ref name="FenechMcLeod2014p92" />


== Authorship ==
== Authorship ==
Although the compositions of the ''Dasam Granth'' are traditionally accepted to be penned 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'':<ref>{{cite book|last=McLeod|first=W. H.|title=Historical dictionary of Sikhism|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ma3G-hjh6SwC&pg=PA52|year=2005|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|isbn=978-0-8108-5088-0|page=52}}</ref>
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'':<ref>{{cite book|last=McLeod|first=W. H.|title=Historical dictionary of Sikhism|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ma3G-hjh6SwC&pg=PA52|year=2005|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|isbn=978-0-8108-5088-0|page=52}}</ref>
# The traditional view is that the entire work was composed by Guru Gobind Singh himself.
# 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.
# 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.
# 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 [[Anandpur Sahib]], Guru Gobind Singh had employed 52 poets, who translated several classical texts into Braj Bhasha. Most of the writing compiled at Anandpur 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''.
In his religious court at [[Paonta Sahib|Paonta]] and [[Anandpur Sahib|Anandpur]], Guru Gobind Singh had employed 52 poets, who translated several classical texts into Braj Bhasha. Most of the writing compiled at Anandpur was lost while the Guru's camp was crossing the [[Sarsa river|Sirsa river]] before the [[Battle of Chamkaur]] in 1704.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Singh |first=Harbans |title=Bavanja Kavi |url=https://www.thesikhencyclopedia.com/sikh-scriptures-and-literature/eighteenth-century-literature/bavanja-kavi/ |website=Sikh Encyclopedia|date=19 December 2000 }}</ref> 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. There is a theory that later, [[Bhai Mani Singh]] compiled all the available works under the title ''Dasam Granth''.<ref>{{Cite thesis |title=Dasam Granth re-examined: an examination of the textual history with reference to key authors and commentators |url=https://etheses.bham.ac.uk/id/eprint/4285/ |publisher=University of Birmingham |date=December 2013 |degree=d_ph |language=English |first=Kamalroop Singh |last=Birk}}</ref>


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' {{Citation needed|date=April 2020}}. Some others dispute the claim of the authorship, saying that some of the compositions included in ''Dasam Granth'' such as ''Charitropakhyan'' are "out of tune" with other Sikh scriptures, and must have been composed by other poets.<ref>{{cite book | title = The Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature (Volume One (A To Devo), Volume 1 | editor = Amaresh Datta | publisher = [[Sahitya Akademi]] | year = 2006 | isbn = 978-81-260-1803-1 | page = 888}}</ref> The names of poets Raam, Shyam and Kaal appear repeatedly in the granth. References to Kavi Shyam can be seen in Mahan Kosh of Bhai Kahan Singh Nabha, under the entry 'Bawanja Kavi' and also in Kavi Santokh Singh's magnum opus Suraj Prakash Granth.
Traditionalist scholars claim that all the works in ''Dasam Granth'' were composed by the Guru himself, often on the basis of a letter attributed to Bhai Mani Singh. The veracity of this letter has been examined by scholars and found to be unreliable.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Rinehart |first=Robin |url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/710992237 |title=Debating the Dasam Granth |date=2011 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-984247-6 |page=39 |oclc=710992237}}</ref> Some others dispute the claim of the authorship, saying that some of the compositions included in ''Dasam Granth'' such as ''Charitropakhyan'' are "out of tune" with other Sikh scriptures, and must have been composed by other poets.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature (Volume One (A To Devo), Volume 1 |publisher=[[Sahitya Akademi]] |year=2006 |isbn=978-81-260-1803-1 |editor=Amaresh Datta |page=888}}</ref> Syan (2013) notes, "Neither in colonial nor post-colonial Sikhism has the issue of the Dasam Granth authorship been satisfactorily resolved. What is germane, however, is that pre-colonial Sikh society wholeheartedly accepted the Dasam Granth as the work of Guru Gobind Singh."<ref>Syan, Hardip Singh. Sikh Militancy in the Seventeenth Century. I.B. Tauris, 2013. Page 147.</ref>


=== Historical writings ===
=== Historical writings ===
{{Sikh scriptures}}
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:
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.<ref name="Rehitnama2005">Rehitnama Bhai Nand Lal</ref>
* Rehitnama [[Bhai Nand Lal]] mentioned Jaap Sahib is an important Bani for a Sikh.<ref name="Rehitnama2005">Rehitnama Bhai Nand Lal</ref>
* Rehitnama Chaupa Singh Chibber quotes various lines from Bachitar Natak, 33 Swiayey, Chopai Sahib, Jaap Sahib.<ref name="RehitnamaChaupa">Rehitnama Chaupa Singh Chibber</ref>
* Rehitnama Chaupa Singh Chibber quotes various lines from Bachitar Natak, 33 Swiayey, Chaupai Sahib, Jaap Sahib.<ref name="RehitnamaChaupa">Rehitnama Chaupa Singh Chibber</ref>
* 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.<ref name="Gursobha005">Sri Gur Sbha Granth, Poet Senapat, Piara Singh Padam</ref>
* 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.<ref name="Gursobha005">Sri Gur Sbha Granth, Poet Senapat, Piara Singh Padam</ref>
* In 1741, Parchian Srvadas Kian quoted lines from Rama Avtar, 33 Swaiyey and mentioned Zafarnama with Hikayats.<ref>Parchi Sevadas Ki, Poet Sevada, Piara Singh Padam</ref>
* In 1741, Parchian Srvadas Kian quoted lines from Rama Avtar, 33 Swaiyey, and mentioned Zafarnama with Hikayats.<ref>Parchi Sevadas Ki, Poet Sevada, Piara Singh Padam</ref>
* 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.<ref>Gurbilas, Patshahi 10, Koer Singh, Bhasha Vibagh, Punjabi University</ref>
* 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.<ref>Gurbilas, Patshahi 10, Koer Singh, Bhasha Vibagh, Punjabi University</ref>
* In 1766, Kesar Singh Chibber mentioned history of compilation of ''Dasam Granth'' by Bhai Mani Singh Khalsa on directions of Mata Sundri, as he was first who wrote history after death of Guru Gobind Singh.
* In 1766, Kesar Singh Chibber in Bansavalinama writes that Guru Gobind Singh ordered the Guru Granth Sahib and Dasam Granth be kept separate.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Singh |first=Kesar |title=Bansavalinama |publisher=Singh Brothers |pages=161 |language=Punjabi}}</ref> Kesar Singh frequently quotes Ugardanti, Bachitar Natak, Khalsa Mehima and many other compositions.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Singh |first=Kesar |title=Bansavalinama |publisher=Singh Brothers |pages=161 258–260 |language=Punjabi}}</ref>
* In 1766, Sri Guru Mahima Parkash – Sarup Chand Bhalla, mentioned about various Banis of Guru Gobind Singh and compilation of ''Dasam Granth''
* 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 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 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.
* In 1812, J. B. Malcolm, in Sketch of Sikhs mentioned the ''Dasam Granth'' as Bani of Guru Gobind Singh.


== Structure ==
== Structure ==
The standard print edition of the ''Dasam Granth'', since 1902, has 1,428 pages.<ref name=hss54/><ref name="SinghFenech2014p136"/> However, many printed versions of the text in the contemporary era skip a major section (40%) because it is controversial.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Knut A. Jacobsen|author2=Kristina Myrvold|title=Sikhs Across Borders: Transnational Practices of European Sikhs |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZdZLAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA234 |year=2012|publisher=A&C Black|isbn=978-1-4411-1387-0 |pages=232–235}}</ref>
The standard print edition of the ''Dasam Granth'', since 1902, has 1,428 pages.<ref name="SinghFenech2014p136" /><ref name=hss54 /><ref>{{cite book|author1=Knut A. Jacobsen|author2=Kristina Myrvold|title=Sikhs Across Borders: Transnational Practices of European Sikhs |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZdZLAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA234 |year=2012|publisher=A&C Black|isbn=978-1-4411-1387-0 |pages=232–235}}</ref> However, many printed versions of the text in the contemporary era skip a major section (40%) because it is controversial.<ref>{{cite book |author1=Knut A. Jacobsen |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZdZLAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA234 |title=Sikhs Across Borders: Transnational Practices of European Sikhs |author2=Kristina Myrvold |publisher=A&C Black |year=2012 |isbn=978-1-4411-1387-0 |pages=232–235}}</ref>


The standard official edition contains 17,293 verses in 18 sections.<ref name=hss54/><ref name="SinghFenech2014p136"/> These are set in the form of hymns and poems mostly in the [[Braj Bhasha]] (Old western Hindi),<ref name="SinghFenech2014p136"/> with some parts in Avadhi, [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]], [[Hindi]] and [[Persian language]].<ref name=hss54/> 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]].<ref name=hss54/>
The standard official edition contains 17,293 verses in 18 sections.<ref name="SinghFenech2014p136" /><ref name=hss54 /> These are set in the form of hymns and poems mostly in the [[Braj Bhasha]] (Old western Hindi),<ref name="SinghFenech2014p136" /> with some parts in Avadhi, [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]], [[Hindi]], and the [[Persian language]].<ref name="hss54" /> 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]].<ref name=hss54 />


=== Contents ===
=== Main compositions ===
The ''Dasam Granth'' has many sections covering a wide range of topics:
The ''Dasam Granth'' has many sections covering a wide range of topics:
{| class="wikitable"
{| class="wikitable"
|+'''Compositions in ''Dasam Granth'''''
|+'''Compositions in ''Dasam Granth'''''
|-
|-
! '''No.''' || '''Bani Title''' || '''Alternate Name''' || '''Description'''
! '''No.''' || '''Bani Title''' || '''Alternate Name'''
|-
!Native Script|| '''Description'''
|1
|[[Mahalla Dasven]]
|
|This is a composition of two letters, one by Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji and one by Guru Gobind Singh ji.
 
 
Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji writes-
 
''My strength is exhausted, and I am in bondage; I cannot do anything at all.''
 
''Says Nanak, now, the Lord is my Support; He will help me, as He did the elephant.''
 
''My strength has been restored, and my bonds have been broken; now, I can do everything.''
 
''Nanak: everything is in Your hands, Lord; You are my Helper and Support.''
 
