ÿþ<HTML><HEAD><TITLE>SHAH&#298D BIL&#256S (BH&#256&#298 MAN&#298 SI&#7748GH) </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 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">&#65279<i>SHAH&#298D BIL&#256S (BH&#256&#298 MAN&#298 SI&#7748GH), </i> by Kav&#299 Sev&#257 Si&#7749gh, is a biography in verse of Bh&#257&#299 Man&#299 Si&#7749gh, a R&#257jp&#363t warrior of Pa&#7749v&#257r clan, whom the poet identifies with Bh&#257&#299 Man&#299 Si&#7749gh, the martyr. Sev&#257 Si&#7749gh, son of Kesar Si&#7749gh Kaushish, was a <i>bha&#7789&#7789</i> or family bard of one of Bh&#257&#299 Man&#299 Si&#7749gh's great-grandsons, Sa&#7749gat Si&#7749gh, who had settled at L&#257&#7693v&#257, in the present Yamun&#257nagar district of Hary&#257&#7751&#257, as a <i>j&#257g&#299rd&#257r</i> under R&#257j&#257 Aj&#299t Si&#7749gh. According to the poet himself, he commenced writing <i>Shah&#299d Bil&#257s</i> at L&#257&#7693v&#257, but completed it at Bh&#257dso&#7749, in Parganah Th&#257nesar, to which place he migrated, probably in 1846, when R&#257j&#257 Aj&#299t Si&#7749gh's estates were confiscated by the British for helping the Lahore armies in the first Anglo-Sikh war. Originally written in Bha&#7789&#7789akshr&#299, script commonly used by the Bha&#7789&#7789s, it was transcribed into Gurmukh&#299 by Chhajj&#363 Si&#7749gh Bha&#7789&#7789 of Bh&#257dso&#7749, in 1870. This manuscript in Gurmukh&#299 script, the only one available, was aquired by a researcher, Gi&#257n&#299 Garj&#257 Si&#7749gh (1904-77), from the house of Bha&#7789&#7789 Mohlu R&#257m with the help of Bha&#7789&#7789 M&#257n Si&#7749gh of Karsindh&#363 village, in J&#299nd district of Hary&#257&#7751&#257. It was edited by him and published by Pañj&#257bi S&#257hitya Academy, Ludhi&#257&#7751&#257, in 1961.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;According to Sev&#257 Si&#7749gh, who uses Sev&#257 Har&#299 as his <i>nom de plume (Si&#7749gh</i> and <i>hari</i> both meaning a lion), Man&#299 Si&#7749gh was the third of the twelve sons of M&#257&#299 D&#257s of Al&#299pur, near Mult&#257n, now in Pakistan. His grandfather, Ballu R&#257o had borne arms and served Gur&#363 Hargobind (1595-1644). Man&#299 Si&#7749gh was born to Madhar&#299, the first wife of M&#257&#299 D&#257s, on Sunday, Chet <i>sud&#299</i> 12, 1701 Bk/7 April 1644. Man&#299 Si&#7749gh was 13 when he was taken by his father to Gur&#363 Har R&#257i at K&#299ratpur where he stayed for two years serving in the Gur&#363 k&#257 La&#7749gar and studying <i>gurb&#257&#7751&#299</i>, i.e. the Scriptural texts. He was married at the age of 15 to S&#299to, daughter of Lakkh&#299 R&#257i of <u>Kh</u>airpur. He kept company with Gur&#363 Har R&#257i and Gur&#363 Har Krishan and, except a short intermission, with Te<u>gh</u> Bah&#257dur whom he rejoined in 1672 and was assigned to preparing copies of the Scripture and to studying as well as instructing other Sikhs in the sacred text. He practised the martial arts under Gur&#363 Gobind Si&#7749gh and took part in the battles of Bha&#7749g&#257&#7751&#299 and Nadau&#7751. At the time of the initiation of the <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257, Man&#299 Si&#7749gh along with five of his sons received <i><u>kh</u>a&#7751&#7693e k&#299 p&#257hul</i> or initiation by the double-edged sword. Soon after this he was sent by Gur&#363 Gobind Si&#7749gh to take charge of the shrines at Amritsar. He rejoined Gur&#363 Gobind Si&#7749gh at Talva&#7751&#7693&#299 S&#257bo and accompanied him to the South up to Baghaur from where the Gur&#363 sent him back to Amritsar. During the time of fierce persecution which followed, the venerable Bh&#257&#299 Man&#299 Si&#7749gh remained unharmed. In 1733 he even obtained government's permission to hold in Harimandar at Amritsar a fair on the occasion of D&#299v&#257l&#299 festival for which a cess had to be paid. Owing to apprehension of an attack by imperial troops, the attendance was meagre, and the stipulated amount could not be raised. Bh&#257&#299 Man&#299 Si&#7749gh was arrested, charged with non-payment of the tax, and was executed in Lahore on H&#257&#7771 <i>sud&#299</i> 5, 1791 Bk/24 June 1734.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Gi&#257n&#299 Garj&#257 Si&#7749gh, in his introduction as well as in footnotes to the text, has tried to support the poet's account as authentic history with ample quotations from various published and unpublished works, especially from a new source, the Bha&#7789&#7789 Vah&#299s, or scrolls of the traditional family bards; but the account given in the <i>Shah&#299d Bil&#257s</i> has not yet received firm acceptance. Neither the original manuscript in Bha&#7789&#7789akshr&#299 nor the original of its Gurmukh&#299 transcript is available for verification. Besides, some of the crucial dates given in the <i>Shah&#299d Bil&#257s</i> (e.g. those of the creation of <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 and martyrdom of Bh&#257&#299 Man&#299 Si&#7749gh Shah&#299d) are at variance with those given by other chroniclers. It appears that there were two different historical personalities : Man&#299 R&#257m, a R&#257jp&#363t warrior and father of Bh&#257&#299 Ude Si&#7749gh, Bachittar Si&#7749gh and their three brothers who attained martyrdom fighting for the Gur&#363, and Bh&#257&#299 Man&#299 Si&#7749gh, scholar and exegete, who met a martyr's death in 1737. Kav&#299 Sev&#257 Si&#7749gh, in panegyrizing the former ancestor of his patron, Sa&#7749gat Si&#7749gh, identified him with the latter. The veracity of the work must await further research.</p> </font> <p class="BIB"> BIBLIOGRAPHY<p class="C1"><ol class="C1">Gurmukh Si&#7749gh, "Identity of Bhai Mani Si&#7749gh Shahid", <i>Proceedings, Punjab History Conference, Twenty-second Session, March 25-27, 1988</i>. Patiala, 1989<BR> </ol><p class="CONT">Harn&#257m Si&#7749gh Sh&#257n<br></p><BR> </font><img src="counter.aspx" width="1px" height="1px" alt=""></HTML></BODY>