ÿþ<HTML><HEAD><TITLE>BACHITRA N&#256&#7788AK </TITLE> <style type="text/css"> .BODY { background-color: #EAF1F7; background-image: url('images/gtbh.jpg'); background-repeat: no-repeat; background-attachment: fixed; background-position: center; color: #0066CC;} .C1{text-align: justify;color: #0066CC;FONT-size: SMALL;FONT-family: Tahoma;} .BIB{text-align: center;color: #000099;FONT-size: SMALL;FONT-family: Tahoma;} .CONT{text-align: right;color: #FF0000;FONT-size: SMALL;FONT-family: Tahoma;} </style><META NAME="keywords" CONTENT="BACHITRA,NlAK"> <META http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"></HEAD> <BODY class="BODY" oncontextmenu="return false" ondragstart="return false" onselectstart="return false"> <FONT ALIGN="JUSTIFY" FACE="Tahoma"> <p class="C1">&#65279BACHITRA N&#256&#7788AK (<i>bachitra</i> = marvellous, wondrous + <i>n&#257&#7789ak</i> = drama, play) is the name given a complex of compositions, commonly attributed to Gur&#363 Gobind Si&#7749gh, the Tenth Gur&#363 or prophet teacher of the Sikh faith, assembled in his book, the <i>Dasam Granth</i> : hence, the name <i>Dasam</i> (tenth) <i>granth</i> (book), i. e. Book of the Tenth Master to distinguish it from the earlier work, the <i>&#256di</i> (first, primary or original) Granth, now venerated as Sr&#299 Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib. The most familiar section of compositions collectively called <i>Bachitra N&#257&#7789ak Granth</i> is the <i>Bachitra N&#257&#7789ak</i> itself, some of the others being <i>Cha&#7751&#7693&#299 Chritra Ukti Bil&#257s, Cha&#7751&#7693&#299 Chritra, V&#257r Sr&#299 Bhagaut&#299 J&#299 k&#299</i> (or Cha&#7751&#7693&#299 d&#299 V&#257r), <i>Gi&#257n Prabodh</i>, and <i>Chaub&#299s Aut&#257r</i>.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The composition of <i>Bachitra N&#257&#7789ak</i> may have begun in 1688, at Pao&#7751&#7789&#257 during the first spurt of Gur&#363 Gobind Si&#7749gh's literary activity. The date (Bk 1755/AD 1698) of completion of the section "<i>R&#257m&#257vat&#257r</i>, " as mentioned in that section, may also be that of the completion of the whole work. In any case, autobiographical <i>Bachitra N&#257&#7789ak</i> must have been completed before 1699, when Gur&#363 Gobind Si&#7749gh inaugurated the <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 Panth, for the text does not refer to the event. The poem, however, contains a detailed description of the battle of Bha&#7749g&#257&#7751&#299 which took place in 1688, which lays down the other end of the date, i. e. the work was completed <i>after</i> 1688.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The <i>Bachitra N&#257&#7789ak</i> opens with an invocation to Bhagaut&#299, i. e. sword embodying the divine principle of justice. In the second canto the poet says that limitless is the Divine Reality, fathomless its deeds. The poet then says that he would narrate his own story. The implication appears to be that the Divine has relevance for man only in its role in the human context. This seems to be the reason why the poet provides his story with a long preface (cantos 2-5) giving its mythical, legendary, historical and genealogical antecedents which link the action in heaven to that on the earth. He traces the lineage of his house, the So&#7693h&#299s, to Lava, the son of R&#257ma, a scion of Ragh&#363. The So&#7693h&#299s were long in conflict with the descendants of Ku&#347a (Lava's brother). Eventually when the latter, overthrown, immersed themselves in the Vedas (hence called Ved&#299s/Bed&#299s), the So&#7693h&#299 king, in recognition of their profound learning, gave them his throne. The Bed&#299 chief, in return, promised that the throne would be returned to the So&#7693h&#299's during the Kali age. So after Gur&#363 N&#257nak, a Bed&#299, had shown the way, the leadership in the person of Gur&#363 R&#257m D&#257s passed to the So&#7693h&#299s. All the Gur&#363s from Gur&#363 N&#257nak to the tenth and last successor, Gur&#363 Gobind Si&#7749gh, embodied the light of N&#257nak. The poet recalls their names pausing particularly to reflect upon the martyrdom of the Ninth Gur&#363, Gur&#363 Te<u>gh</u> Bah&#257dur, "who sacrificed his life to save the symbols of Hinduism, a deed unparalleled for heroism in the Kali age. "</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;In the sixth canto, beginning with the words <i>ab mai apan&#299 kath&#257 bakh&#257no</i> (now I relate my own story), the narrative becomes more personal. The poet tells us how in a previous life he practised intense meditation and austerity on the mount Hem Ku&#7751&#7789 until his spirit merged with the Divine. Then, how despite his desire to stay absorbed in harmony at His feet, he was told by the Almighty to take birth in the Kali age to show the world the path of truth, to rid it of superstition, and to teach it to worship God alone. Gur&#363 Gobind Si&#7749gh accepted the charge humbly : "Thy word shall prevail in the world, with Thy support. " Without fear or malice, he would, he said, proclaim what God had told him. Lest people should start worshipping him instead of God, he warns them, "Those who call me God shall into the pit of Hell be cast. I am but the slave of the Supreme Being come to watch the world spectacle. " Gur&#363 Gobind Si&#7749gh adored none but God and attached no importance to any religious garb or practice except the constant remembrance of God's Name.