Tempo:
Appendix 4
305
3. The Dasam Granth ascribed lo Mani Singh also states that over 125,000 verses were composed in the coun of Guru Gobind Singh. On page 615 of the manuscript. in the possession of Guiab Singh Sethi there is a categorical assertion that the total number of verses composed amounted to 125,000. It would therefore seem that the Granth in question fonns only one-<enth of the total and the word Dasam refers to one-<enth and not lo the tenth guru. The lines run as follows:
Sava Wt.h chand 4ge soi Is men di ghat nalu!! hoi A lac and a quarter verses existed bctore and not one less than that number. 4. A large part of the mythological writings in the Dasam Grail.th follow a conventional pauem ,·ery common at the time. It was an age of plagiarism, and much of the imagery used in describing scenes was current in Braj and Hindi writing. This would strongly indicate that the 52 barrur-not many of whom could be men of creative poetic genius-brought with them chunks of memorized verse which found its way into this work. The martial pieces in the fonn of Sirllha1i{ii Chand are an exception to this pattern of plagiarism and were probably composed at Anandpur. Even the Persian talcs, Hilrayais, arc reproductions of stories from well-known Persian classics. 5. It is most unlikely that the Guru as the spiritual leader of his people would have ever allowed his name to be associated with a composition of the type of PakhyaTJ, Caritr. His lofty character and the value he set on Spartan living do not go with prurience of the kind found in some of the passages of the Dasam Granth. The only conclusion possible is that much of the writing in the Dasam Granth is from the pen of poets other than that of Guru Gobind Singh. The only portions that can with some certainty be ascribed to him are those which he, during his own lifetime, exhorted his followers to recite as parts of their prayer or read in the performance of rituals such as baptism. He may have had a hand in the composition of some of the others, but any categorical assertion on the subject would be hazardous.
Language and Literary Quality The language of most of the Dasam Grarnh is largely Braj veering towards Sanskrit at one extreme and simple colloquial Hindi at the
305
3. The Dasam Granth ascribed lo Mani Singh also states that over 125,000 verses were composed in the coun of Guru Gobind Singh. On page 615 of the manuscript. in the possession of Guiab Singh Sethi there is a categorical assertion that the total number of verses composed amounted to 125,000. It would therefore seem that the Granth in question fonns only one-<enth of the total and the word Dasam refers to one-<enth and not lo the tenth guru. The lines run as follows:
Sava Wt.h chand 4ge soi Is men di ghat nalu!! hoi A lac and a quarter verses existed bctore and not one less than that number. 4. A large part of the mythological writings in the Dasam Grail.th follow a conventional pauem ,·ery common at the time. It was an age of plagiarism, and much of the imagery used in describing scenes was current in Braj and Hindi writing. This would strongly indicate that the 52 barrur-not many of whom could be men of creative poetic genius-brought with them chunks of memorized verse which found its way into this work. The martial pieces in the fonn of Sirllha1i{ii Chand are an exception to this pattern of plagiarism and were probably composed at Anandpur. Even the Persian talcs, Hilrayais, arc reproductions of stories from well-known Persian classics. 5. It is most unlikely that the Guru as the spiritual leader of his people would have ever allowed his name to be associated with a composition of the type of PakhyaTJ, Caritr. His lofty character and the value he set on Spartan living do not go with prurience of the kind found in some of the passages of the Dasam Granth. The only conclusion possible is that much of the writing in the Dasam Granth is from the pen of poets other than that of Guru Gobind Singh. The only portions that can with some certainty be ascribed to him are those which he, during his own lifetime, exhorted his followers to recite as parts of their prayer or read in the performance of rituals such as baptism. He may have had a hand in the composition of some of the others, but any categorical assertion on the subject would be hazardous.
Language and Literary Quality The language of most of the Dasam Grarnh is largely Braj veering towards Sanskrit at one extreme and simple colloquial Hindi at the
©
2026
Lehal.net