ÿþ<HTML><HEAD><TITLE>NIH&#256L SI&#7748GH SANT</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="NIHL,SIDGH,SANT"> <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">&#65279NIH&#256L SI&#7748GH, SANT, also known as Pa&#7751&#7693it Nih&#257l Si&#7749gh, a Sanskrit scholar well versed in Ved&#257nta as well as in <i>gurb&#257&#7751&#299</i>, lived in Sikh times in the village of Thoh&#257 <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257, in district R&#257walpi&#7751&#7693&#299, now in Pakistan. Pa&#7751&#7693it Nih&#257l Si&#7749gh is famous for his Sanskrit commentary on <i>Japu</i>, the <i>Japug&#363&#7693h&#257rthad&#299pak&#257</i> (Lamp which illuminates the deep and hidden meaning of the <i>Japu</i>) patterned on &#346a&#7749kar's <i>Bh&#257&#7779ya</i> on <i>Ved&#257ntas&#363tra</i>. According to the colophon appended to the manuscript, work on <i>G&#363&#7693h&#257rthad&#299pak&#257</i> was undertaken at the instance of an Ud&#257s&#299 saint, Bav&#257 Buddh Sar&#363p. One Pa&#7751&#7693it Chandar Bh&#257n Kashm&#299r&#299 acted as the scribe. The manuscript, completed in 1839, has not been published. The only extant copy, which is said to be the original one, is preserved in a private collection in Pa&#7789i&#257l&#257. The manuscript is written in a good clear hand and runs into 103 sheets, 131/4"X531/2", with twelve to thirteen lines to a page.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; In the <i>Japug&#363&#7693h&#257rthad&#299pak&#257</i>, the original text in Gurmukh&#299 is reproduced in Devan&#257gr&#299 characters. Then comes <i>&#7789&#299k&#257</i> or paraphrase, followed by explanation or commentary.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The transliteration of the <i>Japu</i> into Devan&#257gr&#299 script is somewhat arbitrary. Vowel symbols used in the original Gurmukh&#299 have been omitted or altered. Some Punjabi words have been transcribed in their original Sanskrit form, e.g. the original <i>sati</i> has been changed to <i>satya, purakhu</i> has been changed to <i>puru&#7779a</i>. There are some plain errors as well, e.g. <i>gur&#257 ik dehi bujh&#257&#299</i> has been written as <i>Guru&#257 ik deh bujh&#257&#299</i> (stanza VI of the <i>Japu</i>). At places, lines from the original text are missing. The commentary is coloured by Pa&#7751&#7693it Nih&#257l Si&#7749gh's background in Advaita. He is by faith a Sikh, but his interpretation of the <i>Japu</i> has an emphatic Vedantic bias. In the inaugural passages, Nih&#257l Si&#7749gh invokes the Hindu deities and incarnations such as &#346r&#299 Ga&#7751e&#347&#257, &#346arasvat&#299 and &#346r&#299 K&#7771&#7779&#7751a. One Sobh&#257 Si&#7749gh Indraprasth&#299 translated the <i>Jap&#363gu&#7693h&#257rthad&#299pak&#257</i> into highly Hindized Punjabi, under the title <i>Japu Nibandh G&#363&#7693h&#257rthad&#299pak&#257 &#7788ik&#257</i>, an incomplete manuscript copy of which is preserved in a private collection at Amritsar.</p> </font> <p class="BIB"> BIBLIOGRAPHY<p class="C1"><ol class="C1"><li class="C1"><i>Gian Amrit</i>. May 1959<BR> <li class="C1"> Chand&#257 Si&#7749gh, Bh&#257&#299, <i>Granth Sr&#299 Dukh Bhañjan G&#257th&#257</i>. Rawalpindi, 1916<BR> </ol><p class="CONT">Gurdev Si&#7749gh<br></p><BR> </font><img src="counter.aspx" width="1px" height="1px" alt=""></HTML></BODY>