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| Dasam Granth ਦਸਮ ਗ੍ਰੰਥ | |
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 An early 19th-century Dasam Granth manuscript frontispiece (British Library MS Or.6298) | |
| Information | |
| Religion | Sikhism |
| Author | Guru Gobind Singh[1] |
| Language | Sant Bhasha (specifically predominantly Braj,[2] with influences of Awadhi, Punjabi, Kauravi, Arabic, and Persian)[3] |
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| Dasam Granth ਦਸਮ ਗ੍ਰੰਥ |
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| Main compositions |
| Apocryphal compositions (Asfottak Banis) |
| Various aspects |
| Poetical metres, modes, measures, and rhythms |
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| Sikhism |
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The Dasam Granth (Gurmukhi: ਦਸਮ ਗ੍ਰੰਥ dasama gratha) is a collection of various poetic compositions attributed to Guru Gobind Singh.[4][5][6][7] The text 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.[8] The Dasam Granth lost favor during the colonial period when reformist Singh Sabha Movement scholars couldn't contextualize the reworkings of Puranic stories or the vast collection of 'Tales of Deceit' Sri Charitropakhyan.[9]
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] 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,[10][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][11] 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.[12]
Zafarnama and Hikayats in a different style and format appended to it in the mid 18th century.[11] 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.[11]
- ^ Debating the Dasam Granth. Religion in Translation. American Academy of Religion. 2011. ISBN 978-0199755066.
- ^ Fenech, Louis E. (2014). Historical Dictionary of Sikhism (3rd ed.). Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. p. 191. ISBN 9781442236011.
- ^ Sukhbir Singh Kapoor; Mohinder Kaur Kapoor (2009). Dasam Granth: An Introductory Study. Hemkunt Press. p. 39. ISBN 9788170103257.
- ^ a b c d Singha, H. S. (2000). The Encyclopedia of Sikhism (over 1000 Entries). Hemkunt Press. ISBN 978-81-7010-301-1., pp. 53–54
- ^ a b c Dasam Granth, Encyclopædia Britannica
- ^ a b c d 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.
- ^ a b c McLeod, W. H. (1990). Textual Sources for the Study of Sikhism. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-56085-4., pages 2, 67
- ^ Pashaura Singh, Sikh Formations, 2015 Vol. 11, Nos. 1–2, 108–132, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17448727.2015.1032149
- ^ Shackle, C., & Mandair, A. (Eds.). (2005). Teachings of the Sikh Gurus: Selections from the Sikh Scriptures (1st ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315014449
- ^ Eleanor Nesbitt (2016). Sikhism: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press. pp. 107–109. ISBN 978-0-19-106277-3.
- ^ a b c Louis E. Fenech; W. H. McLeod (2014). Historical Dictionary of Sikhism. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. pp. 92–94. ISBN 978-1-4422-3601-1.
- ^ 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.