 
Guru Gobind Singh Ji replies-
 
''"O Father, who would be greater than you to defend the weak and helpless? Only you can save these people and their religion. My mother may become a widow from your great sacrifice, but you will save thousands of women from becoming widows; I may become fatherless from your great sacrifice, but you will save thousands of children from becoming orphans."''
|-
| 2|| [[Jaap Sahib]]|| Gobind Jaapji || a prayer of 199 verses dedicated to formless, timeless, all-pervading god.<ref name="SinghFenech2014p137">{{cite book|author=Robin Rinehart|editor=Pashaura Singh and Louis E Fenech|title=The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8I0NAwAAQBAJ |year=2014|publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-969930-8 |pages=137–138 }}</ref>
|-
| 3 || [[Akal Ustat]]|| || A praise of the timeless primal being Akal Purakh (god), explaining that this primal being takes numerous forms of gods and goddesses, listing most frequently Hindu names of these, but also includes a few Muslim epithets.<ref name="SinghFenech2014p137" /> Criticizes overemphasis on rituals related to the devotional worship of god.<ref name="SinghFenech2014p137" />
|-
|-
| 4 || [[Bachittar Natak]]|| Bachitra Natak || Partly an autobiography that states he was born in Sodhi lineage, tracing it to the lineage of [[Rama]] and [[Sita]] of ''[[Ramayana]]'';<ref name="SinghFenech2014p138" /> mentions Guru Nanak was born in the Bedi clan and how the next eight Gurus came to lead the Sikhs; describes the persecution and execution of [[Guru Tegh Bahadur]] calling him the defender of [[dharma]] who protected the sacred threads and the tilaks (forehead mark of devout Hindus);<ref name="SinghFenech2014p138" /> he mentions his own rebirth in Patna after God explained to him that he had sent religious leaders to earth, in forms such as Muhammad but these clung to their own self-interest rather than promote devotion to the true God;<ref name="SinghFenech2014p138" /> He took birth to defend and spread the dharma, and was blessed by god to remember his past births;<ref name="SinghFenech2014p138" /> the Bachitra Natak criticizes those who take pride in their religious rituals, mentions his own hunting expeditions, battles and journeys in Punjab and the Himalayan foothills.<ref name="SinghFenech2014p138">{{cite book|author=Robin Rinehart|editor=Pashaura Singh and Louis E Fenech|title=The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8I0NAwAAQBAJ |year=2014|publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-969930-8 |pages=138–139 }}</ref>
| 1|| [[Jaap Sahib]]|| Gobind Jaapji
|ਜਾਪੁ ਸਾਹਿਬ|| A prayer of 199 verses dedicated to formless, timeless, all-pervading god.<ref name="SinghFenech2014p137">{{cite book|author=Robin Rinehart|editor=Pashaura Singh and Louis E Fenech|title=The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8I0NAwAAQBAJ |year=2014|publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-969930-8 |pages=137–138 }}</ref>
|-
|-
| 5 || [[Chandi Charitar Ukti Bilas]]|| Chandi Charitar 1 || a discussion of the Hindu goddess, [[Durga]] in the form of [[Chandi]]; this section of the ''Dasam Granth'' declares that it is based on the [[Sanskrit]] text ''[[Markandeya Purana]]''; it glorifies the feminine with her fighting the mythical war between good and evil, after the gods have admitted their confusion and weakness, she anticipating and thus defeating evil that misleads and morphs into different shapes.<ref name="SinghFenech2014p138" />
| 2 || [[Akal Ustat]]||Sri Akal Ji Ki Ustat
|ਅਕਾਲ ਉਸਤਤਿ|| A praise of the timeless primal being Akal Purakh (god), explaining that this primal being takes numerous forms of gods and goddesses, listing most frequently Hindu names of these, but also includes a few Muslim epithets.<ref name="SinghFenech2014p137" /> Criticises overemphasis on rituals related to the devotional worship of god.<ref name="SinghFenech2014p137" />
|-
|-
| 6 || [[Chandi Charitar II]]|| Chandi Charitar 2 || a retelling of the story of the Hindu goddess, Durga again in the form of Chandi; it again glorifies the feminine with her fighting the war between good and evil, and in this section she slays the buffalo-demon Mahisha, all his associates and supporters thus bringing an end to the demonic violence and war.<ref name="SinghFenech2014p138" />
| 3 || [[Bachittar Natak]]|| Bachitra Natak
|ਬਚਿੱਤਰ ਨਾਟਕ|| Partly an autobiography that states he was born in Sodhi lineage, tracing it to the lineage of [[Rama]] and [[Sita]] of ''[[Ramayana]]'';<ref name="SinghFenech2014p138" /> mentions Guru Nanak was born in the Bedi clan and how the next eight Gurus came to lead the Sikhs; describes the persecution and execution of [[Guru Tegh Bahadar]] calling him the defender of [[dharma]] who protected the sacred threads and the tilaks (forehead mark of devout Hindus);<ref name="SinghFenech2014p138" /> he mentions his own rebirth in Patna after God explained to him that he had sent religious leaders to earth, in forms such as Muhammad but these clung to their own self-interest rather than promote devotion to the true God;<ref name="SinghFenech2014p138" /> He took birth to defend and spread the dharma, and was blessed by god to remember his past births;<ref name="SinghFenech2014p138" /> the Bachitra Natak criticises those who take pride in their religious rituals, mentions his own hunting expeditions, battles and journeys in Punjab and the Himalayan foothills.<ref name="SinghFenech2014p138">{{cite book|author=Robin Rinehart|editor= Pashaura Singh and Louis E Fenech|title=The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8I0NAwAAQBAJ |year=2014|publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-969930-8 |pages=138–139 }}</ref> It states the author was [[Gurdwara Hemkund Sahib|meditating in the Himalayan foothills]] meditating on [[Mahakala]] and Kalaka before being called to take birth.<ref name=":12">{{cite book |author=Rinehart |first=Robin |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qe6WnpbT2BkC&pg=PA106 |title=Debating the Dasam Granth |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2011 |isbn=978-0-19-984247-6 |pages=26–27}}</ref> The entire work is fourteen chapters in length, with one section named ''Apni Katha'' ("my story"), which is an autobiographical account of the tenth Guru's life up til the year 1696.<ref name=":12" /> The appellation ''Bachitar Natak'' is sometimes confusingly only applied to that one specific section rather than the entire fourteen chapter composition in which ''Apni Katha'' constitutes a single section of.<ref name=":12" /> Sometimes a huge chunk of the Dasam Granth is termed ''Bachitar Natak Granth'', containing Chandi Charitars 1 and 2, Chaubis Avtar, Brahma Avtar, and Rudra Avtar.<ref name=":12" /> Most Western and Sikh scholars accept the work as a genuine composition of the tenth Guru, even deriders of the Dasam Granth.<ref name=":12" />
|-
|-
| 7 || [[Chandi di Var]]|| Var Durga Ki || the ballad of Hindu goddess, Durga, in Punjabi; this section of the ''Dasam Granth'' states that it is based on the Sanskrit text ''[[Devi Mahatmya|Durga Saptasati]]'';<ref name="SinghFenech2014p139" /> The opening verses from this composition, states Robin Rinehart, have been a frequently recited ''ardas'' petition or prayer in Sikh history;<ref name="SinghFenech2014p139" /> it is also a source of controversy within Sikhism, as the opening verse states "First I remember Bhagauti, then I turn my attention to Guru Nanak"; the dispute has been whether one should interpret of the word "[[Bhagavati|Bhagauti]]" as "goddess" or a metaphor for "sword".<ref name="SinghFenech2014p139">{{cite book|author=Robin Rinehart|editor=Pashaura Singh and Louis E Fenech|title=The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8I0NAwAAQBAJ |year=2014|publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-969930-8 |page=139 }}</ref>
| 4 || [[Chandi Charitar Ukti Bilas]]|| Chandi Charitar 1
|ਚੰਡੀ ਚਰਿਤ੍ਰ (ੳਕਤਿ ਬਿਲਾਸ)|| A discussion of the Hindu goddess, [[Durga]] in the form of [[Chandi]]; this section of the ''Dasam Granth'' declares that it is based on the [[Sanskrit]] text ''[[Markandeya Purana]]''; it glorifies the feminine with her fighting the mythical war between good and evil, after the gods have admitted their confusion and weakness, she anticipating and thus defeating evil that misleads and morphs into different shapes.<ref name="SinghFenech2014p138" />
|-
|-
| 8 || [[Gyan Prabodh]]|| Gyan Prabodh, Parbodh Chandra Natak || The section title means "the Awakening of Knowledge", and it begins with praise of God; it includes a conversation between soul and God, weaves in many references to Hindu mythology and texts such as the ''[[Mahabharata]]'';<ref name="SinghFenech2014p140" /> the section summarizes those ''parva'' of the Hindu epic which discuss kingship and dharma; the role of Brahmins and Kshatriya varnas.<ref name="SinghFenech2014p140">{{cite book|author=Robin Rinehart|editor=Pashaura Singh and Louis E Fenech|title=The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8I0NAwAAQBAJ |year=2014|publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-969930-8 |page=140 }}</ref>
| 5 || [[Chandi Charitar II]]|| Chandi Charitar 2<br />Chandi Charitar Trambi Mahatam<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sri Dasam Granth - Facts and Beyond |url=https://www.deutsches-informationszentrum-sikhreligion.de/pdf/web/viewer.html?file=/images/SriDasamGranth.pdf |access-date=2022-09-02 |website=www.deutsches-informationszentrum-sikhreligion.de |publisher=Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji Academy |page=12}}</ref>||ਚੰਡੀ ਚਰਿਤ੍ਰ (ਭਾਗ ੨)|| A retelling of the story of the Hindu goddess, Durga again in the form of Chandi; it again glorifies the feminine with her fighting the war between good and evil, and in this section she slays the buffalo-demon Mahisha, all his associates and supporters thus bringing an end to the demonic violence and war.<ref name="SinghFenech2014p138" /> Authorship is generally and traditionally attributed to [[Guru Gobind Singh]].<ref name="McLeod2005">[https://books.google.com/books?id=8-h8ptzp0lUC&q=dasam+granth Dasam Granth - An Introductory Study]</ref><ref name="SriDasamorg">{{Cite web |url=http://www.sridasam.org/dasam?Action=Page&p=175 |title=Sri Dasam.org - Website contain whole text of dasam granth |access-date=2011-07-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110728053211/http://www.sridasam.org/dasam?Action=Page&p=175 |archive-date=2011-07-28 |url-status=dead }}</ref> This composition was written in [[Braj Bhasha|Braj]] Language at [[Anandpur Sahib]], [[Punjab, India|Punjab]]. It has eight cantos, contains 262 [[couplets]] and quatrains, mostly employing Bhujang prayat and Rasaval measures, divided into 8 chapters.<ref name="Ashta">[http://www.sridasamgranth.com/#/chandi-charitras/4526825498 The Poetry of Dasam Granth - Dharam Pal Ashta] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110808112424/http://www.sridasamgranth.com/#/chandi-charitras/4526825498 |date=August 8, 2011 }}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Singha |first=H.S. |title=The Encyclopedia of Sikhism (over 1000 Entries) |publisher=Hemkunt Press |year=2000 |isbn=9788170103011 |pages=43}}</ref> This work was composed at Anandpur Sahib, sometime before AD 1698, the year when the [[Bachitar Natak]] was completed. According to [[Max Arthur Macauliffe]], the language of this composition is not original Sanskrit. He believes it to be written by bards in employ of [[Guru Gobind Singh]] and translation of [[Durga Saptashati]], but could not ascertain, whether principles of Sikhism imbibed in Chandi Charitras or flavor of Hinduism is still in it.<ref name="miwk">{{cite book |pages=80, 81|last1=Macauliffe|first1=Max Arthur |date= Mar 28, 2013 |title=The Sikh Religion: Its Gurus, Sacred Writings and Authors, Volume 5|publisher=Cambridge University Press}}</ref> It differs from Chandi Charitar Ukti Bilas in that it does not reference the chapters within the Markandeya Purana, but still tells the same story.<ref name=":1">{{cite book |author=Robin Rinehart |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qe6WnpbT2BkC&pg=PA106 |title=Debating the Dasam Granth |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2011 |isbn=978-0-19-984247-6 |pages=27–28}}</ref> The work contains 262 verses in total.<ref name="Zafarnama: The Epistle of Victory">{{cite book |last1=Makin |first1=Gursharan Singh |title=Zafarnama: The Epistle of Victory |date=24 January 2024 |publisher=Lahore Book Shop |isbn=978-8176471794 |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>
|-
|-
|9
| 6 || [[Chandi di Var|Chandi Di Var]]|| Var Durga Ki
|[[Sansahar Sukhmana]]
|ਚੰਡੀ ਦੀ ਵਾਰ|| The ballad of Hindu goddess, Durga, in Punjabi; this section of the ''Dasam Granth'' states that it is based on the Sanskrit text ''[[Devi Mahatmya|Durga Saptasati]]'';<ref name="SinghFenech2014p139" /> The opening verses from this composition, states Robin Rinehart, have been a frequently recited ''ardas'' petition or prayer in Sikh history;<ref name="SinghFenech2014p139">{{cite book|author=Robin Rinehart|editor=Pashaura Singh and Louis E Fenech|title=The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8I0NAwAAQBAJ |year=2014|publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-969930-8 |page=139 }}</ref> it is also a source of controversy within Sikhism, as the opening verse states "First I remember Bhagauti, then I turn my attention to Guru Nanak"; the dispute has been whether one should interpret of the word "[[Bhagavati|Bhagauti]]" as "goddess" or a metaphor for "sword".<ref name="SinghFenech2014p1392">{{cite book |author=Robin Rinehart |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8I0NAwAAQBAJ |title=The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2014 |isbn=978-0-19-969930-8 |editor=Pashaura Singh and Louis E Fenech |page=139}}</ref>
|
|The Sansahar Sukhmana is a short poem that refers to many Hindu gods including Hari, Vishnu, Shiva, Durga etc. It declares the Khalsa Panth to be separate and Guru Nanak and Guru Gobind Singh Ji to be one and the same. The Masands deleted this from the Dasam Granth as it made Sikhism a separate faith.
|-
|-
| 10 || [[Brahma|Brahma Avtar]]|| Avatars of Brahma || Narrative on the seven incarnations of [[Brahma]], who is already mentioned in the Chaubis Avatar section<ref name="SinghFenech2014p140" />
| 7 || Gyan Prabodh|| Gyan Prabodh
|ਗਿਆਨ ਪ੍ਰਬੋਧ|| The section title means "the Awakening of Knowledge", and it begins with praise of God; it includes a conversation between soul and God, weaves in many references to Hindu and texts such as the ''[[Mahabharata]]'';<ref name="SinghFenech2014p140" /> the section summarises those ''parva'' of the Hindu epic which discuss kingship and dharma; the role of Brahmins and Kshatriya varnas.<ref name="SinghFenech2014p140">{{cite book|author=Robin Rinehart|editor=Pashaura Singh and Louis E Fenech|title=The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8I0NAwAAQBAJ |year=2014|publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-969930-8 |page=140 }}</ref> This composition contains 336 verses in total.<ref name="Zafarnama: The Epistle of Victory"/><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>
|-
|-
| 11 || [[Rudra Avtar]]|| Avatars of Rudra || a poem that narrates [[Rudra]] and his avatars, also already mentioned in the Chaubis Avatar section<ref name="SinghFenech2014p140" />
|8||[[Chaubis Avtar]]||Vishnu Avtar
|ਚੌਬੀਸ ਅਵਤਾਰ||The ''[[Chaubis Avatar]]'' (24 avatars) section is about [[Vishnu]]'s 24 avtar which include [[Rama]], [[Krishna]], and [[Buddha]]. It is divided into 24 sections for each of the 24 avatars.
|-
|-
|12
| 9 || Brahma Avtar|| Avatars of Brahma
|[[Kalki|Kalki Avatar]]
|ਬ੍ਰਹਮਾ ਅਵਤਾਰ|| Narrative on the seven incarnations of [[Brahma]], who is already mentioned in the Chaubis Avatar section<ref name="SinghFenech2014p140" />
|
|The Kalki avatar appears in the historic [[Sikh]] texts, most notably in Dasam Granth as Nihakalanki, a text that is traditionally attributed to [[Guru Gobind Singh]]. The ''Chaubis Avatar'' (24 avatars) section mentions sage Matsyendra describing the appearance of Vishnu avatars to fight evil, greed, violence and ignorance. It includes Kalki as the twenty-fourth incarnation to lead the war between the forces of righteousness and unrighteousness, states Dhawan.
|-
|-
|13
| 10 || [[Rudra Avtar]]|| Avatars of Rudra (Shiva),
|[[Rama|Ram Avatar]]
Ath Rudra Avtar Kathan(n)
|
|ਰੁਦਰ ਅਵਤਾਰ|| A poem that narrates [[Rudra]] ([[Shiva]]) and his avatars, also already mentioned in the Chaubis Avatar section<ref name="SinghFenech2014p140" />
|Ath Beesvan Ram Avtar Kathan or Ram Avtar is a Composition in second sacred granth of Sikhs i.e Dasam Granth, which was written by Guru Gobind Singh, at Anandpur Sahib. Guru Gobind Singh was not worshiper of Ramchandra, as after describing whole Avtar he cleared this fact that ''ਰਾਮ ਰਹੀਮ ਪ੝ਰਾਨ ਕ੝ਰਾਨ ਅਨੇਕ ਕਹੈਂ ਮਤਿ ਝਕ ਨ ਮਾਨਿਯੋ ॥'' . Ram Avtar is based on Ramayana, but a Sikh study the spiritual aspects of this whole composition.
|-
|-
|14
|11||[[Sabad Patshahi 10|Shabad Hazare Padishah]]||Sabad Patshahi 10
|[[Fish|Mach Avatar]]
|ਸ਼ਬਦ ਹਜ਼ਾਰੇ ਪਾਤਿਸ਼ਾਹੀ ੧੦|| Thousand hymns actually contains nine hymns, each set to a ''raga'' (melody), with content similar to ''Chaubis Avatar'' section; the sixth is filled with grief and generally understood to have been composed by Guru Gobind Singh after the loss of all four sons in the wars with the [[Mughal Empire]];<ref name="SinghFenech2014p140" /> this section is missing in some early manuscripts of ''Dasam Granth''.<ref name="SinghFenech2014p140" />
|
|Ath Pratham Mach Avtar Kathan (pa: ਅਥ ਪ੝ਰਥਮ ਮੱਛ ਅਵਤਾਰ ਕਥਨੰ) is part of composition, well known as Chobis Avtaar which was written by Guru Gobind Singh. In Sanskrit, Macch is called Matsya(Fish). This composition contains war of Macch and King Shankhasura, as Shakhasura stole Vedas and Macch retrieved them back. It is common belief that 10th guru worship Vishnu thats why he wrote whole narrative in praise of Vishnu but Guru Gobind Singh declared his worshiper in first 22 lines of Chobis avtar quite clearly.
|-
|-
|15
| 12|| [[33 Savaiye]]|| 33 Savaiye
|[[Tortoise|Kach Avatar]]
|੩੩ ਸਵਈਏ|| Thirty-three verses that praise a god; asserts the mystery of god who is beyond what is in the Vedas and Puranas (Hindu), beyond the one in Quran (Muslim) and famously the Bible (Christian).<ref name="SinghFenech2014p141">{{cite book|author=Robin Rinehart|editor=Pashaura Singh and Louis E Fenech|title=The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8I0NAwAAQBAJ |year=2014|publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-969930-8 |page=141 }}</ref>
|
|Kach Avatar is a story about how Indra was a very powerful and rich king and how Vishnu turned into a tortoise to carry an ocean of milk to give it.
|-
|-
|16
|13||[[Khalsa Mahima]]|| Praise of Khalsa
|[[Mohini|Maha Mohini]]
|ਖ਼ਾਲਸਾ ਮਹਿਮਾ|| A short passage that explains why offerings to goddess Naina Devi by the general public are distributed to the [[Khalsa]] soldiers rather than Brahmin priests.<ref name="SinghFenech2014p141" />
|
|This story is about a battle between Vishnu and demons. Vishnu turned into a woman who the demons fell in love with. This lead them to try and please her but the other gods killed the demons while they were distracted by Maha Mohini.
|-
|-
|17
|14||Shastar Naam Mala || Shastar Nam Mala Purana
|[[Varaha|Bariah Avatar]]
|ਸ਼ਸਤ੍ਰ ਨਾਮ ਮਾਲਾ (ਪੁਰਾਣ)|| The section title means a "garland of weapon names", and it has 1,300 or 1,323 verses;<ref name="SinghFenech2014p141" /><ref name="Zafarnama: The Epistle of Victory"/><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> it lists and exalts various weapons of violence, declaring them to be symbols of God's power, states Rinehart;<ref name="SinghFenech2014p141" /> it includes the names of Hindu deities and the weapon they carry in one or more of their hands, and praises their use and virtues; the list includes weapons introduced in the 17th-century such as a rifle; some of the verses are riddles about weapons.<ref name="SinghFenech2014p141" />
|
|This story is of how there was peace between the gods and demons when the demons entered the land of Vishnu. Vishnu turned himself into a boar and attacked them. This was meant to inspire the Khalsa saying that the Sikhs should be fearless and attack the enemy if they are unjust.
|-
|-
|18
|15||[[Sri Charitropakhyan]]|| Charitropakhyan, Pakhyan Charitra, Tria Charitra
|[[Narasimha|Narsingh Avatar]]
|ਪਖ੍ਯਾਨ ਚਰਿਤ੍ਰ, ਸ਼੍ਰੀ ਚਰਿਤ੍ਰੋਪਾਖ੍ਯਾਨ, ਤ੍ਰਿਯਾ ਚਰਿਤ੍ਰ|| The largest and most controversial part of the ''Dasam Granth''; it includes material which is not in tune with Guru Gobind Singh's writings, casting its authenticity into question.<ref name="SinghFenech2014p142">{{cite book |author=Robin Rinehart |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8I0NAwAAQBAJ |title=The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2014 |isbn=978-0-19-969930-8 |editor=Pashaura Singh and Louis E Fenech |pages=141–142}}</ref> it includes 405 character features and behavioral sketches;<ref name="SinghFenech2014p142" /> these are largely characters of lustful women seeking extramarital sex and seducing men for love affairs without their husbands knowing; the characters delight in gambling, opium and liquor;<ref name="SinghFenech2014p142" /> these stories either end in illustrating human weaknesses with graphic description of sexual behavior, or illustrate a noble behavior where the seduction target refuses and asserts that "he cannot be a dharmaraja if he is unfaithful to his wife";<ref name="SinghFenech2014p142" /> the section is controversial, sometimes interpreted as a didactic discussion of virtues and vices; the charitras 21 through 23 have been interpreted by some commentators as possibly relating to Guru Gobind Singh's own life where he refused a seduction attempt;<ref name="SinghFenech2014p142" /> the final ''charitra'' (number 405) describes the [[Mughal Empire|Mughals]] and [[Pathan]]s as offsprings of demons, details many battles between gods and demons, ending with the victory of gods; the [[Chaupai (Sikhism)|Benti Chaupai]] found in this last ''charitra'' is sometimes separated from its context by Sikhs and used or interpreted in other ways;<ref name="SinghFenech2014p142" /> Many Sikh commentators have questioned the authorship of Dasam Granth in significant part because of this section, while others state that the text must be viewed in the perspective of the traumatic period of Sikh history when Guru Gobind Singh and his soldier disciples were fighting the Mughal Empire and this section could have been useful for the moral edification of soldiers at the war front against the vice.<ref name="SinghFenech2014p142" />{{refn|(entertainment).<ref>{{cite book|author=Robin Rinehart|editor=Pashaura Singh and Louis E Fenech|title=The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8I0NAwAAQBAJ |year=2014|publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-969930-8 |pages=144–145 }}</ref>}}{{refn|This view is supported by a remark found in ''Bansavalinama''. This remark states that scribes offered to Guru Gobind Singh to merge Adi Granth and his compositions into one scripture. He replied that they should not do so, keep the two separate because his compositions are mostly ''khed'' (entertainment).<ref>{{cite book|author=Robin Rinehart|editor=Pashaura Singh and Louis E Fenech|title=The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8I0NAwAAQBAJ |year=2014|publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-969930-8 |pages=144–145 }}</ref>|group=note}}
|
|This is fight between Gurmat and Manmatt. Narsingh is a person who have Gurmat and Hrinyakashyap is manmatt. He think that there is no god, when a person called Narsingh had Discussion of Wisdom then he able to know the presence of god.
 
