Bhai Gurdas Singh (

fl. ''Floruit'' ( ; usually abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for 'flourished') denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indic ...

18th century), also known as Bhai Gurdas II, was a Sikh during the time of

Guru Gobind Singh Guru Gobind Singh (; born Gobind Das; 22 December 1666 – 7 October 1708) was the tenth and last human Sikh gurus, Sikh Guru. He was a warrior, poet, and philosopher. In 1675, at the age of nine he was formally installed as the leader of the ...

. He is most known for writing a ''

Vaar The Vār or Vaar (, ), in Punjabi poetry, is a heroic ode or ballad which generally narrates legend such as stories of Punjabi folk heroes or a historical event.''The Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature (Volume One - A to Devo)''. Amaresh Datta, ...

'' (folk ballad). He was one of the traditionally-ascribed 52 poets of the

Kavi Darbar Kavi Darbar (literally "poet court") is a term that refers to historical Sikh '' durbars'' (courts) composed of congregations of poets, litterateurs, artists, and scholars that were established and had flourished during the guruship period of G ...

of Guru Gobind Singh, being one of the three most renowned and famous of the group.

Biography

He was the brother of Alam Singh Nachna. He served as one of the many poets in the '' durbar'' (court) of Guru Gobind Singh. According to Louis E. Fenech and

W. H. McLeod William Hewat McLeod (1932–2009; also Hew McLeod) was a New Zealand scholar who helped establish Sikh Studies as a distinctive field.J.S. Grewal (2010), ''W.H. McLeod and Sikh Studies'', Journal of Punjab Studies, 17 (2010): 1-2, pages 115–1 ...

, he was a Sindhi poet who lived in the early part of the 18th century. In praise of Guru Gobind Singh, he exclaimed in his writing:

''Vaar''

He was an eyewitness to the

Vaisakhi Vaisakhi, also known as Baisakhi or Mesadi, marks the first day of the month of Vaisakh and is traditionally celebrated annually on 13 April or sometimes 14 April. It is seen as a spring harvest celebration primarily in Punjab and Northern In ...

event which occurred in Anandpur on 13 April 1699, when the Guru formalized the

Khalsa The term ''Khalsa'' refers to both a community that follows Sikhism as its religion,Khalsa: Sikhism< ...

order. He later recounted his account of that day in a ''

'', named the ''Vaar Sri Bhagaut Ji Ki Patshahi Dasvin Ki'', amidst hostilities from Hindus and Muslims alike. In a manuscript of the Vaar kept in the collection of the Sikh Reference Library, the work is known under the titled ''Vaar Bhai Gurdas Ji Ki''. The entire work comprises twenty-eight ''pauris'' (Indic term for

stanza In poetry, a stanza (; from Italian ''stanza'', ; ) is a group of lines within a poem, usually set off from others by a blank line or indentation. Stanzas can have regular rhyme and metrical schemes, but they are not required to have either. ...

s), with twenty of the pauris praising Guru Gobind Singh and singling out unique aspects of the tenth guru. A common theme emphasized throughout the work is how Guru Gobind Singh transformed the ''sangat'' (congregation) of Sikhs into the Khalsa. The comparison is made to the Guru's sword and

Kali Kali (; , ), also called Kalika, is a major goddess in Hinduism, primarily associated with time, death and destruction. Kali is also connected with transcendental knowledge and is the first of the ten Mahavidyas, a group of goddesses who p ...

ka, the Indic deity. Reference is made to the predecessor gurus Har Rai, Har Krishan (both on pauri 22) and Tegh Bahadur (pauri 23), with the last containing an account of the Guru's martyrdom in Delhi. The finishing stanzas eulogize the Khalsa. The work was composed in "Hindized Punjabi". In his ''Vaar'', he states: In his ''Vaar'', he furthermore stresses the importance of the remembrance and chanting of Akāl (, 'immortal') for Sikhs: This work is commonly appended at the end of ''

Varan Bhai Gurdas Varan Bhai Gurdas (Gurmukhi: ਵਾਰਾਂ ਭਾਈ ਗੁਰਦਾਸ ''vārāṁ bhā'ī guradāsa''; meaning "ballads of Bhai Gurdas"), also known as Varan Gyan Ratnavali (), is the name given to the 40 Var (poetry), ''vars'' (a form of Pu ...

'' as a 41st Vaar on-top of the traditional forty authored by Gurdas Bhalla. According to Louis E. Fenech and Vir Singh, the 41st Vaar would have been written in the mid-1780s as per internal evidence.

Later life

After the death of his master, Guru Gobind Singh, in 1708, it is said Gurdas Singh traveled to

Sindh Sindh ( ; ; , ; abbr. SD, historically romanized as Sind (caliphal province), Sind or Scinde) is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, southeastern region of the country, Sindh is t ...

, where he did missionary work spreading the tenets of Sikhism in the local area of

Shikarpur Shikarpur or Shakkarpur or Sikarpur may refer to the following places: India *Shikarpur, Bihar (Vidhan Sabha constituency) * Shikarpur, Gujarat, a village and Harappan archeological site in Kutch district of Gujarat * Shikarpur, Shimoga, a town in ...

. Traditional lore claims he lived to an impressive age of 150. His life is commemorated in the Khatwari Dharamsal of Bhai Gurdas in Shikarpur, Sindh.

Literary works

* ''Vaar Sri Bhagaut Ji Ki Patshahi Dasvin Ki'' –

on the

Amrit Sanchar Amrit Sanskar (, pronunciation: , lit. "nectar ceremony") is one of the four Sikh Sanskaars. The Amrit Sanskar is the initiation rite introduced by Guru Gobind Singh when he founded the Khalsa in 1699. A Sikh who has been initiated into the ...

and Guru Gobind Singh * ''Raag Ramkali Ki Vaar'' * ''Barahmaha Sri Ram Chandar'' – narration of the separation between

Rama Rama (; , , ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the seventh and one of the most popular avatars of Vishnu. In Rama-centric Hindu traditions, he is considered the Supreme Being. Also considered as the ideal man (''maryāda' ...

and his brother, Bharata, whom were saddened by their uncoupling. Written shortly after the death of Guru Gobind Singh in 1708 to recount how the Sikhs of the time were feeling being separated from their Guru. * ''Pryaye Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji'' – poetic expounding of the

Guru Granth Sahib The Guru Granth Sahib (, ) is the central holy religious scripture of Sikhism, regarded by Sikhs as the final, sovereign and eternal Guru following the lineage of the ten human gurus of the religion. The Adi Granth (), its first rendition, w ...

References

External links

* Read the 41st Vaar in PDF format (written in Gurmukhi script)
link
* Read the 41st Vaar online with English translation
link
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bhai Gurdas Singh Indian Sikhs Sikh writers 18th-century Indian poets