ÿþ<HTML><HEAD><TITLE>V&#256R MAL&#256R K&#298 MAHALL&#256 I</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>V&#256R MAL&#256R K&#298 MAHALL&#256 I</i>, composition of the first Gur&#363 (i.e. Gur&#363 N&#257nak), is one of the twenty-two <i>v&#257rs</i> appearing in the Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib under different <i>r&#257gas</i>. A <i>v&#257r</i> is a folk poem of war and chivalry, celebrating a hero and his gallantry. In the Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib this form is adapted to spiritual ends and to bring to man's attention the eternal truths of life. <i>V&#257r Mal&#257r K&#299</i> is cast in the <i>mal&#257r r&#257ga</i> or musical measure (hence the title). <i>Mal&#257r</i> or <i>Malh&#257r</i> is associated with the rains and is best sung in the rainy season. At the head of the composition is recorded the direction regarding the tune in which it is to be sung--- in the tune of R&#257&#7751&#257 Kail&#257s and M&#257ldeo. It ends with the word <i>sudhu</i> which attests the fact that the text has been checked and found to be correct.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;As the title declares, this is a poem of the rainy season. Images of the rainy season abound. Flashes of lightning stab the darkness of the clouds. Bab&#299h&#257 (the bird that revels best in the rains) breaks out into song at the sight of the clouds. The rain signifies God's plenty. It will fill the granaries of the people. It will clothe the earth in lush greenery. The language of the poem is Sant Bhasha or eastern Punjabi. As is common with the vocabulary of the Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib, words into it come from all sources. Besides words of Sanskrit origin, the Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib freely accept words from Arabic and Persian. In this poem we have Arabic words such as <i>hikmat</i> and <i>muqaddam</i> and Persian words such as <i>bisiar</i> and <i>kamtrin</i>.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The poem comprises twenty-eight <i>pau&#7771&#299s</i> or stanzas and fifty-eight <i>&#347lokas</i>. All the <i>pau&#7771&#299s</i> except the twenty-seventh are of the composition of Gur&#363 N&#257nak; five of the <i>&#347lokas</i> are by Gur&#363 A&#7749gad, twenty-seven by Gur&#363 Amar D&#257s and two by Gur&#363 Arjan. Each <i>pau&#7771&#299</i> has two <i>&#347lokas</i> preceding it except the twenty-first which is preceded by four <i>&#347lokas. Pau&#7771&#299</i> 27 is from the pen of Gur&#363 Arjan. The <i>v&#257r</i> is believed to be the first one written by Gur&#363 N&#257nak and the date of composition is reckoned to be the year of the sack of Emin&#257b&#257d by B&#257bar, i.e. AD 1521.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The <i>v&#257r</i> can be broadly divided into four parts. The first part (<i>pau&#7771&#299s</i> 1-7) proclaims that God alone is the creator of this universe. Everything happens by His Will. In this arena of the world, the <i>gurmukh</i> (i.e. he whose face is turned towards the Gur&#363, the Gur&#363 conscious) and the <i>manmukh</i> (guided by his own self, the self-willed) are wrestling with each other (4); the former will come out victorious, for He is on the side of those who are truthful, who have conquered their ego and who live a life of detachment like the lotus flower sprouting in the mud. The second part (<i>pau&#7771&#299s</i> 8-16) affirms that His virtues are inexpressible and that meditation on His Name alone can save man. Renunciation of the world and asceticism will be of little avail. Wandering in the forest and torturing the body will not help man realize God (15); what helps is the Gur&#363's teaching by following which one can save oneself (9). Man is lost in the darkness of ignorance and gets caught in worldly temptations. By His grace one meets the Gur&#363 and becomes absorbed in His Name. A self-centred <i>manmukh</i> is a beast in the body of man (14). The third part (<i>pau&#7771&#299s</i>, 17-22) stresses the value of <i>bhakti</i> or devotion which is not possible without the love of God which in turn is a gift received by the favour of the Gur&#363 (19). The concluding part, comprising the last six <i>pau&#7771&#299s</i>, rejects mere intellect as a means to final release. Intellect begets pride, diverting man away from God. Asceticism and ritualistic practices also lead him astray. The Gur&#363's <i>&#347abda (sabad</i>) alone is the true guide. The Gur&#363, again, is the gift from God Himself.</p> </font> <p class="BIB"> BIBLIOGRAPHY<p class="C1"><ol class="C1"><li class="C1"> Bishan Si&#7749gh, Gi&#257n&#299, <i>B&#257&#299 V&#257r&#257&#7749 Sa&#7789&#299k</i>. Amritsar, n.d.<BR> <li class="C1"> S&#257hib Si&#7749gh, <i>Sr&#299 Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib Darpan</i>. Jalandhar, 1963<BR> <li class="C1"> Kohli, Surindar Singh, <i>A Critical Study of Adi Granth</i>. Delhi, 1961<BR> </ol><p class="CONT">Surinder Si&#7749gh Kohl&#299<br>Balk&#257r Si&#7749gh<br></p><BR> </font> <img src="counter.aspx" width="1px" height="1px" alt=""> </HTML></BODY>