|-
|-
|19
| 16||[[Chaupai (Sikhism)|Chaupai Sahib]]|| Kabiyo Baach Benti, Benti Chaupai
|[[Bavan Avata]]<nowiki/>r
|ਕਬਿਯੋਬਾਚ ਬੇਨਤੀ ਚੌਪਈ,
|
ਚੌਪਈ ਸਾਹਿਬ
|This story is after the death of Narsingh and the world was in Manmatt. This story is based in Bali and how the Khalsa should not follow the rituals of demons.
| The reflection of the poet on the 405th charitar. A part of the last ''charitra'' of the Charitropakhyan section, it is sometimes separated and used independently.<ref name="SinghFenech2014p142" />
|-
|-
|20
| 17|| [[Zafarnama (letter)|Zafarnama]] || Epistle of victory
|[[Kshatriya|Parasram Avatar]]
|ਜ਼ਫ਼ਰਨਾਮਾ|| A letter written in 1706 by Guru Gobind Singh to Emperor [[Aurangzeb]] in Persian language;<ref name="Britannica2009">{{cite book|last=Britannica|first=Inc Encyclopaedia|title=Encyclopedia of World Religions|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IDsk47MeksAC|year=2009|publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica|isbn=978-1-59339-491-2|page=279}}</ref> it chastises the Mughal emperor for promising a safe passage to his family but then reneging on that promise, attacking and killing his family members;<ref name="SinghFenech2014p143">{{cite book|author=Robin Rinehart|editor=Pashaura Singh and Louis E Fenech|title=The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8I0NAwAAQBAJ |year=2014|publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-969930-8 |pages=142–143 }}</ref> In this Guru Gobind Singh talks about how if the Holy Prophet were at Chamkaur in person then Aurangzeb wouldn't have lied.
|
|Bhai Gurdas ji Vaar 23 Pauri 7 refers to the same sakhi as described by Dhan Guru Gobind singh Sahib ji Maharaj. This is about how demons manifested themselves into castes and turned themselves into the Brahmins and Kshatriyas.
|-
|-
|21
| 18|| [[Hikaaitaan|Hikayats]] || Hikaitan
|[[Jalandhar|Jalandhar Avatar]]
|ਹਿਕਾਇਤਾਂ|| Usually grouped with the Zafarnama section, these are twelve tales unrelated to Zafarnama but probably linked because some versions have these in Persian language; the content of this section is closer in form and focus to the Charitropakhyan section above;<ref name="SinghFenech2014p143" />
|
|}
|This is a story about how Jalandhar loves the daughter of Shiva and Shiva does not allow it. Later Jalandhar asks Shiva for her hand in marriage.
|-
|22
|[[Aditi|Bisan Avatar]]
|
|This is about a story about the Bisan Avatar of the Aditi Clan
|-
|23
|[[Killing of Madhu and Kaitabh]]
|
|This is about the Bisan Avatar killing the demons practicing rituals. The demon kings are called Madhu and Kaitabh.
|-
|24
|[[Arjuna|Arihant Dev Avtar]]
|
|The word Arihanta is made up of two words: 1) Ari, meaning enemies, and 2) hanta, meaning destroyer. Therefore, Arihanta means a destroyer of the enemies. These enemies are not people, but rather inner desires known as passions. These includes anger, ego, deception, and greed. These are the internal enemies within us.
It is the same Jain religion which is also refereed in first Line of "Taav Praasad Swaiyiye" which is part of the Sikh Nitnem.
|-
|25
|[[Manu Raja|Manu Raja Avatar]]
|
|This is a poem about the Avatar of Lord Vishnu who was a servant of Akaal Purakh. Many people were stopping following  god (Jains) so he send his avatar Manu Raja to preach the ways of the lord.
|-
|26
|[[Dhanantar Vayd]]
|
|This poem is about how the world had started to get diseases due to eating various foods and Akaal Purakh seeing this sent a medicne, Dhanantar Vayd. This is the first time Guru Gobind Singh Ji described Akaal Purakh as Sarbloh.
|-
|27
|[[Sun|Suraj Avatar]]
|
|This is a poem about how the Sun is the greatest king of all. It rules all the land and makes the life there prosper, the plants ad animals are its citizens and the moon its enemy. The Moon and sun are in a constant power struggle/
|-
|28
|[[Moon|Chandra Avatar]]
|
|This is the story of the Moon who helps its citizens (All life in the world) get rest.
|-
|29
|[[Krishna|Krishna Avatar]]
|
|The Hinduism view of krishna is totally rejected in Gurmat. In Krishna Avtar, Guru Gobind SIngh is exposing Krishna life as described by hindus.
|-
|30
|[[Nara-Narayana|Nara Avatar]]
|
|It is a short poem about Vishnu's Nara incarnation-
''The Lord is one and He can be attained through the Grace of the True Guru. Now beings the description of Nara incarnation. Now I enumerate the twenty-second incarnation as to how he assumed this form. Arjuna became the Nara incarnation, who conquered the warriors of all the world. In the first place, he by killing all the warriors, weaing unfailing coat of mail, removed the anxiety of his father Indra; then he fought a battle with Rudra (Shiva), the king of ghosts, who bestowed a boon on him. Then he redeemed Duryodhana and burnt the king of Gandharavas in the fire of the Khandav forest; all these could not comprehend his secret. He conquered all the places, where several proud Kauravas lived; he pleased Krishna and obtained the certificate of victory from him. He killed Bhishma, the son of Ganga and Karan, the son of Surya after fighting a dreadful war with them; he conquered the mighty warrior Duryodhana and obtained the eternal kingdom.''
|-
|31
|[[Gautama Buddha|Gautama Buddha Avatar]]
|
|In this is the famous line-
''I do not adore Ganesha in the beginning and also do not meditate on Krishna and Vishnu; I have only heard about them with my ears and I do not recognize them; my consciousness is absorbed at the feet of the Supreme Kal'' .
 
 
Ath Baudh Avtar Teiysvo Kathan(ਅਥ ਬਉਧ ਅਵਤਾਰ ਤੇਈਸਵੌ ਕਥਨੰ ),also called Baudh Avtar, which is generally belief about Gautam Siddarth the 23rd Incarnation of Vishnu in many hindu scriptures like Harivamsha
|-
|32
|[[Nehkalank Avatar]]
|
|This is the story about the all powerful Nehkalank Avatar who would rule the world and destroy all sins.
|-
|33
|[[Raja Kharag|Raja Kharag Singh Di Vaar]]
|
|King Kharag Singh was a great king warrior who destroyed Lord Shiva and his sons, in a Battle with Lord Krishna. Lord Shiva joined battle on request of Lord Krishna. The battle is narrated in Dasam Granth written by Guru Gobind Singh.
Kharag Singh was ally of King Jarasandha and was deceptively won by Lord Krishna.
|-
|34
|[[Gobind Gita]]
|Sri Bhagwat Gita Bhakha Sri Gobind Singh Kirt
|This is a composition in the historical Patna Sahib Bir of Dasam Granth. This composition was deleted by the Sodhak Comittee (1895-1897). This composition is a translation and commentary of the Bhagavad Gita and how "Guru Gobind Singh", supposedly, saw the composition. It talks about the Khalsa warriors and the warriors in Krishna's army and other things. There is however doubt regarding the author. It starts with "Ik Oankaar Sri Waheguru ji ki fateh pahshahi 10" but the writing style seems more similar to one of the court poets than that of Akal Ustat or Bachitar Natak, etc.
|-
| 35 || [[Sabad Patshahi 10|Shabad Hazare]]|| Thousand hymns || actually contains nine hymns, each set to a ''raga'' (melody), with content similar to ''Chaubis Avatar'' section; the sixth is filled with grief and generally understood to have been composed by Guru Gobind Singh after the loss of all four sons in the wars with the [[Mughal Empire]];<ref name="SinghFenech2014p140" /> this section is missing in some early manuscripts of ''Dasam Granth''.<ref name="SinghFenech2014p140" />
|-
|36
|[[Malkauns Ki Vaar]]
|
|This is a very poetic song devoted to Akal Purakh. There is not much information about this chapter in Sikh History of literature. 11 pauris, Nanak Jo Prabh Bhawangey, Harji Harmandar Awangey.
|-
| 37 || [[Savaiye]]|| Swayyee || thirty-three verses that praise a god; asserts the mystery of god who is beyond what is in the Vedas and Puranas (Hindu), beyond the one in Quran (Muslim) and famously the Bible (Christian).<ref name="SinghFenech2014p141">{{cite book|author=Robin Rinehart|editor=Pashaura Singh and Louis E Fenech|title=The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8I0NAwAAQBAJ |year=2014|publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-969930-8 |page=141 }}</ref>
|-
|38
|[[Sharda Pooran Granth]]
|
|This Granth is uttered by Guru Gobind Singh Ji at Heera Ghat and talks about the job of a Khalsa and his duties to the faith. This Granth has lots of sub-chapters in it.
|-
|39
|[[Sabad Patshahi 10]]
|Shabads of the tenth master
|Sabad Patshahi 10, under the title [[Shabad (hymn)|Shabad]] ([[Punjabi language|Punjabi]]: ਸਬਦ), are ten religious hymns composed by [[Guru Gobind Singh]] that are present in Dasam Granth. These hymns have comments on ritualistic practices in [[Sanyas]], [[Jogi (caste)|Jogis]] and [[Bairagi]]s, and also against any form of [[idolatry]], human or [[deity]] worship.
|-
|40
|[[Sudham Marg Granth]]
|
|This was written by Guru Gobind Singh ji before he received Jot Jot in Nanded Sahib. It has relations to Shaster Naam Mala. It also has lots of sub-chapters within it.
|-
|41
|[[Tav-Prasad Savaiye]]
|
|Tavprasad means ''with thy grace''. This composition strongly rejects [[Idolatry in Sikhism|idolatry]], [[pilgrimage]]s, [[grave]] worshiping, [[samadhi]]s of [[yogi]]s and other ritualistic beliefs of [[Hinduism]], [[Jainism]], [[Buddhism]] and [[Islam]] as being of no use in attaining God if performed without the love of God and all her creation . It is included in [[Nitnem]], the daily morning prayers of Sikhs, and recited after completing [[Jaap Sahib]].
|-
|42
| [[Khalsa Mahima]]|| Praise of Khalsa || a short passage that explains why offerings to goddess Naina Devi by the general public are distributed to the [[Khalsa]] soldiers rather than Brahmin priests.<ref name="SinghFenech2014p141" />
|-
|43
| [[Ath Sri Shastar Naam Mala Purana Likhyate]]|| Shastar nam mala || The section title means a "garland of weapon names", and it has 1,300 verses;<ref name="SinghFenech2014p141" /> it lists and exalts various weapons of violence, declaring them to be symbols of God's power, states Rinehart;<ref name="SinghFenech2014p141" /> it includes the names of Hindu deities and the weapon they carry in one or more of their hands, and praises their use and virtues; the list includes weapons introduced in the 17th-century such as a rifle; some of the verses are riddles about weapons.<ref name="SinghFenech2014p141" />
|-
|44
| [[Sri Charitropakhyan]]|| Charitropakhian, Pakhyan Charitra, Tria Charitra || the largest part of the ''Dasam Granth'', it is a controversial section; it includes material which is not in tune with Guru Gobind Singh's writings, authenticity being put in to question';<ref name="SinghFenech2014p142">{{cite book|author=Robin Rinehart|editor=Pashaura Singh and Louis E Fenech|title=The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8I0NAwAAQBAJ |year=2014|publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-969930-8 |pages=141–142 }}</ref> it includes over 400 character features and behavioral sketches;<ref name="SinghFenech2014p142" /> these are largely characters of lustful women seeking extramarital sex and seducing men for love affairs without their husbands knowing; the characters delight in gambling, opium and liquor;<ref name="SinghFenech2014p142" /> these stories either end in illustrating human weaknesses with graphic description of sexual behavior, or illustrate a noble behavior where the seduction target refuses and asserts that "he cannot be a dharmaraja if he is unfaithful to his wife";<ref name="SinghFenech2014p142" /> the section is controversial, sometimes interpreted as a didactic discussion of virtues and vices; the charitras 21 through 23 have been interpreted by some commentators as possibly relating to Guru Gobind Singh's own life where he refused a seduction attempt;<ref name="SinghFenech2014p142" /> the final ''charitra'' (number 404) describes the [[Mughal people|Mughals]] and [[Pathan]]s as offsprings of demons, details many battles between gods and demons, ending with the victory of gods; the Benti Chaupai found in this last ''charitra'' is sometimes separated from its context by Sikhs and used or interpreted in other ways;<ref name="SinghFenech2014p142" /> Many modern popular print editions of ''Dasam Granth'' omit this section possibly because of the graphic nature; a few Sikh commentators have questioned the authorship of Dasam Granth in significant part because of this section, while others state that the text must be viewed in the perspective of the traumatic period of Sikh history when Guru Gobind Singh and his soldier disciples were fighting the Mughal Empire and this section could have been useful for the moral edification of soldiers at the war front against the vice.<ref name="SinghFenech2014p142" />{{refn|group=note|This view is supported by a remark found in ''Bansavalinama''. This remark states that scribes offered to Guru Gobind Singh to merge Adi Granth and his compositions into one scripture. He replied that they should not do so, keep the two separate because his compositions are mostly ''khed'' (entertainment).<ref>{{cite book|author=Robin Rinehart|editor=Pashaura Singh and Louis E Fenech|title=The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8I0NAwAAQBAJ |year=2014|publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-969930-8 |pages=144–145 }}</ref>}}
|-
|45
|[[Scimitar|Bhagauti Astoar]]
|
|'''Bhagauti Astotar''' (PA:ਭਗਉਤੀ ਅਸਤੋਤ੍ਰ), also called '''Sri Bhagauti ji astotar''', is a poem which is believed to be written by Guru Gobind Singh. This hymn is not available in SGPC published Dasam Granths but present in Patna Sahib Bir of Dasam Granth. Bhagauti Astotar is present in Gutka published by Buddha Dal and Hazoor Sahib and Gurmat Martand. The poem covers qualitative aspects of Bhagauti which is known as Adi Shakti or Hukam in Sikh philosophy.
|-
|46
|[[Majh Padshahi Dasven]]
|
|This is a short Punjabi poem about the Sikhs in the Majh area of Punjab and how faithful and religious they are.
|-
|47
|[[Chakka Bhagauti Ji Ka]]
|
|Chakka is a throwing weapon in the form of a disc with spikes. In Sikh chronicles the Chakka was used by Bhagauti to fight off evil forces. It is in this poem that the Guruji says that he does not believe in Bhagauti. Some scholars interpret this so that Guruji only wrote these poems to give the Khalsa moral esteem.
|-
|48
|[[Chaupai (Sikhism)|Benti Chaupai]]
|
|Benti Chaupai or Chaupai sahib is a prayer or Bani composed by the tenth Sikh Guru, Guru Gobind Singh Ji. This Bani is present in Charitar 404 of the Sri Dasam Granth Saahib Ji in Bani Ath Pakhyan Chairtar Likhyatey. This Bani is one of the five Banis recited by the initiated Sikh every morning. It is also a part of the evening prayer of the Sikhs called Rehras sahib. The Benti Chaupee can be read at any time during the day to provide protection, positive focus, and energy.
|-
|49
|[[Fateh Jang Dasven Padshah]]
|
|It is a short poem describing an unnamed battle in which Guru Gobind Singh emerged a victor. The poem consists of eight stanzas only. It begins with a dohra, followed by six savaiyyas, and ends with another dohra. It panegyrizes Bhagauti (sword) as the source of power, and as the defender of faith and honour. It also pays tribute to the fearless warriors who wield the sword and never turn their back on the enemy.
In capturing the battle scene, the Guruji has recourse to the usual devices of medieval warpoetry.In the traditional style, the mythological Kal and Narad are introduced with bloodthirsty Kaljogans swallowing bowlfuls of blood and jackals and vultures gorging themselves on the corpses of slain warriors. In the last line of the sixth savaiyya appears the name of The Khals, with the epithet of Fatehjang, i.e. victor of wars. In the final dohra, the poet advises the Guru`s disciples, never to have faith in any one god or goddess except God. The language of the Var, written in Gurmukhi characters, is a mixture of [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]], [[Persian language|Persian]] and [[Sant Bhasha]].
|-
|50
|Salok Dummala Da
|Dummala De Salok
|When the other Sahibzaade were sword fighting during Hola Mohalla Baba Fateh Singh was not allowed as he was too young. He came out of the tent dressed in Navy blue clothing with a long pharla coming out on top. The turban was very tall and came to be known as a fortress turban or Dastar Bunga. Afterwards the Guruji said that it would be the uniform of the Khalsa. Guru Gobind Singh ji did not write this poem and it was written by Baba Fateh Singh ji. It is meant to be recited by all Sikhs while they tie their turban.re-tying.
legged,