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Cantos 7 to 13 treat of the poet's life as Gobind R&#257i, name by which Gur&#363 Gobind Si&#7749gh was earlier known. (Gobind Si&#7749gh was the name he assumed after he had himself admitted to the <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 Panth). Apparently, owing to the hostility of the neighbouring hill <i>r&#257j&#257s</i>, he moved to P&#257o&#7751&#7789&#257 where he lived happily for some time. Then Fateh Sh&#257h (the R&#257j&#257 of Sr&#299nagar) attacked him "without provocation. " The rest of the autobiography is largely a description of the armed conflicts between the Gur&#363 and his adversaries. He defeated Fateh Sh&#257h, and his allies at Bha&#7749g&#257&#7751&#299. At Nadau&#7751 he defeated Alif <u>Kh</u>&#257n, a Mu<u>gh</u>al commander sent to exact tribute from the hill chiefs. The Gur&#363's former enemy, Bh&#299m Chand of Bil&#257spur, sought the Gur&#363's help in this action. Three expeditions sent by Dil&#257war <u>Kh</u>&#257n were also put to rout. The first, under Dil&#257war's son, turned back merely upon hearing the tumult of assault by the Gur&#363's forces. The second and third, under strong commanders Hussain and Jujh&#257r Si&#7749gh, were distracted by other hill chiefs and ended in the death of these commanders. Gur&#363 Gobind Si&#7749gh ends the story in canto 14 reaffirming his faith in God's cosmic play. "All-Time saveth His saints and punisheth those who renege on Him. He protecteth his saints from all harm. . . . He hath succoured me, His own slave. "</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<i>Bachitra N&#257&#7789ak</i> is a clear and strong statement of God's, and Gur&#363 Gobind Si&#7749gh's role in history. That is what gives it central importance in the formation of Sikhism. Gur&#363 Gobind Si&#7749gh confirmed the preceding Gur&#363s' teaching centring on the oneness and perfection of the Absolute. Such oneness also implied the essential perfection of creation as part of the Absolute. But creation is perfect only in relation to the Creator not in itself. To see it as self-sufficient is to distort reality and convert its goodness into evil. If human life is believed to be a separate and complete affair in itself, selfishness prevails and human existence is perverted. Men thus immersed in the world are eventually chastised by God as is illustrated in Gur&#363 N&#257nak's treatment of B&#257bar's invasion of India. One very common way of being severed from the Divine is to attach meaning to the external forms of religion in themselves rather than as means of attaining the Divine.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Gur&#363 Gobind Si&#7749gh conceived God as the embodiment of the fighting spirit. But as the evil is in man's perspective, it must be remedied in human terms; the visible action in God's war on evil must be performed by men of realization. The Gur&#363's proclamation of his gospel is but a readiness to fight in God's name and when he goes to battle, he does God's work. No wonder, he always wins. The <i>Bachitra N&#257&#7789ak</i> is an exultation over God's triumph acted out by noble souls on the world's stage and an expression of faith in future victories. It is a confident call to saints to put on arms in continuation and transformation of earlier Sikhism.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Consequently, <i>Bachitra N&#257&#7789ak</i> is largely a series of vivid battle scenes created with forceful imagination. Through a variety of generally quick and sinuous metres, apt descriptions and a profusion of appropriate similes and metaphors, mention of the entire paraphernalia of battle, diction reproducing its very sounds and sensations, and glimpses into the psychology of the warriors, the poet captures the verve of battle and quickens the readers' spirit. To reproduce an image, Mahant Kirp&#257l D&#257s rising in his stirrups and shouting <i>Sat Sr&#299 Ak&#257l</i> smote Hay&#257t <u>Kh</u>&#257n's head with his wooden truncheon that his skull was crushed and "his brains, spilt forth as butter flowed from the Gop&#299s' pitchers broken by Krishna. "</p> </font> <p class="BIB"> BIBLIOGRAPHY<p class="C1"><ol class="C1"><li class="C1"> Macauliffe, Max Arthur, <i>The Sikh Religion</i>, Oxford, 1909<BR> <li class="C1"> Gopal Si&#7749gh, <i>Thus Spake the Tenth Master</i>. Patiala, 1978<BR> <li class="C1"> Ashta, Dharam Pal, <i>The Poetry of the Dasam Granth</i>. Delhi, 1959<BR> <li class="C1"> Loehlin, C. H. , <i>The Granth of Guru Gobind Singh and the Khalsa Brotherhood</i>. Lucknow, 1971<BR> <li class="C1"> Jagg&#299, Ratan Singh, <i>Dasam Granth Parichaya</i>. Delhi, 1990<BR> <li class="C1"> Ra&#7751dh&#299r Si&#7749gh Bh&#257&#299, <i>Shabd&#257rth Dasam Granth S&#257hib</i>, vol. I. Patiala, 1973<BR> </ol><p class="CONT">Surj&#299t Si&#7749gh Dul&#257&#299<br></p><BR> </font> <img src="counter.aspx" width="1px" height="1px" alt=""> </HTML></BODY>