Sri Gur Sobha
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 Folio of a Sri Gur Sobha manuscript, circa 19th century | |
| Author | Sainapati |
|---|---|
| Genre | Sikhism |
Publication date | 1711 |
| Part of a series on |
| Sikh literature |
|---|
_kept_at_the_village_of_Bhai_Rupa.jpg) |
| Sikh scriptures • Punjabi literature |
Sri Gur Sobha, also known as Sri Gur Sobha Granth, is a poetic literary work written by the court-poet Sainapati that covers the life of Guru Gobind Singh and the establishment of the Khalsa order.[1][2][3][4][5] It is one of the Gurbilases.[2] The overarching motif of the work consists of praise of the tenth guru.[4]
Chapters
The title of the text translates to "radiance of the guru".[3] It was the first text of the Gurbilas genre and it narrates the life of Guru Gobind Singh and the establishment of the Khalsa order.[2][3] The text was written in Gurmukhi in a language that is described as a mixture of Braj and eastern Punjabi that is Sanskritized.[1]: vii [4] Its content has been described as partly eulogizing and partly historical.[4] According to Sikh scholar J. S. Grewal, the Sri Gur Sobha is based "partly on personal observation and partly on hearsay and poetic imagination."[5] Within the work, certain historical events are described through poetry, such as specific battles that the Sikhs fought, Mughal in-fighting, diplomacy between the Sikhs and the Mughals, and the assassination attempt on the guru's life at Nanded in the Deccan.[4] Thus, the work has historiographical significance.[4] The work contains references to particular terms, such as misl, which it uses to describe a military unit, which helps our understanding of the meaning particular vocabulary held at the time.[4]
The work is divided into twenty chapters or cantos.[4] Six out of twenty of the cantos directly eulogizes the Sikh guru or the Khalsa, with many of the rest of the cantos also containing laudatory lines.[4] The name of each chapter and its general contents being as follows:[4]
- Panth Pragās Barnan – opens with introductory stanzas, gives a list of the ten Sikh gurus, and states that the reason Guru Gobind Singh established the Khalsa Panth was based upon a divine order.[4]
- Teg Pragās – describes the Battle of Bhangani.[4]
- Rājan Het Saṅgrām – describes the Battle of Nadaun.[4]
- battles with Khanzada and Hussain Khan[4]
- Bachan Pragās – end of the masand system and establishment of the Khalsa order.[4]
- Bachan Bichār – describing the paragon Khalsa.[4]
- Rahit Pragās – explaining the modus vivendi of the Khalsa, known as rehat.[4]
- First battle of Anandpur[4]
- Battle of Nirmohgarh[4]
- Battles of Basoli and Kalmot[4]
- Second battle of Anandpur[4]
- battle of Chamkaur[4]
- Kalā Pragās – covering the Guru Gobind Singh Marg, when the tenth guru escaped from Chamkaur and is travelling through the Malwa region, containing the battle of Muktsar and the Zafarnama epistle.[4]
- Kīchak Mār – journey toward the south and the battle of Baghaur.[4]
- Zikr Bādshāhī – Mughal war of succession (1707–1709)[4]
- Mulāqāt Bādshāh Kī – meeting with Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah.[4]
- Sāhibzādā kā Judh ar Zikr Rāh Kā – travels through Rajasthan and a skirmish at Chittorgarh.[4]
- Jotī Jot Samāvaṇā – death of Guru Gobind Singh[4]
- Agam Pragās – author's opinion on the future of the Khalsa[4]
- Sarb Upamā – obeisance to the all-pervading divine[4]