bunga/keski,
=== Other compositions ===


kachera,
==== Ugardanti ====
Ugardanti ({{langx|pa|ਉਗ੍ਰਦੰਤੀ}}, pronunciation: {{IPA|pa|ʊɡɾd̪aɛt̪iː|}}) is a poetic composition said to be written by [[Guru Gobind Singh]], after the creation of the [[Khalsa Panth]] at [[Anandpur Sahib]]. The composition is present in Dasam Granth Bir Patna Sahib. The [[Gurbani|bani]] contains information about the creation of the [[Khalsa Panth]], the dress code of the [[Sikh]]s, and is strictly against ritualism.<ref name=ugar_dant>Ugardanti – Guru Gobind Singh(Chandd 5th and 6th)</ref>


break,
Etymologically, Ugardanti is a feminine term made of two words, Ugar means Fierce and Danti means Tooth.<ref name=ugar_sanskrit>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=laIPgMQF_XsC&dq=danti+sanskrit+dictionary&pg=PA116|title=A Practical Sanskrit Dictionary with Transliteration, Accentuation, and Etymological Analysis Throughout|first=Arthur Anthony|last=Macdonell|date=5 January 2004|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publ.|isbn=9788120820005 |via=Google Books}}</ref> One having Fierce Tooth, is called Ugardanti. Guru Gobind Singh Ji invokes Adi Shakti in the form of the Fierce Toothed Ugardanti, writing various attributes of Ugardanti and asking for blessings and protection for the prosperity of the new Panth which is free from hypocrisy, ritualism, [[casteism]], human worship and [[Waheguru|worships only One Non-Dual God]].
|-
|51
|[[Jaggery|Gur De Salok]]
|
|Sikhs are meant to sing Gur de salok the practice of smashing the Gur (jaggery) after prashad has been prepared. The smashing of the gur is symbolic of the smashing of the enemies head as they would do this just before entering a war.  


In ''Bansavalinama Dasan Patshahian ka'' (1769), the author Kesar Singh Chibbar explains and quotes a few passages from Guru Gobind Singh's Ugardanti.<ref name=ugar_bansali>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thesikhencyclopedia.com/sikh-scriptures-and-literature/eighteenth-century-literature/bansavalinama-dasan-patshahian-ka/|title=BANSAVALINAMA DASAN PATSHAHIAN KA – The Sikh Encyclopedia|date=19 December 2000}}</ref>


Now some Nihangs wrongly sing this while crushing Nudga before the Shaheedi Degh is prepared, they call this Nadga De Salok instead of Gur De Salok.
In ''Hum Hindu Nahi''(1898 ), the author [[Bhai Kahn Singh Nabha]], believed that Ugardanti Bani was not written by Guru Gobind Singh but by Bhai Sukha Singh, a priest at Patna.<ref name=ugar_Nabha>Sikhs...We are not Hindus: Kahn Singh Nabha: {{ISBN|81-7205-379-7}}</ref> However, Sukha Singh's works came into being after the Bansavalinama of Kesar Singh Chibbar.
|-
|52
|[[Prasāda|Prashad De Salok]]
|
|This is sung while preparing prashad and some Nihangs have also altered this bani's meaning as some of them drink Shaheedi Degh.
|-
|53
|[[Mata Jito|Mata Jito ki Salok]]
|
|This is a small poem on how the Guru loved Mata Jito and how women and men are equal.
|-
|54
|[[Salotar|Salotar Mehima]]
|
|Here is a short poem on the club, Salotar-


[[Nihang]] and [[Namdhari]] Sikhs believe it to be written by Guru Gobind Singh and is part of their daily liturgy. It was and is read to inspire warriors to stand up for truth and righteousness in the face of tyranny and oppression. The Composition is divided into six verses called Chhands in which the syllables and the rhythm are arranged in a precisely controlled pattern. The Type of Chhandd used is Bhagvati Chhand.


ਫਲ ਫੁੱਲ ਝਾੜਨੇ ਕੋ ਤਸਕਰ ਕੇ ਤਾੜਨੇ ਕੋ ਸਪ ਮਾਰ ਡਾਰਨੇ ਕੋ ਸੋਟਾ ਸਾਵਧਾਨ ਹੈ ।
==== Tav-Prasad Savaiye ====
Tav-Prasad Savaiye ({{langx|pa|ਤ੍ਵਪ੍ਰਸਾਦਿ ਸ੍ਵਯੇ}}, pronunciation: {{IPA|pa|t̪ʋᵊəpɾʱəsäːd̪ sʋⁱ˸je|}}, lit. ‘exclusively you, in war song meter’) is a short composition of 10 stanzas which is part of daily liturgy among [[Sikh]]s (''[[Nitnem]]''). It was penned down by [[Guru Gobind Singh]] and is part of his composition ''Akal Ustat'' (The praise of God).<ref name="mcleod">{{cite encyclopedia
|last=McLeod
|first=W. H.
|encyclopedia=The A to Z of Sikhism
|title=Ten Savvayas
|year=2009
|publisher=Scarecrow Press
|quote=''A portion of Akaal Ustat appointed as a part of early morning order of nitnem''
}}</ref> This is an important composition which is read during [[Amrit Sanchar]]. This ''[[Gurbani|Bani]]'' appears in the Dasam Granth on pages 13 to 15, starting from Stanza 21 of Akal Ustat.


To knock down any fruit, or to punish a thief, and to kill a snake the Club is forever ready!
Tavprasad means ''with thy grace''.<ref name="mahakosh">{{cite encyclopedia
|last=Nabha
|first=Kahn Singh
|encyclopedia=Gur Shabad Ratnakar Mahankosh
|title=ਤਵ ਪ੍ਰਸਾਦਿ
|language=pa
|publisher=Sudarshan Press
|quote=''ਤੇਰੀ ਕ੍ਰਿਪਾ ਕਰਕੇ. ਤੇਰੀ ਦਯਾ ਦ੍ਵਾਰਾ.''
}}</ref> This composition strongly rejects [[idolatry in Sikhism|idolatry]], [[pilgrimage]]s, [[Veneration of the dead|grave worshiping]], [[samadhi]]s of [[yogi]]s and other ritualistic beliefs of [[Hinduism]], [[Jainism]] and [[Islam]] as being of no use in attaining God if performed without the love of God and all his creation . It is included in [[Nitnem]], the daily morning prayers of Sikhs, and recited after completing [[Jaap Sahib]]. It starts with ''Sravag Sudh Samuh Sidhan Ke'' and goes up to ''Koor Kriya Urjheo Sab Hi Jag''. Among many famous quotes from Tav-Prasad Savaiye, ''"Jin Prem Kiyo Tin Hi Prabhu Paayo"'' is widely quoted by different scholars of different religions. In ''Dialogues on Universal Responsibility and Education'', the [[14th Dalai Lama|Dalai Lama]] quoted it while giving lessons on love.<ref>{{cite book |last=(Dalai Lama XIV)|first=Bstan-ʼdzin-rgya-mtsho |date=1995 |title=Dialogues on Universal Responsibility and Education|publisher=Library of Tibetan Works and Archives |page=25}}</ref>


ਵਗ ਕੇ ਚਰਾਵਨੇ ਕੋ ਕੁੱਤੇ ਕੇ ਹਟਾਵਨੇ ਕੋ ਬਾਲਕ ਡਰਾਵਨੇ ਕੋ ਸੋਟਾ ਸਾਵਧਾਨ ਹੈ ।
Tav-Prasad Savaiye is very important part of the [[Nitnem]]. Among other things [[Nitnem]] works as a shield for the Khalsa <sub>(Khalsa is a perfect human being, which is the vision of Guru Gobind Singh by the orders of Akal Purkh. Such a human is perfectly capable of defending himself and others from the attacks of enemy(both spiritual and temporal)).</sub> Specifically Savaiye act as a shield against the attacks of Pride, Ignorance, Hatred, Hypocrisy and Delusions.


To herd cattle or to prevent a dog attack and to scare a spoilt child, the Club is forever ready!
== Role in Sikh liturgy and access ==
 
The compositions within ''Dasam Granth'' play a huge role in Sikh liturgy, which is prescribed by [[Sikh Rehat Maryada]]:
ਭੰਗ ਭੁੰਗ ਘੋਟਨੇ ਕੋ ਵੈਰੀ ਦਲ ਰੋਕਨੇ ਕੋ ਮੂਰਖ ਕੇ ਠੋਕਨੇ ਕੋ ਸੋਟਾ ਸਾਵਧਾਨ ਹੈ ।
* Jaap Sahib is part of [[Nitnem]], which Sikh recites daily in morning.<ref name="Sikhsdiaspora">Page 133, Sikhs in the Diaspora, Surinder Singh Bakhshi, Dr [[Surinder Singh Bakhshi]], 2009</ref><ref name="srmdasam">''The Japu, the Jaapu and the Ten Sawayyas (Quartets) – beginning "Sarwag sudh"-- in the morning.'': Chapter III, Article IV, Sikh Rehat Maryada</ref>
 
* [[Tav-Prasad Savaiye]], again a bani of Nitnem, is part of Akal Ustat composition, which is recited daily in morning along with above.<ref name="Sikhsdiaspora" />
To grind up medicine, to halt an enemies army, and to punish an idiot the Club is forever ready!
* [[Chaupai (Sikhism)|Benti Chaupai]], is part of [[Sri Charitropakhyan]], which is recited in morning as well as evening prayers.<ref name="srmdasam" />
 
* Jaap, Tav Prasad Savaiye and Chaupai are read while preparing Khande Batey Ki Pahul for Khalsa initiation.<ref name="JacobsenMyrvold2012p233" />
ਕਹਿਤ ਬਿਹਾਰੀ ਰਾਮ ਸੋਟੇ ਕਾ ਹੀ ਸਭ ਜਹਾਨ ਜਿਸ ਹੱਥ ਸੋਟਾ ਤਿਸਕਾ ਹੀ ਮਾਨ ਤਾਨ ਹੈ ।
* The first stanza of the Sikh [[ardās]] is from Chandi di Var.<ref name="JacobsenMyrvold2012p233" />
 
* As per Sikh Rehat Maryada, a stanza of Chaubis Avtar, "pae gahe jab te tumre", should be comprised in So Dar Rehras.<ref>''iii) the Sawayya beginning with the words "pae gahe jab te tumre"'': Article IV, Chapter III, Sikh Rehat Maryada</ref>
Says Bihari Ram, the Club is for the whole world ! Whosoever has a club in their hand is granted great respect!
|-
|55
|[[Hanuman|Hanuman Natak]]
|
|For those who have read the ancient Hindu text “Ramayana” detailing the battles between Ram Chandar and his nemesis Ravan, Hanuman’s loyalty cannot be called into doubt. He was faithful to his king up to such an extent, that he was even willing to burn himself alive for him. Such was the loyalty which the Guru wanted to view in his Sikhs.
|-
|56
|[[Pooran Tam Avatar]]
|
|This is the highest Avtar. This was Guru Nanak Dev Ji. All avtars are made of satogun but according to Gurmat the early avtars were created out of maya, and hence caught up in it. Guru Nanak Dev Ji however was a 100% mirror reflection of God, and hence he was not hampered by the obstacles which hampered the earlier avtars.
|-
| 57||[[Chaupai (Sikhism)|Chaupai]] Sahib || Kabyo Bach Benti || A part of the last ''charitra'' of the Charitropakhian section above; it is sometimes separated and used independently.<ref name="SinghFenech2014p142" />
|-
|58
|[[Muktinama]]
|Epistle of Enlightenment
|Muktinama is a composition that is said to have been recited by Guru Gobind Singh in his court. In this, Guru Gobind Singh describes how a Khalsa should live. It was apart of the Sudham Marg Granth but it has now been separated into a different chapter.
|-
|59
|[[Ugardanti|Ugardandi]]
|Fierce sword/tooth
|Guru Gobind Singh Ji invokes Adi Shakti in the form of the Fierce Toothed Ugardanti, writing various attributes of Ugardanti and asking for blessings and protection for the prosperity of the new Panth which is free from hypocrisy, ritualism, [[casteism]], human worship and [[Waheguru|worships only One Non-Dual God]]. Ugardanti is a composition that is present only in Dasam Granth Bir Patna Sahib. There are six Chandds of this bani.
|-
|60
|[[Lakhi Jungle Khalsa]]
|The Khalsa of the Lakhi Jungle
|The Lakhi Jungle Khalsa is a short poem of two paragraphs on the Khalsa longing to see the Guruji ;
'''The entire Lakhi Jungle Khalsa in english-'''
 
''Lakhi Jungle was during Afghan Rule, on Esat of Dipalpur there was a big forest. This area was from Satluj-Beas river upto Sabo Talvandi.The South of it was Bikaner Kingdom and North of it meet with Taluka.''
 
