Shabad Hazare, also known as Sabad Patshahi 10 (, pronunciation: , also known as the Shabad Hazare Padishah), under the title Shabad (), are ten religious hymns (or '' shabads'') composed by

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 ...

that are present in

Dasam Granth The ( Gurmukhi: ਦਸਮ ਗ੍ਰੰਥ ''dasama gratha'') is a collection of various poetic compositions attributed to Guru Gobind Singh.

. These hymns have comments on ritualistic practices in Sanyas, Jogis and Bairagis, and also against any form of

idolatry Idolatry is the worship of an idol as though it were a deity. In Abrahamic religions (namely Judaism, Samaritanism, Christianity, Islam, and the Baháʼí Faith) idolatry connotes the worship of something or someone other than the Abrahamic ...

, human or

deity A deity or god is a supernatural being considered to be sacred and worthy of worship due to having authority over some aspect of the universe and/or life. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines ''deity'' as a God (male deity), god or god ...

worship.

Description

These hymns are primarily composed in

Braj Braj, also known as Vraj, Vraja, Brij or Brijbhumi, is a region in India on both sides of the Yamuna river with its centre at Mathura-Vrindavan in Uttar Pradesh state encompassing the area which also includes Palwal, Ballabhgarh and Nuh in ...

and

Punjabi languages The Punjabi dialects and languages or Greater Panjabic are a series of dialects and Indo-Aryan languages spoken around the Punjab region of Pakistan and India with varying degrees of official recognition. They have sometimes been referred to ...

, written in Gurmukhi, with plentiful use of

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

words, except sixth hymn, which is composed in Punjabi with some

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

words. Excluding the sixth, all other hymns have three ''Padash'' and ''Rahau'' (The Pause) placed in the beginning of the Shabads. Sixth hymn Mittar Pyare nu was composed at

Machhiwara Machhiwara is one of the developing cities in the Samrala tehsil of Ludhiana district in the Indian state of Punjab. Machhiwara is famous for Gurudwara Sri Charan Kanwal Sahib associated with Guru Gobind Singh ji and named after the Guru's fee ...

whereas others were composed at

Anandpur Sahib Anandpur Sahib, also referred simply as Anandpur (), is a city in Rupnagar district (Ropar), on the edge of Shivalik Hills, in the Indian state of Punjab. Located near the Sutlej River, the city is one of the most sacred religious places in Si ...

. The ordering of hymns was given by Bhai Mani Singh. The shabads are similar in theme to Vaishnavist poetry regarding avatars. The only six

Ragas A raga ( ; , ; ) is a melodic framework for improvisation in Indian classical music akin to a melodic mode. It is central to classical Indian music. Each raga consists of an array of melodic structures with musical motifs; and, from the perspec ...

present in

Dasam Granth The ( Gurmukhi: ਦਸਮ ਗ੍ਰੰਥ ''dasama gratha'') is a collection of various poetic compositions attributed to Guru Gobind Singh.

are in the title of hymns. These Shabads deal with futility of asceticism, idolatry and attachment. Shabad Hazare is a title given to collection of these Shabads, with ''Hazare'' meaning "one thousand". Though it is not present in main text and the meaning is not too clear but traditionally it is believed that each Shabad has the merit of a thousand. Some scholar link the word "hazare" word to the Persian word "Hazra" (lit. present).The Encyclopedia of Sikhism, H. S Singha, Hemkunt Press, 2000 Some theorize there were originally going to be one thousand hymns in the work rather than the present ten. Others, such as Dharam Pal Ashta in ''The Poetry of the Dasam Granth'' (1959), postulate that the hazare word should be interpreted as meaning "

fountain A fountain, from the Latin "fons" ( genitive "fontis"), meaning source or spring, is a decorative reservoir used for discharging water. It is also a structure that jets water into the air for a decorative or dramatic effect. Fountains were o ...

". The composition is unique in the Dasam Granth in that it is arranged alongside ''

raga A raga ( ; , ; ) is a melodic framework for improvisation in Indian classical music akin to a musical mode, melodic mode. It is central to classical Indian music. Each raga consists of an array of melodic structures with musical motifs; and, fro ...

'' metres, similar to the Guru Granth Sahib. The specific raga meant to be utilized for each hymn in mentioned directly in the work. According to Rattan Singh Jaggi in ''Dasam Granth Da Kartritav'' (1966), the composition is not present in many early manuscript copies of the Dasam Granth. "Shabad Hazare" is a term that can also refer to a specific group of seven hymns from the Guru Granth Sahib which should not be confused with this work.

''Mittar pyare nu''

The sixth hymn is as follows: It is believed the sixth hymn was composed by the tenth Guru in the Machhiwara jungle after the deaths of all his sons. It is composed in Punjabi.

List of hymns

# ''Re man aiso kar sanyasa'' - Raga Ramkali # ''Re man iha bidha jog kamao'' - Raga Ramkali # ''Prani param purakh pag lago'' - Raga Ramkali # ''Prabh ju tu keh laaj hamari'' - Raga Sorath #''Bin kartar na kirtam mano'' - Raga Kalyan #'' Mittar pyare nu'' -

Khayal Khyal or Khayal (ख़याल / خیال) is a major form of Hindustani classical music in the Indian subcontinent. Its name comes from a Persian language, Persian/Arabic language, Arabic word meaning "imagination". Khyal is associated with rom ...

#''Kewal kal hi kartar'' - Raga Tilang Kaafi #''So kim manas roop kahai'' - Raga Bilawal #''Ek bin dusar na ko chinar'' - Raga Devgandhari #''Bin har naam na bachan paayi hai'' - Raga Devgandhari

References

{{Dasam Granth Dasam Granth Indian literature