''In the Lakkhee Jungle, the Khalsa heard of His coming and they longed to see Him. Just like when the water buffalo hear the call of the herdsman, they leave their food and water to rush to him. In their joy and excitement they ran to see their Beloved, each trying to pass the other to get there first. Their pain was gone when they met the Guru, their herdsman, and they gave their thanks.''
|-
| 61|| [[Zafarnama (letter)|Zafarnamah]] || Epistle of victory || A letter written in 1706 by Guru Gobind Singh to Emperor [[Aurangzeb]] in Persian language;<ref name="Britannica2009">{{cite book|last=Britannica|first=Inc Encyclopaedia|title=Encyclopedia of World Religions|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IDsk47MeksAC|year=2009|publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica|isbn=978-1-59339-491-2|page=279}}</ref> it chastises the Mughal emperor for promising a safe passage to his family but then reneging on that promise, attacking and killing his family members;<ref name="SinghFenech2014p143">{{cite book|author=Robin Rinehart|editor=Pashaura Singh and Louis E Fenech|title=The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8I0NAwAAQBAJ |year=2014|publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-969930-8 |pages=142–143 }}</ref> In this Dhan Guru Gobind Singh Ji talks about how if the Holy Prophet were at Chamkaur in person then Aurangzeb wouldn't have lied. He also talks about the Greek Gods of Olympus and Satan.
|-
|62
|[[Tria Chartar]]
|
|The Chandi Charitra follows and in fact is a part of the Bachittar Natak. The aim of writing this piece was to inspire the common man to rise up against the tyrannical rulers of the time and to fight and sacrifice all they had for their freedom. He invokes the blessings of the Almighty God thus.
This composition is in the form savaiye-an Indian metre of one and a quarter line. The mood is essentially forceful and fierce. The descriptions of the battles have been brought out beautifully through the use of similes and metaphors. The battle scenes are a true portrayal of the strategies and maneuvers of warfare as practiced in the times. The style is lucid and clear leading to a vivid and true presentation of the theatre of war.
|-
|63
|[[Fatehnamah]]
|Epistle of Victory
|Besides the Zafarnama, there is another work of Guru Gobind Singh Ji in Persian language known as "Fatehnama" also meaning a "letter of victory". Some opine that this letter was sent before the Zafarnama while according to some, this is in fact a part of Zafanama itself. The latter have started the Zafarnama with the 24 verses of Fatehnama; first verse of traditional Zafarnama becoming verse 25 in such compositions. In the Fatehnamah [[Guru Gobind Singh|Guru Gobind Singh Ji]] famously mentions the Mahrattas and the Rajputs.
|-
| 64|| [[Hikaaitaan|Hikayat]] || Hikaitan || Usually grouped with the Zafarnama section, these are twelve tales unrelated to Zafarnama but probably linked because some versions have these in Persian language; the content of this section is closer in form and focus to the Charitropakhian section above;<ref name="SinghFenech2014p143" />  
|-
|65
|[[Humility|Inhi ki kirpa kay saje hum hain]]
|
|Despite that fact that he was a marvellous soldier and highly intelligent person, he says that he has attained his status because of the Sikhs, “einehee kee kripaa kae sajae ham hai” – It is because of the kirpa (blessing) of them (‘einehee kee’ referring to the Khalsa) that I am established (‘sajae ham hai’)-


In the [[Nihang]] tradition, the ''Dasam Granth'' is given equal scriptural status as the ''Adi Granth'' (first volume).<ref name=britannicanamdhari>{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Namdhari|title=Namdhari (Sikh sect)|author= ((Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica))|publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica|year= 2019}}</ref> [[Chandi di Var]] is also an important prayer among [[Nihang]] and Namdhari Sikhs.{{citation needed|date=December 2019}}


''It is through the actions of the Khalsa that I have been victorious, and have been able to give charities to others.''
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.<ref name="wd1999p279" /> 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.<ref name="SinghFenech2014p142" /> In its history, the entire text was in the active possession of the Khalsa soldiers.{{refn|group=note|According to Giani Gian Singh, the full copy of the ''Dasam Granth'' was in possession of the [[Dal Khalsa (Sikh Army)]], an 18th-century Sikh army, at the [[Battle of Kup]] and was lost during the [[Vadda Ghalughara]].<ref>Giani Kirpal Singh (samp.), Sri Gur Panth Parkash, Vol. 3 (Amritsar: Manmohan Singh Brar, 1973), pp. 1678–80, verses 61-62</ref>}}


''It is through their help that I have overcome all sorrows and ailments and have been able to fill our homes with treasures.''
=== Opposition to the scripture ===
Opposition to the Dasam Granth arose during the colonial-period, particularly during the Singh Sabha movement. The debate regarding the scripture revolves around the nature of its authorship.<ref name=":3" />


''It is through their grace that I have got education, and through their assistance I have conquered all my enemies.''
According to Kamalroop Singh, during the [[Akali movement]] in the 1920's, the Dasam Granth codex that was installed in the Akal Takht in Amritsar was attacked by reformist Sikhs allied with Teja Singh Bhasauria, who speared it and threw it out of the window of the building. Also in the 1920's, the pages of the Dasam Granth installed at Gurdwara Ramsar Sahib was desecrated using knives. Between 1920–40, many Dasam Granth manuscripts were desecrated by Sikhs who opposed the scripture. Contemporary writer Bhagat Singh blames these desecrations on so-called ''Ingrez Sikhs'' ("English Sikhs") that were influenced by the British. [[Kartar Singh Jhabbar]] took-control of the Akal Takht from its Nihang custodians in 1920, with the Dasam Granth installed there (supposedly dated to 1698) being desecrated in the process of the takeover. According to the Nihang Sikh Anup Singh, who was active during the period of the Nihang leader Sahib Singh Kaladhari, the SGPC used women to takeover the Akal Takht from the Nihangs, as the Akali-Nihangs would not attack women.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Singh |first=Bhagat |url=https://www.scribd.com/doc/307301947/Miss%C4%AB-J%C4%81tt-D%C4%AB-Kart%C5%ABt |title=Missī Jātt Dī Kartūt |last2=Singh |first2=Kamalroop |publisher=Sri Chandar Press |year=1923 |edition=Internet |location=Amritsar |trans-title=The Deeds of a Hybrid Caste |chapter=Foreword}}</ref>
 
''It is through their aid that I have attained this status, otherwise there are millions of unknown men like me.''
|-
|65
|[[Prem Ambodh Pothi]]
|Book of knowledge about loving devotion
|This poem attributed to Guru Gobind Singh, and is included in the Dasam Granth. Written in AD 1693, the book has, besides the introductory chapter, sixteen sections, each devoted to a bhakta. In the first part of the book are described the lives of eleven bhaktas belonging to the period from 10th to 16th centuries: Bhagat Beni, Bhagat Dhanna,Bhagat Namdev, Bhagat Pipa, Bhagat Ramanand, Bhagat Ravidas, Bhagat Sadhna, Bhagat Sain, Bhagat Surdas, Bhagat Trilochan, Kabir, Sheikh Farid and Mata Meerabai. Bhaktas of earlier periods Prahlad, Dhru, Sukdev and Balmiki are dealt with in the second part. The language of the Pothi is a mixture of Hindi and Punjabi and the verse measures commonly used are Dohira and Chaupai.
|-
|66
|[[Rajput Ghode]]
|The horses of Rajputs
|This poem was written when Guru Gobind Singh Ji was going through [[Rajputana]] and he gave many compliments to the courage, ferocity and chivalry of the Rajput clans and Kingdoms. Kahn Singh Nabha stated that Guru Gobind Singh Ji was very impressed when he saw the forces of  [[Durgadas Rathore]] and [[Ajit Singh of Marwar]] when he was in [[Ranthambore National Park|Ranthambore]] and wrote a poem on their bravery in the battlefield.
|-
|67
|[[Mangal Parkash]]
|
|Some Sikhs consider this to be the writing of Guru Gobind Singh Ji. The most followed version of this is that the Khalsa would dwindle to a spark and then spread like wildfire, then there would be 960 Million Khalsa warriors and only then will the Guru be in his golden age.
|-
|68
|[[Bija Mukta Sakhi Dasvi]]
|
|This predicts the rise of British power, Maharaja Ranjit Singh, Anglo-Sikh Wars, Partition and the Kalki and Nehkalank Avatar. It also predicts Operation Blue Star and how many Sikhs would be slaughtered and a widow would attack and a saint would try to stop her. Then he also talks about today's Sikhs who cut their Kesh take drugs and alcohol and how they would lose their Sensibility, Pride and would fall to the five thieves.
|-
|69
|[[Zindaginamah|Zindaginama]]
|Bandginama
|The author called it Bandginama (Book of Prayer) and composed it in Persian. Guru Gobind Singh Sahib changed its title to Zindginama (Book of Life). Its theme is the ‘love of God and devotion to Guru;’ God is described as Creator of Universe and as One who has imparted life to all creatures. It contains 510 verses and is believed to be his first piece of work, which he wrote after he shifted to Anandpur to join Guru Sahib Ji. At places the verses echo those in the Guru Granth Sahib. It was written by Bhai Nand Lal Goya.
|-
|70
|[[The 52 Hukams of Guru Gobind Singh|52 Hukams of Guru Gobind Singh Ji]]
|52 order of Dasam Padishah
|The 52 [[Hukam]]s are a set of instruction in [[Sikhism]] set by [[Guru Gobind Singh]] in [[Nanded]], [[Maharashtra]], India in 1708. These edicts sum up the ideal way of life of the [[Khalsa]] and serve as a code of conduct for the Khalsa Panth. Members of the Khalsa (baptized [[Sikh]]s) aim to follow all the 52 edicts though the authenticity and origin of Hukams can be questioned and they seem to be made in more modern times as the style of Punjab is quite modern but many of them come from older writings such as [[Bhai Nand Lal]]'s Tankanama.
|}
There is some Bani that has been mentioned in letters and books but has not been found, such as letters to [[Bahadur Shah I|Bahadur Shah]] and the Rajput Revolt and a letter to [[Wazir Khan (Sirhind)|Wazir Khan]] about the death of [[Pir Budhan Shah|Pir Buddha Shah.]] Of the above 67 chapters only 18 are in the SGPC Dasam Granth while 65 are in the Budha Dal Dasam Granth (excludes Gobind Gita and Bitchak Natak).


=== Dasam Granth Composition ===
Following these incidents, the SGPC stopped holding ''parkash'' (enthronement) of the scripture at Sikh gurdwaras, except on special occasions such as the Gurpurab of Guru Gobind Singh, where an akhand path of the Dasam Granth was performed. After 1947, it was no longer installed at SGPC-controlled gurdwaras even on Guru Gobind Singh's gurpurab.<ref name=":2" />
{{Pie chart|caption=Number of hymns contributed to the Guru Granth Sahib{{citation needed|date=November 2020}}|color10=#ef89ff|label16=Ugardandi|label15=Lakhi Jungle Khalsa|label14=Rajput Ghode|label13=Tav Prasad Saviye|label12=33 Saviye|value11=1.51|label11=Shabad Hazare|color11=#0001ff|label18=Shastar Naam Mala|color12=#55f849|color17=#26E699|value10=0.7|value9=2.06|value8=5.5|value7=1.61|value6=6.04|label17=Khalsa Mehima|label19=Kabyo Baach Bente|value4=6.66|value16=0.05|value23=10.0|value22=0.6|value21=1.09|value20=25.4|value19=5.26|value18=10.8|value17=1.66|value15=0.03|label20=Charitropakhyan|value14=1.1|value13=1|value12=1.43|label24=52 Hukams of Guru Gobind Singh Ji|label23=Hikayats|label22=Fatehnama|label21=Zafarnama|value5=3.90|value3=6.03|label1=Japji Sahib|color5=#2500FF|color29=#0DECAF|label10=Sansahar Sukhmana|label9=Rudar Avatar|label8=Brahm Avatar|label7=Ramkali Dasam Padishah|color6=#FF2500|label6=Chaubis Avatar|label5=Gian Prabodh|color28=#DABBED|color4=#FFA500|label4=Bachitar Natak|color3=#DAFF00|label3=Chandi Chartar|color2=#00DAFF|label2=Akal Ustat|color1=#FFE500|color14=#8A00FF|color16=#6AD4FF|value2=5.3|color23=#000000|value1=3.2|color7=#A3FF00|color13=#000AFF|color19=#81FFFE|color21=#0CE0FF|color22=#0CFFB4|color8=#0CFF3B|color24=#00FFCB|color20=#34FF33|color25=#FF007F|color30=#FF00B1|color18=#AF0D0D|color9=#FFF700|color26=#BCFF33|color15=#33D5FF|color27=#7E33FF|value24=0.03}}


* Jaap Sahib
== Manuscripts ==
* Akal Ustat
[[File:Bhai Mani Singh's letter addressed to Mata Sundari in April 1716 concerning the condition of the Sikhs and his mission of collecting Guru Gobind Singh's compositions.jpg|right|thumb|Acclaimed letter of [[Bhai Mani Singh]] discussing the compilation of various [[Gurbani|banis]] of ''Dasam Granth'']]
* Chandi Charitar
The oldest manuscript of ''Dasam Granth'' is likely the Anandpuri Hazuri Bir (Not to be confused with the Anandpuri Marco [[Guru Granth Sahib|Adi Granth]]). It is dated to 1698 CE. A few folio pages were definitely added later ([[Zafarnama (letter)|Zafarnama]] and Hikayats), because they were composed after 1700 (circa 1705 CE), and are in a different style and format, and lack the folio numbers present on all pages elsewhere. These letters of Guru Gobind Singh may have been appended in the early 18th century.<ref name="FenechMcLeod2014p92" /> According to another view, the earliest surviving manuscript of the complete text is dated to 1713 CE (Bhai Mani Singh's manuscript), and the early manuscript versions have minor variations with apocryphal writings.<ref name="wd1999p279" />
* Bachitar Natak
* Chandi di Var
* Gian Prabodh
* Chaubis Avtar
* Ramkali of the Tenth Master
* Brahm Avtar
* Rudar Avtar
* Sansahar Sukhmana
* Shabad Hazare
* 33 Swayyae
* Tav Prasad Saviye
* Rajput Ghode
* Lakhi Jungle Khalsa.
* Ugardanti<ref name="FenechMcLeod2014p92" />
* Khalsa Mehma
* Shastar Nam Mala
* Kabyo Baach Bentee
* Charitropakhyan
* Zafarnama
* Fatehnama
* Hikayats
* 52 Hukams of Guru Gobind Singh ji


== Role in Sikh liturgy, access ==
[[File:Old Dasam Granth Bir (Copy).jpg|thumb|Guru Gobind Singh with the Goddess [[Durga|Bhagwati]]]]
The compositions within ''Dasam Granth'' play a huge role in Sikh liturgy, which is prescribed by [[Sikh Rehat Maryada]]:
Other important manuscripts include two Patna manuscripts both from 1698 CE found in Bihar, and the Mani Singh Vali Bir (1713 CE) in New Delhi. The Mani Singh Bir is a combined recension of the [[Guru Granth Sahib|Adi Granth]] and Dasam Granth. It presents the Zafarnama and Hikayats in the [[Nastaliq|Perso-Arabic Nastaliq]] script.<ref name="FenechMcLeod2014p92" />
* Jaap Sahib is part of [[Nitnem]], which Sikh recites daily in morning.<ref name="Sikhsdiaspora">Page 133, Sikhs in the Diaspora, Surinder Singh bakhshi, Dr Surinder Bakhshi, 2009</ref><ref name="srmdasam">''The Japu, the Jaapu and the Ten Sawayyas (Quartets) – beginning "Sarwag sudh"-- in the morning.'': Chapter III, Article IV, Sikh Rehat Maryada</ref>
* [[Tav-Prasad Savaiye]], again a bani of Nitnem, is part of Akal Ustat composition, which is recited daily in morning along with above.<ref name="Sikhsdiaspora" />
* [[Chaupai (Sikhism)|Benti Chaupai]], is part of [[Sri Charitropakhyan]], which is recited in morning as well as evening prayers.<ref name="srmdasam" />
* Jaap, Tav Prasad Savaiye and Chaupai are read while preparing Khande Batey Ki Pahul for Khalsa initiation.<ref name="JacobsenMyrvold2012p233"/>
* The first stanza of the Sikh [[ardās]] is from Chandi di Var.<ref name="JacobsenMyrvold2012p233"/>
* As per Sikh Rehat Maryada, a stanza of Chaubis Avtar, "pae gahe jab te tumre", should be comprised in So Dar Rehras.<ref>''iii) the Sawayya beginning with the words "pae gahe jab te tumre"'': Article IV, Chapter III, Sikh Rehat Maryada</ref>


In the [[Nihang]] tradition – considered heretical by the Khalsa Sikhs,<ref name="Parsons2012p221">{{cite book|author=Gerald Parsons|title=The Growth of Religious Diversity - Vol 1: Britain from 1945 Volume 1: Traditions|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VwqT8T70ofAC&pg=PA221|year=2012|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-135-08895-8|pages=221–222}}</ref> the ''Dasam Granth'' is given equal scriptural status as the ''Adi Granth'' (first volume).<ref name=britannicanamdhari>{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Namdhari|title=Namdhari (Sikh sect)|author= Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica|publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica|year= 2019}}</ref> [[Chandi di Var]] is also an important prayer among [[Nihang]] and Namdhari Sikhs.{{citation needed|date=December 2019}}
The early Anandpuri, Patna, and Mani Singh manuscripts include writings that are disputed in the contemporary era, as well as sections such as the ''Ugradanti'' and ''Sri Bhagauti Astotra'' that were removed from the ''Dasam Granth'' codified in the 20th century by the ''Sodhak Committee''.<ref name="FenechMcLeod2014p92" /> There is also a manuscript of the Dasam Granth attributed to Bhai Daya Singh with many Apocryphal Writings, as well as the 1765 Illuminated ''Patna Missal'' manuscript from [[Jammu]].


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.<ref name="wd1999p279"/> 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.<ref name="SinghFenech2014p142"/> In its history, the entire text was in the active possession of the Khalsa soldiers.{{refn|group=note|According to Giani Gian Singh, the full copy of the ''Dasam Granth'' was in possession of the [[Dal Khalsa (Sikh Army)]], an 18th-century Sikh army, at the [[Battle of Kup]] and was lost during the [[Vadda Ghallughara]].<ref>Giani Kirpal Singh (samp.), Sri Gur Panth Parkash, Vol. 3 (Amritsar: Manmohan Singh Brar, 1973), pp. 1678–80, verses 61-62</ref>}}
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.<ref name="wd1999p279">{{cite book|author1=Wendy Doniger|author2=Encyclopaedia Britannica staff|title=Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of World Religions |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780877790440 |url-access=registration|year=1999|publisher=Merriam-Webster|isbn=978-0-87779-044-0 |page=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780877790440/page/279 279]}}</ref>


==Manuscripts==
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.<ref name="Rinehart2011p43" /> 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.<ref name="Rinehart2011p43" /> 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.<ref name="Rinehart2011p43" /> 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.<ref name="Rinehart2011p43">{{cite book|author=Robin Rinehart|title=Debating the Dasam Granth |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qe6WnpbT2BkC |year=2011|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-984247-6|pages=43–46 }}</ref> 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.<ref name="SinghFenech2014p136" /><gallery>
File:Opening folio of a Dasam Granth manuscript authored by Baba Deep Singh.jpg|Opening folio of a Dasam Granth manuscript authored by Baba Deep Singh
File:'Khas Patra' (important page) containing a correction authored by Guru Gobind Singh from the 'Anandpuri Hazuri bir' (manuscript) of the Dasam Granth.png|A correction authored by Guru Gobind Singh from the 'Anandpuri Hazuri Bir' (manuscript) of the Dasam Granth from 1698 CE
File:Guru Gobind Singh's handwriting in non-calligraphic script.webp|Page from the Bhai Mani Singh combined Adi-Dasam Maniscript authored in 1713 CE
File:Decorated page of the Dasam Granth from the Patna Sahib bir (manuscript) 03.jpg|Decorated page of the Dasam Granth from a Patna Manuscript
File:Patna Sahib bir (manuscript) of the Dasam Granth, traditionally dated to 1755 Bikrami (1698 CE).jpg|Another Patna Manuscript of the Dasam Granth authored in 1698 CE
File:Folio of the Charitropakhyan from the Patna Missal Dasam Granth manuscript from 1765.jpg|Illuminated Charitropakhyan folio from the Patna Missal Dasam Granth manuscript from 1765 CE
File:Folio of the Apocryphal "Bhagauti Astotar" Composition in the "Aurangabadi Dasam Granth Bir" attributed to Bhai Daya Singh.png|Folio of the Apocryphal "Bhagauti Astotar" Composition in the "Aurangabadi Dasam Granth Bir" attributed to Bhai Daya Singh
</gallery>


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.<ref name="FenechMcLeod2014p92"/> According to another view, the earliest surviving manuscript of the complete text is dated to 1713, and the early manuscript versions have minor variations.<ref name="wd1999p279"/>
== Musicology ==
{{Further|Sikh music}}
Similar to the Guru Granth Sahib, the verses found within the Dasam Granth are set to [[Indian classical music|Indic classical music]], known as ''[[Sikh music|gurmat sangeet]]''. All-together, a total of 21 raags are employed in the Dasam Granth, compared to the 174 found in the [[Sarbloh Granth]] and the 62 found in the Guru Granth Sahib (which also contains 17 ''[[Tala (music)|taals]]'').<ref name=":8">{{Cite book |last=Mahapatra|first=Abinash|title=An Analytical Research on Sri Sarbloh Granth (A Journey from the Unexplored to Explored)|publisher=Publication Bureau, Punjabi Global Foundation (Odisha Chapter)|year=2021|pages=18–25|chapter=5: The Cultural Aspects of Sri Sarbloh Bani}}</ref>


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.<ref name="FenechMcLeod2014p92"/> The [[Bhai Mani Singh]] manuscript of ''Dasam Granth'' has been dated to 1721, was produced with the support of [[Mata Sundari]], states Gobind Mansukhani.<ref name="Mansukhani1993">{{cite book|last=Mansukhani|first=Gobind Singh|title=Hymns from the Dasam Granth|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=59EOQ2M7dQkC|year=1993|publisher=Hemkunt Press|isbn=978-81-7010-180-2|page=10}}</ref>
==Other compilations==
===Das Granthi===
A Das Granthi (ਦਸ ਗ੍ਰੰਥੀ) is a small religious booklet containing only few selected compositions from Dasam Granth. Das stands for ''Ten'' and Granthi stands for ''booklet''. It means Booklet of 10th Guru of Sikhism. This booklet was created for beginners and lay readers for reading these compositions in daily liturgy for proper understanding.<ref>Page 330, Punjab District and State Gazetteers: Compiled and published under the authority of the Punjab government, 1900</ref><ref>Page 62, Struggle of the Sikhs for Sovereignty, Surjit Singh Gandhi</ref><ref>Page 180, The Guru Consorts, Mahindara Kaura Gilla, Radha Publications</ref>


The early Anandpuri, Patna and Mani Singh manuscripts include the Indian mythologies 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.<ref name="FenechMcLeod2014p92"/>
There is no standardization of this booklet and various sects in Sikhism have their own versions. The [[Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee]] contains eight texts namely, [[Jaap Sahib|Jaap]], [[Bachittar Natak|Bachitra Natak]], [[Chandi Charitar Ukti Bilas|Chandi Charitra]] I, [[Sabad Patshahi 10|Shabad Hazare Patshahi 10]], [[Akal Ustat]]i, [[Chandi Charitar II|Chandi Charitra]] 2, Gian Prabodh and [[Chandi di Var]].<ref>[https://www.thesikhencyclopedia.com/scriptures/sri-guru-granth-sahib-and-guru-gobind-singhs-bani/das-granthi The Sikh Encyclopedia]</ref>


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.<ref name="wd1999p279">{{cite book|author1=Wendy Doniger|author2=Encyclopaedia Britannica staff|title=Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of World Religions |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780877790440 |url-access=registration|year=1999|publisher=Merriam-Webster|isbn=978-0-87779-044-0 |page=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780877790440/page/279 279]}}</ref>
== Apocryphal Dasam Granth writings ==
[[File:1700s Dasam Granth with Missing space after 324th Charitar.png|thumb|1700s Dasam Granth with Missing space after 324th Charitar]]There are a plethora of writings attributed to Guru Gobind Singh that are not in the standardised Dasam Granth. These select writings are sometimes found in certain early manuscripts.<ref>Singh, Kamalroop. "The Granth of Guru Gobind Singh: essays, lectures, and translations."</ref> These include but are not limited to:<ref>{{cite web | url=https://archive.org/details/dasam-sri-guru-granth-sahib-ji-maharaj | title=Dasam Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji Maharaj | date=24 January 2024 }}</ref>


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.<ref name="Rinehart2011p43"/> 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.<ref name="Rinehart2011p43"/> 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.<ref name="Rinehart2011p43"/> 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.<ref name="Rinehart2011p43">{{cite book|author=Robin Rinehart|title=Debating the Dasam Granth |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qe6WnpbT2BkC |year=2011|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-984247-6|pages=43–46 }}</ref> 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.<ref name="SinghFenech2014p136"/>
* Asfottak Kabitt
* Sahansar Sukhmana
* Gobind Gita
* Rubai P. 10
* Uggardanti
* Raag Sorath P. 10 (Rajput Ghode)
* Raag Asa P. 10
* [[Fatehnama]]
* Indra Kavach
* Malkaus Ki Vaar
* Lakhi Jungle Khalsa (Shabad)
* Ras Mandal
* Brahm Kavach
* Var Bhagat Bhagauti
* 34th Savaiya (Additional couplet for the [[33 Savaiye]])
* 325th Charitar (Missing in a plethora of Dasam Granth manuscripts)
* Sri Kal Astotar
* Sikhi Rehit/Nishan E Sikhi
* Additional Hikayat found in Bhai Mani Singh Bir (1713 CE)


== See also ==
== See also ==
Line 483: Line 232:
*[[Guru Granth Sahib]]
*[[Guru Granth Sahib]]


==Notes==
== Notes ==
{{reflist|group=note}}
{{reflist|group=note}}


Line 489: Line 238:
{{reflist}}
{{reflist}}


==External links==
== External links ==
===Related to Dasam Granth===
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20080308095625/http://www.sridasamgranth.com/ Dasam Granth website]
*[https://doi.org/10.1080/17448727.2012.671276 Debating the Dasam Granth], Christopher Shackle (2012)
*[https://doi.org/10.1080/17448727.2012.671276 Debating the Dasam Granth], Christopher Shackle (2012)
*[https://doi.org/10.1080/17448727.2015.1032149 Framing the Dasam Granth Debate: Throwing the Baby with the Bath Water], Pashaura Singh (2015)
*[https://doi.org/10.1080/17448727.2015.1032149 Framing the Dasam Granth Debate: Throwing the Baby with the Bath Water], Pashaura Singh (2015)
*[https://doi.org/10.3390/rel10110639 Presence and Absence: Constructions of Gender in Dasam Granth Exegesis], Robin Rinehart (2019)
*[https://doi.org/10.3390/rel10110639 Presence and Absence: Constructions of Gender in Dasam Granth Exegesis], Robin Rinehart (2019)
*[https://www.sikhitothemax.org/sundar-gutka/53 Read Ugardanti & Translation Online]
*[http://archimedespress.co.uk/books Sri Dasam Granth Sahib: Questions and Answers: The book on Sri Dasam Granth Sahib]
*''[https://nitnemsahib.com/tav-prasad-savaiye-in-punjabi-gurmukhi/ Tav Prasad Savaiye Bani in Punjabi]''
*''[https://nitnemsahib.com/tav-prasad-savaiye-in-hindi/ Tav Prasad Savaiye Bani in Hindi]''
=== Related to Dasam Granth ===
*[http://www.dasamgranth.in/2010/08/bachitar-natak-001-thru-050.html Exegesis on Bachitar Natak on dasamgranth.in] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230318075758/http://www.dasamgranth.in/2010/08/bachitar-natak-001-thru-050.html |date=18 March 2023 }}
*[http://www.panjabdigilib.org/webuser/searches/displayPage.jsp?ID=2107&page=1&CategoryID=3&Searched= Manuscripts of Dasam Granth]
*[http://www.sikhnet.com/hemkuntsahib/myth.htm Hemkunt]
*{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20110928133738/http://www.sikhspectrum.com/012009/dg/article2.pdf Analysis of Bichitra Natak]}}
{{Dasven Padshah Da Granth}}


[[Category:Dasam Granth| ]]
[[Category:Dasam Granth| ]]

Latest revision as of 09:28, 11 February 2026



Dasam Granth
ਦਸਮ ਗ੍ਰੰਥ
Folio of the Jaap Sahib chapter from the 1765 Patna Missal manuscript of the Dasam Granth
Information
ReligionSikhism
AuthorGuru Gobind Singh[1]
LanguageSant Bhasha (specifically predominantly Braj,[2] with influences of Awadhi, Punjabi, Kauravi, Arabic, and Persian)[3]
Part of a series on
Dasam Granth
Dasam Granth - (ਦਸਮ ਗ੍ਰੰਥ ਸਾਹਿਬ)
Banis
Other Related Banis
Various aspects
Idolatry Prohibition
Part of a series on
Sikhism
Khanda
Sikh gurus
Select revered saints
Philosophy
Practices
Scripture
Places and Takhts
General topics and terminology

The Dasam Granth (Gurmukhi: ਦਸਮ ਗ੍ਰੰਥ dasama gratha) is a collection of various poetic compositions attributed to Guru Gobind Singh.[4][5][6][7] It is differentiated from the Guru Granth Sahib due to its focus on martial themes and imagery, such as warfare, weaponry, and other warrior-matters, known collectively as bir ras (heroic strain of expression), as opposed to the Guru Granth Sahib's shanti ras (verses that inspire peace).[8] According to Kamalroop Singh and Gurinder Singh Mann, the text was composed to prepare the Sikhs for warfare against their Mughal enemy.[8]

The text previously enjoyed an equal status with the Adi Granth, or Guru Granth Sahib, in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and were installed side by side on the same platform.[9] The Dasam Granth lost favor during the colonial period when reformist Singh Sabha Movement scholars couldn't contextualise the reworkings of Puranic stories or the vast collection of 'Tales of Deceit' Sri Charitropakhyan.[10] A section of Sikhs oppose the scripture and question its authenticity based upon its authorship.[8]

The standard edition of the text contains 1,428 pages with 17,293 verses in 18 sections.[6][4] These are set in the form of hymns and poems mostly in the Braj language (Old Western Hindi),[6] with some parts in Avadhi, Punjabi, Hindi and Persian.[4][8] 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.[4]

The Dasam Granth contains hymns, from Hindu texts,[5] which are a retelling of the feminine in the form of goddess Durga,[11][5] an autobiography, letter to the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, as well as reverential discussion of warriors and theology.[6] The scripture was recited in full within Nirmala Sikhs in the contemporary era.[7][12] Parts of it are retold from Hindu Puranas, for the benefit of the common man, who had no access to Hindu texts of the time.[7] 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.[13]

Zafarnama and Hikayats in a different style and format appended to it in the mid 18th century.[12] Other manuscripts are said to include the Patna Birs and the Mani Singh Vali Bir all originated in mid to late 18th century. One of the 1698 CE Patna Manuscripts includes various apocryphal writings such as the Ugradanti and Bhagauti Astotar.[12]

Authorship[edit | edit source]

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:[14]

  1. The traditional view is that the entire work was composed by Guru Gobind Singh himself.
  2. The entire collection was compiled by the poets in the Guru's entourage.
  3. 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 and Anandpur, Guru Gobind Singh had employed 52 poets, who translated several classical texts into Braj Bhasha. Most of the writing compiled at Anandpur was lost while the Guru's camp was crossing the Sirsa river before the Battle of Chamkaur in 1704.[15] 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. There is a theory that later, Bhai Mani Singh compiled all the available works under the title Dasam Granth.[16]

Traditionalist scholars claim that all the works in Dasam Granth were composed by the Guru himself, often on the basis of a letter attributed to Bhai Mani Singh. The veracity of this letter has been examined by scholars and found to be unreliable.[17] Some others dispute the claim of the authorship, saying that some of the compositions included in Dasam Granth such as Charitropakhyan are "out of tune" with other Sikh scriptures, and must have been composed by other poets.[18] Syan (2013) notes, "Neither in colonial nor post-colonial Sikhism has the issue of the Dasam Granth authorship been satisfactorily resolved. What is germane, however, is that pre-colonial Sikh society wholeheartedly accepted the Dasam Granth as the work of Guru Gobind Singh."[19]

Historical writings[edit | edit source]

Part of a series on
Sikh scriptures
From a 17th-century copy of the Guru Granth Sahib
Guru Granth Sahib
Dasam Granth
Sarbloh Granth
Varan Bhai Gurdas

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.[20]
  • Rehitnama Chaupa Singh Chibber quotes various lines from Bachitar Natak, 33 Swiayey, Chaupai Sahib, Jaap Sahib.[21]
  • 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.[22]
  • In 1741, Parchian Srvadas Kian quoted lines from Rama Avtar, 33 Swaiyey, and mentioned Zafarnama with Hikayats.[23]
  • 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.[24]
  • In 1766, Kesar Singh Chibber in Bansavalinama writes that Guru Gobind Singh ordered the Guru Granth Sahib and Dasam Granth be kept separate.[25] Kesar Singh frequently quotes Ugardanti, Bachitar Natak, Khalsa Mehima and many other compositions.[26]
  • 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 the Dasam Granth as Bani of Guru Gobind Singh.

Structure[edit | edit source]

The standard print edition of the Dasam Granth, since 1902, has 1,428 pages.[6][4][27] However, many printed versions of the text in the contemporary era skip a major section (40%) because it is controversial.[28]

The standard official edition contains 17,293 verses in 18 sections.[6][4] These are set in the form of hymns and poems mostly in the Braj Bhasha (Old western Hindi),[6] with some parts in Avadhi, Punjabi, Hindi, and the Persian language.[4] 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.[4]

Main compositions[edit | edit source]

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

Compositions in Dasam Granth
No. Bani Title Alternate Name Native Script Description
1 Jaap Sahib Gobind Jaapji ਜਾਪੁ ਸਾਹਿਬ A prayer of 199 verses dedicated to formless, timeless, all-pervading god.[29]
2 Akal Ustat Sri Akal Ji Ki Ustat ਅਕਾਲ ਉਸਤਤਿ A praise of the timeless primal being Akal Purakh (god), explaining that this primal being takes numerous forms of gods and goddesses, listing most frequently Hindu names of these, but also includes a few Muslim epithets.[29] Criticises overemphasis on rituals related to the devotional worship of god.[29]
3 Bachittar Natak Bachitra Natak ਬਚਿੱਤਰ ਨਾਟਕ Partly an autobiography that states he was born in Sodhi lineage, tracing it to the lineage of Rama and Sita of Ramayana;[30] mentions Guru Nanak was born in the Bedi clan and how the next eight Gurus came to lead the Sikhs; describes the persecution and execution of Guru Tegh Bahadar calling him the defender of dharma who protected the sacred threads and the tilaks (forehead mark of devout Hindus);[30] he mentions his own rebirth in Patna after God explained to him that he had sent religious leaders to earth, in forms such as Muhammad but these clung to their own self-interest rather than promote devotion to the true God;[30] He took birth to defend and spread the dharma, and was blessed by god to remember his past births;[30] the Bachitra Natak criticises those who take pride in their religious rituals, mentions his own hunting expeditions, battles and journeys in Punjab and the Himalayan foothills.[30] It states the author was meditating in the Himalayan foothills meditating on Mahakala and Kalaka before being called to take birth.[31] The entire work is fourteen chapters in length, with one section named Apni Katha ("my story"), which is an autobiographical account of the tenth Guru's life up til the year 1696.[31] The appellation Bachitar Natak is sometimes confusingly only applied to that one specific section rather than the entire fourteen chapter composition in which Apni Katha constitutes a single section of.[31] Sometimes a huge chunk of the Dasam Granth is termed Bachitar Natak Granth, containing Chandi Charitars 1 and 2, Chaubis Avtar, Brahma Avtar, and Rudra Avtar.[31] Most Western and Sikh scholars accept the work as a genuine composition of the tenth Guru, even deriders of the Dasam Granth.[31]
4 Chandi Charitar Ukti Bilas Chandi Charitar 1 ਚੰਡੀ ਚਰਿਤ੍ਰ (ੳਕਤਿ ਬਿਲਾਸ) A discussion of the Hindu goddess, Durga in the form of Chandi; this section of the Dasam Granth declares that it is based on the Sanskrit text Markandeya Purana; it glorifies the feminine with her fighting the mythical war between good and evil, after the gods have admitted their confusion and weakness, she anticipating and thus defeating evil that misleads and morphs into different shapes.[30]
5 Chandi Charitar II Chandi Charitar 2
Chandi Charitar Trambi Mahatam[32]		 ਚੰਡੀ ਚਰਿਤ੍ਰ (ਭਾਗ ੨) A retelling of the story of the Hindu goddess, Durga again in the form of Chandi; it again glorifies the feminine with her fighting the war between good and evil, and in this section she slays the buffalo-demon Mahisha, all his associates and supporters thus bringing an end to the demonic violence and war.[30] Authorship is generally and traditionally attributed to Guru Gobind Singh.[33][34] This composition was written in Braj Language at Anandpur Sahib, Punjab. It has eight cantos, contains 262 couplets and quatrains, mostly employing Bhujang prayat and Rasaval measures, divided into 8 chapters.[35][36] This work was composed at Anandpur Sahib, sometime before AD 1698, the year when the Bachitar Natak was completed. According to Max Arthur Macauliffe, the language of this composition is not original Sanskrit. He believes it to be written by bards in employ of Guru Gobind Singh and translation of Durga Saptashati, but could not ascertain, whether principles of Sikhism imbibed in Chandi Charitras or flavor of Hinduism is still in it.[37] It differs from Chandi Charitar Ukti Bilas in that it does not reference the chapters within the Markandeya Purana, but still tells the same story.[38] The work contains 262 verses in total.[39][40]
6 Chandi Di Var Var Durga Ki ਚੰਡੀ ਦੀ ਵਾਰ The ballad of Hindu goddess, Durga, in Punjabi; this section of the Dasam Granth states that it is based on the Sanskrit text Durga Saptasati;[41] The opening verses from this composition, states Robin Rinehart, have been a frequently recited ardas petition or prayer in Sikh history;[41] it is also a source of controversy within Sikhism, as the opening verse states "First I remember Bhagauti, then I turn my attention to Guru Nanak"; the dispute has been whether one should interpret of the word "Bhagauti" as "goddess" or a metaphor for "sword".[42]
7 Gyan Prabodh Gyan Prabodh ਗਿਆਨ ਪ੍ਰਬੋਧ The section title means "the Awakening of Knowledge", and it begins with praise of God; it includes a conversation between soul and God, weaves in many references to Hindu and texts such as the Mahabharata;[43] the section summarises those parva of the Hindu epic which discuss kingship and dharma; the role of Brahmins and Kshatriya varnas.[43] This composition contains 336 verses in total.[39][44]
8 Chaubis Avtar Vishnu Avtar ਚੌਬੀਸ ਅਵਤਾਰ The Chaubis Avatar (24 avatars) section is about Vishnu's 24 avtar which include Rama, Krishna, and Buddha. It is divided into 24 sections for each of the 24 avatars.
9 Brahma Avtar Avatars of Brahma ਬ੍ਰਹਮਾ ਅਵਤਾਰ Narrative on the seven incarnations of Brahma, who is already mentioned in the Chaubis Avatar section[43]
10 Rudra Avtar Avatars of Rudra (Shiva),

Ath Rudra Avtar Kathan(n)

ਰੁਦਰ ਅਵਤਾਰ A poem that narrates Rudra (Shiva) and his avatars, also already mentioned in the Chaubis Avatar section[43]
11 Shabad Hazare Padishah Sabad Patshahi 10 ਸ਼ਬਦ ਹਜ਼ਾਰੇ ਪਾਤਿਸ਼ਾਹੀ ੧੦ Thousand hymns actually contains nine hymns, each set to a raga (melody), with content similar to Chaubis Avatar section; the sixth is filled with grief and generally understood to have been composed by Guru Gobind Singh after the loss of all four sons in the wars with the Mughal Empire;[43] this section is missing in some early manuscripts of Dasam Granth.[43]
12 33 Savaiye 33 Savaiye ੩੩ ਸਵਈਏ Thirty-three verses that praise a god; asserts the mystery of god who is beyond what is in the Vedas and Puranas (Hindu), beyond the one in Quran (Muslim) and famously the Bible (Christian).[45]
13 Khalsa Mahima Praise of Khalsa ਖ਼ਾਲਸਾ ਮਹਿਮਾ A short passage that explains why offerings to goddess Naina Devi by the general public are distributed to the Khalsa soldiers rather than Brahmin priests.[45]
14 Shastar Naam Mala Shastar Nam Mala Purana ਸ਼ਸਤ੍ਰ ਨਾਮ ਮਾਲਾ (ਪੁਰਾਣ) The section title means a "garland of weapon names", and it has 1,300 or 1,323 verses;[45][39][46] it lists and exalts various weapons of violence, declaring them to be symbols of God's power, states Rinehart;[45] it includes the names of Hindu deities and the weapon they carry in one or more of their hands, and praises their use and virtues; the list includes weapons introduced in the 17th-century such as a rifle; some of the verses are riddles about weapons.[45]
15 Sri Charitropakhyan Charitropakhyan, Pakhyan Charitra, Tria Charitra ਪਖ੍ਯਾਨ ਚਰਿਤ੍ਰ, ਸ਼੍ਰੀ ਚਰਿਤ੍ਰੋਪਾਖ੍ਯਾਨ, ਤ੍ਰਿਯਾ ਚਰਿਤ੍ਰ The largest and most controversial part of the Dasam Granth; it includes material which is not in tune with Guru Gobind Singh's writings, casting its authenticity into question.[47] it includes 405 character features and behavioral sketches;[47] these are largely characters of lustful women seeking extramarital sex and seducing men for love affairs without their husbands knowing; the characters delight in gambling, opium and liquor;[47] these stories either end in illustrating human weaknesses with graphic description of sexual behavior, or illustrate a noble behavior where the seduction target refuses and asserts that "he cannot be a dharmaraja if he is unfaithful to his wife";[47] the section is controversial, sometimes interpreted as a didactic discussion of virtues and vices; the charitras 21 through 23 have been interpreted by some commentators as possibly relating to Guru Gobind Singh's own life where he refused a seduction attempt;[47] the final charitra (number 405) describes the Mughals and Pathans as offsprings of demons, details many battles between gods and demons, ending with the victory of gods; the Benti Chaupai found in this last charitra is sometimes separated from its context by Sikhs and used or interpreted in other ways;[47] Many Sikh commentators have questioned the authorship of Dasam Granth in significant part because of this section, while others state that the text must be viewed in the perspective of the traumatic period of Sikh history when Guru Gobind Singh and his soldier disciples were fighting the Mughal Empire and this section could have been useful for the moral edification of soldiers at the war front against the vice.[47][49][note 1]
16 Chaupai Sahib Kabiyo Baach Benti, Benti Chaupai ਕਬਿਯੋਬਾਚ ਬੇਨਤੀ ਚੌਪਈ,

ਚੌਪਈ ਸਾਹਿਬ

The reflection of the poet on the 405th charitar. A part of the last charitra of the Charitropakhyan section, it is sometimes separated and used independently.[47]
17 Zafarnama Epistle of victory ਜ਼ਫ਼ਰਨਾਮਾ A letter written in 1706 by Guru Gobind Singh to Emperor Aurangzeb in Persian language;[51] it chastises the Mughal emperor for promising a safe passage to his family but then reneging on that promise, attacking and killing his family members;[52] In this Guru Gobind Singh talks about how if the Holy Prophet were at Chamkaur in person then Aurangzeb wouldn't have lied.
18 Hikayats Hikaitan ਹਿਕਾਇਤਾਂ Usually grouped with the Zafarnama section, these are twelve tales unrelated to Zafarnama but probably linked because some versions have these in Persian language; the content of this section is closer in form and focus to the Charitropakhyan section above;[52]

Other compositions[edit | edit source]

Ugardanti[edit | edit source]

Ugardanti (Script error: The function "langx" does not exist., pronunciation: pa) is a poetic composition said to be written by Guru Gobind Singh, after the creation of the Khalsa Panth at Anandpur Sahib. The composition is present in Dasam Granth Bir Patna Sahib. The bani contains information about the creation of the Khalsa Panth, the dress code of the Sikhs, and is strictly against ritualism.[53]

Etymologically, Ugardanti is a feminine term made of two words, Ugar means Fierce and Danti means Tooth.[54] One having Fierce Tooth, is called Ugardanti. Guru Gobind Singh Ji invokes Adi Shakti in the form of the Fierce Toothed Ugardanti, writing various attributes of Ugardanti and asking for blessings and protection for the prosperity of the new Panth which is free from hypocrisy, ritualism, casteism, human worship and worships only One Non-Dual God.

In Bansavalinama Dasan Patshahian ka (1769), the author Kesar Singh Chibbar explains and quotes a few passages from Guru Gobind Singh's Ugardanti.[55]

In Hum Hindu Nahi(1898 ), the author Bhai Kahn Singh Nabha, believed that Ugardanti Bani was not written by Guru Gobind Singh but by Bhai Sukha Singh, a priest at Patna.[56] However, Sukha Singh's works came into being after the Bansavalinama of Kesar Singh Chibbar.

Nihang and Namdhari Sikhs believe it to be written by Guru Gobind Singh and is part of their daily liturgy. It was and is read to inspire warriors to stand up for truth and righteousness in the face of tyranny and oppression. The Composition is divided into six verses called Chhands in which the syllables and the rhythm are arranged in a precisely controlled pattern. The Type of Chhandd used is Bhagvati Chhand.

Tav-Prasad Savaiye[edit | edit source]

Tav-Prasad Savaiye (Script error: The function "langx" does not exist., pronunciation: pa, lit. ‘exclusively you, in war song meter’) is a short composition of 10 stanzas which is part of daily liturgy among Sikhs (Nitnem). It was penned down by Guru Gobind Singh and is part of his composition Akal Ustat (The praise of God).[57] This is an important composition which is read during Amrit Sanchar. This Bani appears in the Dasam Granth on pages 13 to 15, starting from Stanza 21 of Akal Ustat.

Tavprasad means with thy grace.[58] This composition strongly rejects idolatry, pilgrimages, grave worshiping, samadhis of yogis and other ritualistic beliefs of Hinduism, Jainism and Islam as being of no use in attaining God if performed without the love of God and all his creation . It is included in Nitnem, the daily morning prayers of Sikhs, and recited after completing Jaap Sahib. It starts with Sravag Sudh Samuh Sidhan Ke and goes up to Koor Kriya Urjheo Sab Hi Jag. Among many famous quotes from Tav-Prasad Savaiye, "Jin Prem Kiyo Tin Hi Prabhu Paayo" is widely quoted by different scholars of different religions. In Dialogues on Universal Responsibility and Education, the Dalai Lama quoted it while giving lessons on love.[59]

Tav-Prasad Savaiye is very important part of the Nitnem. Among other things Nitnem works as a shield for the Khalsa (Khalsa is a perfect human being, which is the vision of Guru Gobind Singh by the orders of Akal Purkh. Such a human is perfectly capable of defending himself and others from the attacks of enemy(both spiritual and temporal)). Specifically Savaiye act as a shield against the attacks of Pride, Ignorance, Hatred, Hypocrisy and Delusions.

Role in Sikh liturgy and access[edit | edit source]

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.[60][61]
  • Tav-Prasad Savaiye, again a bani of Nitnem, is part of Akal Ustat composition, which is recited daily in morning along with above.[60]
  • Benti Chaupai, is part of Sri Charitropakhyan, which is recited in morning as well as evening prayers.[61]
  • Jaap, Tav Prasad Savaiye and Chaupai are read while preparing Khande Batey Ki Pahul for Khalsa initiation.[13]
  • The first stanza of the Sikh ardās is from Chandi di Var.[13]
  • As per Sikh Rehat Maryada, a stanza of Chaubis Avtar, "pae gahe jab te tumre", should be comprised in So Dar Rehras.[62]

In the Nihang tradition, the Dasam Granth is given equal scriptural status as the Adi Granth (first volume).[63] Chandi di Var is also an important prayer among Nihang and Namdhari Sikhs.[citation needed]

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.[64] 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.[47] In its history, the entire text was in the active possession of the Khalsa soldiers.[note 2]

Opposition to the scripture[edit | edit source]

Opposition to the Dasam Granth arose during the colonial-period, particularly during the Singh Sabha movement. The debate regarding the scripture revolves around the nature of its authorship.[8]

According to Kamalroop Singh, during the Akali movement in the 1920's, the Dasam Granth codex that was installed in the Akal Takht in Amritsar was attacked by reformist Sikhs allied with Teja Singh Bhasauria, who speared it and threw it out of the window of the building. Also in the 1920's, the pages of the Dasam Granth installed at Gurdwara Ramsar Sahib was desecrated using knives. Between 1920–40, many Dasam Granth manuscripts were desecrated by Sikhs who opposed the scripture. Contemporary writer Bhagat Singh blames these desecrations on so-called Ingrez Sikhs ("English Sikhs") that were influenced by the British. Kartar Singh Jhabbar took-control of the Akal Takht from its Nihang custodians in 1920, with the Dasam Granth installed there (supposedly dated to 1698) being desecrated in the process of the takeover. According to the Nihang Sikh Anup Singh, who was active during the period of the Nihang leader Sahib Singh Kaladhari, the SGPC used women to takeover the Akal Takht from the Nihangs, as the Akali-Nihangs would not attack women.[66]

Following these incidents, the SGPC stopped holding parkash (enthronement) of the scripture at Sikh gurdwaras, except on special occasions such as the Gurpurab of Guru Gobind Singh, where an akhand path of the Dasam Granth was performed. After 1947, it was no longer installed at SGPC-controlled gurdwaras even on Guru Gobind Singh's gurpurab.[66]

Manuscripts[edit | edit source]

Acclaimed letter of Bhai Mani Singh discussing the compilation of various banis of Dasam Granth

The oldest manuscript of Dasam Granth is likely the Anandpuri Hazuri Bir (Not to be confused with the Anandpuri Marco Adi Granth). It is dated to 1698 CE. A few folio pages were definitely added later (Zafarnama and Hikayats), because they were composed after 1700 (circa 1705 CE), and are in a different style and format, and lack the folio numbers present on all pages elsewhere. These letters of Guru Gobind Singh may have been appended in the early 18th century.[12] According to another view, the earliest surviving manuscript of the complete text is dated to 1713 CE (Bhai Mani Singh's manuscript), and the early manuscript versions have minor variations with apocryphal writings.[64]

Guru Gobind Singh with the Goddess Bhagwati

Other important manuscripts include two Patna manuscripts both from 1698 CE found in Bihar, and the Mani Singh Vali Bir (1713 CE) in New Delhi. The Mani Singh Bir is a combined recension of the Adi Granth and Dasam Granth. It presents the Zafarnama and Hikayats in the Perso-Arabic Nastaliq script.[12]

The early Anandpuri, Patna, and Mani Singh manuscripts include writings that are disputed in the contemporary era, as well as sections such as the Ugradanti and Sri Bhagauti Astotra that were removed from the Dasam Granth codified in the 20th century by the Sodhak Committee.[12] There is also a manuscript of the Dasam Granth attributed to Bhai Daya Singh with many Apocryphal Writings, as well as the 1765 Illuminated Patna Missal manuscript from Jammu.

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.[64]

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.[67] 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.[67] 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.[67] 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.[67] 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.[6]

  • Opening folio of a Dasam Granth manuscript authored by Baba Deep Singh
    Opening folio of a Dasam Granth manuscript authored by Baba Deep Singh
  • A correction authored by Guru Gobind Singh from the 'Anandpuri Hazuri Bir' (manuscript) of the Dasam Granth from 1698 CE
    A correction authored by Guru Gobind Singh from the 'Anandpuri Hazuri Bir' (manuscript) of the Dasam Granth from 1698 CE
  • Page from the Bhai Mani Singh combined Adi-Dasam Maniscript authored in 1713 CE
    Page from the Bhai Mani Singh combined Adi-Dasam Maniscript authored in 1713 CE
  • Decorated page of the Dasam Granth from a Patna Manuscript
    Decorated page of the Dasam Granth from a Patna Manuscript
  • Another Patna Manuscript of the Dasam Granth authored in 1698 CE
    Another Patna Manuscript of the Dasam Granth authored in 1698 CE
  • Illuminated Charitropakhyan folio from the Patna Missal Dasam Granth manuscript from 1765 CE
    Illuminated Charitropakhyan folio from the Patna Missal Dasam Granth manuscript from 1765 CE
  • Folio of the Apocryphal "Bhagauti Astotar" Composition in the "Aurangabadi Dasam Granth Bir" attributed to Bhai Daya Singh
    Folio of the Apocryphal "Bhagauti Astotar" Composition in the "Aurangabadi Dasam Granth Bir" attributed to Bhai Daya Singh

Musicology[edit | edit source]

Further information: Sikh music

Similar to the Guru Granth Sahib, the verses found within the Dasam Granth are set to Indic classical music, known as gurmat sangeet. All-together, a total of 21 raags are employed in the Dasam Granth, compared to the 174 found in the Sarbloh Granth and the 62 found in the Guru Granth Sahib (which also contains 17 taals).[68]

Other compilations[edit | edit source]

Das Granthi[edit | edit source]

A Das Granthi (ਦਸ ਗ੍ਰੰਥੀ) is a small religious booklet containing only few selected compositions from Dasam Granth. Das stands for Ten and Granthi stands for booklet. It means Booklet of 10th Guru of Sikhism. This booklet was created for beginners and lay readers for reading these compositions in daily liturgy for proper understanding.[69][70][71]

There is no standardization of this booklet and various sects in Sikhism have their own versions. The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee contains eight texts namely, Jaap, Bachitra Natak, Chandi Charitra I, Shabad Hazare Patshahi 10, Akal Ustati, Chandi Charitra 2, Gian Prabodh and Chandi di Var.[72]

Apocryphal Dasam Granth writings[edit | edit source]

1700s Dasam Granth with Missing space after 324th Charitar

There are a plethora of writings attributed to Guru Gobind Singh that are not in the standardised Dasam Granth. These select writings are sometimes found in certain early manuscripts.[73] These include but are not limited to:[74]

  • Asfottak Kabitt
  • Sahansar Sukhmana
  • Gobind Gita
  • Rubai P. 10
  • Uggardanti
  • Raag Sorath P. 10 (Rajput Ghode)
  • Raag Asa P. 10
  • Fatehnama
  • Indra Kavach
  • Malkaus Ki Vaar
  • Lakhi Jungle Khalsa (Shabad)
  • Ras Mandal
  • Brahm Kavach
  • Var Bhagat Bhagauti
  • 34th Savaiya (Additional couplet for the 33 Savaiye)
  • 325th Charitar (Missing in a plethora of Dasam Granth manuscripts)
  • Sri Kal Astotar
  • Sikhi Rehit/Nishan E Sikhi
  • Additional Hikayat found in Bhai Mani Singh Bir (1713 CE)

See also[edit | edit source]

Notes[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ This view is supported by a remark found in Bansavalinama. This remark states that scribes offered to Guru Gobind Singh to merge Adi Granth and his compositions into one scripture. He replied that they should not do so, keep the two separate because his compositions are mostly khed (entertainment).[50]
  2. ↑ According to Giani Gian Singh, the full copy of the Dasam Granth was in possession of the Dal Khalsa (Sikh Army), an 18th-century Sikh army, at the Battle of Kup and was lost during the Vadda Ghalughara.[65]

References[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ Debating the Dasam Granth. Religion in Translation. American Academy of Religion. 2011. ISBN 978-0199755066.
  2. ↑ Fenech, Louis E. (2014). Historical Dictionary of Sikhism (3rd ed.). Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. p. 191. ISBN 9781442236011.
  3. ↑ Sukhbir Singh Kapoor; Mohinder Kaur Kapoor (2009). Dasam Granth: An Introductory Study. Hemkunt Press. p. 39. ISBN 9788170103257.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 Singha, H. S. (2000). The Encyclopedia of Sikhism (over 1000 Entries). Hemkunt Press. ISBN 978-81-7010-301-1., pp. 53–54
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Dasam Granth, Encyclopædia Britannica
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.7 Robin Rinehart (2014). Pashaura Singh and Louis E Fenech (ed.). The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies. Oxford University Press. pp. 136–138. ISBN 978-0-19-969930-8.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 McLeod, W. H. (1990). Textual Sources for the Study of Sikhism. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-56085-4., pages 2, 67
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 Singh, Kamalroop; Mann, Gurinder Singh (24 January 2016). "The Guru's warrior scripture". Oxford University Press. Retrieved 9 November 2025.
  9. ↑ Singh, Pashaura (4 May 2015). "Framing the Dasam Granth debate: Throwing the baby out with the bath water!". Sikh Formations. 11 (1–2): 108–132. doi:10.1080/17448727.2015.1032149. ISSN 1744-8727.
  10. ↑ Shackle, Christopher; Mandair, Arvind, eds. (4 July 2013). Teachings of the Sikh Gurus (0 ed.). Routledge. doi:10.4324/9781315014449. ISBN 978-1-136-45101-0.
  11. ↑ Eleanor Nesbitt (2016). Sikhism: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press. pp. 107–109. ISBN 978-0-19-106277-3.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 12.5 Louis E. Fenech; W. H. McLeod (2014). Historical Dictionary of Sikhism. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. pp. 92–94. ISBN 978-1-4422-3601-1.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 Knut A. Jacobsen; Kristina Myrvold (2012). Sikhs Across Borders: Transnational Practices of European Sikhs. A&C Black. pp. 233–234. ISBN 978-1-4411-1387-0.
  14. ↑ McLeod, W. H. (2005). Historical dictionary of Sikhism. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 52. ISBN 978-0-8108-5088-0.
  15. ↑ Singh, Harbans (19 December 2000). "Bavanja Kavi". Sikh Encyclopedia.
  16. ↑ Birk, Kamalroop Singh (December 2013). Dasam Granth re-examined: an examination of the textual history with reference to key authors and commentators (d_ph thesis). University of Birmingham.
  17. ↑ Rinehart, Robin (2011). Debating the Dasam Granth. Oxford University Press. p. 39. ISBN 978-0-19-984247-6. OCLC 710992237.
  18. ↑ Amaresh Datta, ed. (2006). The Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature (Volume One (A To Devo), Volume 1. Sahitya Akademi. p. 888. ISBN 978-81-260-1803-1.
  19. ↑ Syan, Hardip Singh. Sikh Militancy in the Seventeenth Century. I.B. Tauris, 2013. Page 147.
  20. ↑ Rehitnama Bhai Nand Lal
  21. ↑ Rehitnama Chaupa Singh Chibber
  22. ↑ Sri Gur Sbha Granth, Poet Senapat, Piara Singh Padam
  23. ↑ Parchi Sevadas Ki, Poet Sevada, Piara Singh Padam
  24. ↑ Gurbilas, Patshahi 10, Koer Singh, Bhasha Vibagh, Punjabi University
  25. ↑ Singh, Kesar. Bansavalinama (in Punjabi). Singh Brothers. p. 161.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
  26. ↑ Singh, Kesar. Bansavalinama (in Punjabi). Singh Brothers. pp. 161 258–260.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
  27. ↑ Knut A. Jacobsen; Kristina Myrvold (2012). Sikhs Across Borders: Transnational Practices of European Sikhs. A&C Black. pp. 232–235. ISBN 978-1-4411-1387-0.
  28. ↑ Knut A. Jacobsen; Kristina Myrvold (2012). Sikhs Across Borders: Transnational Practices of European Sikhs. A&C Black. pp. 232–235. ISBN 978-1-4411-1387-0.
  29. ↑ 29.0 29.1 29.2 Robin Rinehart (2014). Pashaura Singh and Louis E Fenech (ed.). The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies. Oxford University Press. pp. 137–138. ISBN 978-0-19-969930-8.
  30. ↑ 30.0 30.1 30.2 30.3 30.4 30.5 30.6 Robin Rinehart (2014). Pashaura Singh and Louis E Fenech (ed.). The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies. Oxford University Press. pp. 138–139. ISBN 978-0-19-969930-8.
  31. ↑ 31.0 31.1 31.2 31.3 31.4 Rinehart, Robin (2011). Debating the Dasam Granth. Oxford University Press. pp. 26–27. ISBN 978-0-19-984247-6.
  32. ↑ "Sri Dasam Granth - Facts and Beyond" (PDF). www.deutsches-informationszentrum-sikhreligion.de. Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji Academy. p. 12. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
  33. ↑ Dasam Granth - An Introductory Study
  34. ↑ "Sri Dasam.org - Website contain whole text of dasam granth". Archived from the original on 28 July 2011. Retrieved 30 July 2011.
  35. ↑ The Poetry of Dasam Granth - Dharam Pal Ashta Archived August 8, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  36. ↑ Singha, H.S. (2000). The Encyclopedia of Sikhism (over 1000 Entries). Hemkunt Press. p. 43. ISBN 9788170103011.
  37. ↑ Macauliffe, Max Arthur (28 March 2013). The Sikh Religion: Its Gurus, Sacred Writings and Authors, Volume 5. Cambridge University Press. pp. 80, 81.
  38. ↑ Robin Rinehart (2011). Debating the Dasam Granth. Oxford University Press. pp. 27–28. ISBN 978-0-19-984247-6.
  39. ↑ 39.0 39.1 39.2 Makin, Gursharan Singh (24 January 2024). Zafarnama: The Epistle of Victory (1st ed.). Lahore Book Shop. p. 13. ISBN 978-8176471794.
  40. ↑ Singha, H.S. (2000). The Encyclopedia of Sikhism (Over 1000 Entries). Hemkunt Press. p. 54. ISBN 9788170103011.
  41. ↑ 41.0 41.1 Robin Rinehart (2014). Pashaura Singh and Louis E Fenech (ed.). The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies. Oxford University Press. p. 139. ISBN 978-0-19-969930-8.
  42. ↑ Robin Rinehart (2014). Pashaura Singh and Louis E Fenech (ed.). The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies. Oxford University Press. p. 139. ISBN 978-0-19-969930-8.
  43. ↑ 43.0 43.1 43.2 43.3 43.4 43.5 Robin Rinehart (2014). Pashaura Singh and Louis E Fenech (ed.). The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies. Oxford University Press. p. 140. ISBN 978-0-19-969930-8.
  44. ↑ Singha, H.S. (2000). The Encyclopedia of Sikhism (Over 1000 Entries). Hemkunt Press. p. 54. ISBN 9788170103011.
  45. ↑ 45.0 45.1 45.2 45.3 45.4 Robin Rinehart (2014). Pashaura Singh and Louis E Fenech (ed.). The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies. Oxford University Press. p. 141. ISBN 978-0-19-969930-8.
  46. ↑ Singha, H.S. (2000). The Encyclopedia of Sikhism (Over 1000 Entries). Hemkunt Press. p. 54. ISBN 9788170103011.
  47. ↑ 47.0 47.1 47.2 47.3 47.4 47.5 47.6 47.7 47.8 Robin Rinehart (2014). Pashaura Singh and Louis E Fenech (ed.). The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies. Oxford University Press. pp. 141–142. ISBN 978-0-19-969930-8.
  48. ↑ Robin Rinehart (2014). Pashaura Singh and Louis E Fenech (ed.). The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies. Oxford University Press. pp. 144–145. ISBN 978-0-19-969930-8.
  49. ↑ (entertainment).[48]
  50. ↑ Robin Rinehart (2014). Pashaura Singh and Louis E Fenech (ed.). The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies. Oxford University Press. pp. 144–145. ISBN 978-0-19-969930-8.
  51. ↑ Britannica, Inc Encyclopaedia (2009). Encyclopedia of World Religions. Encyclopædia Britannica. p. 279. ISBN 978-1-59339-491-2.
  52. ↑ 52.0 52.1 Robin Rinehart (2014). Pashaura Singh and Louis E Fenech (ed.). The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies. Oxford University Press. pp. 142–143. ISBN 978-0-19-969930-8.
  53. ↑ Ugardanti – Guru Gobind Singh(Chandd 5th and 6th)
  54. ↑ Macdonell, Arthur Anthony (5 January 2004). A Practical Sanskrit Dictionary with Transliteration, Accentuation, and Etymological Analysis Throughout. Motilal Banarsidass Publ. ISBN 9788120820005 – via Google Books.
  55. ↑ "BANSAVALINAMA DASAN PATSHAHIAN KA – The Sikh Encyclopedia". 19 December 2000.
  56. ↑ Sikhs...We are not Hindus: Kahn Singh Nabha: ISBN 81-7205-379-7
  57. ↑ McLeod, W. H. (2009). "Ten Savvayas". The A to Z of Sikhism. Scarecrow Press. A portion of Akaal Ustat appointed as a part of early morning order of nitnem
  58. ↑ Nabha, Kahn Singh. "ਤਵ ਪ੍ਰਸਾਦਿ". Gur Shabad Ratnakar Mahankosh (in ਪੰਜਾਬੀ). Sudarshan Press. ਤੇਰੀ ਕ੍ਰਿਪਾ ਕਰਕੇ. ਤੇਰੀ ਦਯਾ ਦ੍ਵਾਰਾ.
  59. ↑ (Dalai Lama XIV), Bstan-ʼdzin-rgya-mtsho (1995). Dialogues on Universal Responsibility and Education. Library of Tibetan Works and Archives. p. 25.
  60. ↑ 60.0 60.1 Page 133, Sikhs in the Diaspora, Surinder Singh Bakhshi, Dr Surinder Singh Bakhshi, 2009
  61. ↑ 61.0 61.1 The Japu, the Jaapu and the Ten Sawayyas (Quartets) – beginning "Sarwag sudh"-- in the morning.: Chapter III, Article IV, Sikh Rehat Maryada
  62. ↑ iii) the Sawayya beginning with the words "pae gahe jab te tumre": Article IV, Chapter III, Sikh Rehat Maryada
  63. ↑ Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica (2019). "Namdhari (Sikh sect)". Encyclopædia Britannica.
  64. ↑ 64.0 64.1 64.2 Wendy Doniger; Encyclopaedia Britannica staff (1999). Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of World Religions. Merriam-Webster. p. 279. ISBN 978-0-87779-044-0.
  65. ↑ Giani Kirpal Singh (samp.), Sri Gur Panth Parkash, Vol. 3 (Amritsar: Manmohan Singh Brar, 1973), pp. 1678–80, verses 61-62
  66. ↑ 66.0 66.1 Singh, Bhagat; Singh, Kamalroop (1923). "Foreword". Missī Jātt Dī Kartūt [The Deeds of a Hybrid Caste] (Internet ed.). Amritsar: Sri Chandar Press.
  67. ↑ 67.0 67.1 67.2 67.3 Robin Rinehart (2011). Debating the Dasam Granth. Oxford University Press. pp. 43–46. ISBN 978-0-19-984247-6.
  68. ↑ Mahapatra, Abinash (2021). "5: The Cultural Aspects of Sri Sarbloh Bani". An Analytical Research on Sri Sarbloh Granth (A Journey from the Unexplored to Explored). Publication Bureau, Punjabi Global Foundation (Odisha Chapter). pp. 18–25.
  69. ↑ Page 330, Punjab District and State Gazetteers: Compiled and published under the authority of the Punjab government, 1900
  70. ↑ Page 62, Struggle of the Sikhs for Sovereignty, Surjit Singh Gandhi
  71. ↑ Page 180, The Guru Consorts, Mahindara Kaura Gilla, Radha Publications
  72. ↑ The Sikh Encyclopedia
  73. ↑ Singh, Kamalroop. "The Granth of Guru Gobind Singh: essays, lectures, and translations."
  74. ↑ "Dasam Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji Maharaj". 24 January 2024.

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