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Historical Sources: Gurbilas Patshahi Chevin and the Sixth Guru

Professor: Kavi Santokh Singh Source: SikhLibrary

This course provides a rigorous scholarly examination of the Gurbilas Patshahi Chevin as a primary source for the life of Guru Hargobind Sahib Ji. Students learn to read the text critically, understand its compositional history, evaluate its historical reliability, and situate it within the broader tradition of Sikh biographical literature.

Begin course12 lessons · 10-question test · 80% to pass
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Prerequisite recommended.

What you'll learn

  • Identify the authorship, composition history, and manuscript tradition of the Gurbilas Patshahi Chevin
  • Apply historical-critical methods to evaluate the reliability of the Gurbilas as a source
  • Explain the literary metres and styles employed in the Gurbilas and their purposes
  • Compare the Gurbilas with other primary sources for Guru Hargobind Sahib Ji's life
  • Recognize specific historical inaccuracies in the text and explain how scholars address them
  • Articulate the enduring value of the Gurbilas despite its limitations as a historical source

Key terms — ਸ਼ਬਦਾਵਲੀ

ਗੁਰਬਿਲਾਸ

Gurbilas; biographical poetry celebrating the Guru's glorious deeds

ਪਾਤਸ਼ਾਹੀ ਛੇਵੀਂ

The Sixth Sovereign; refers to Guru Hargobind Sahib Ji

ਭਗਤ ਸਿੰਘ

Bhai Bhagat Singh; the poet-author of the Gurbilas Patshahi Chevin

ਸਵੈਯਾ

A classical Indic poetic metre used in the Gurbilas for auspicious passages

ਚੌਪਈ

A four-line poetic metre used for narrative passages in the Gurbilas

ਦੋਹਰਾ

A two-line couplet metre used for didactic and summarizing passages

ਕਬਿੱਤ

A classical metre used for elaborate descriptions in the Gurbilas

ਹੱਥ-ਲਿਖਤ

Manuscript; handwritten copy of a text

ਸਾਖੀ

A narrative episode or anecdote in Sikh biographical literature

ਜਨਮ ਸਾਖੀ

Birth narrative; the tradition of biographical anecdote literature centred specifically on the life of Guru Nanak Dev Ji

Lessons

1. Introduction to Sikh Biographical Literature

Full course contents
  1. Introduction to Sikh Biographical Literature
  2. The Composition of the Gurbilas Patshahi Chevin
  3. Who Was Bhai Bhagat Singh?
  4. The Oral Chain: Mani Singh to Bhagat Singh
  5. The Manuscript Tradition
  6. The Critical Edition of 1997
  7. Poetic Metres and Their Functions
  8. Historical Content: What the Gurbilas Records
  9. Historical Errors and Their Significance
  10. The Gurbilas and the Suraj Prakash: Comparing Sources
  11. Reading the Gurbilas Today
  12. Using the Gurbilas as a Research Tool

The Genre of Biography in South Asian Tradition

Biographical writing has a distinguished history in South Asian literature, from the Sanskrit Ashvaghosha's Buddhacharit to the Persian-influenced biographical traditions of the Mughal period. The Gurbilas Patshahi Chevin's critical introduction notes this wider context, observing that the Sikh biographical tradition emerged alongside and in dialogue with existing South Asian biographical genres (Bhagat Singh 1997, 538). Jain biographical poetry, Rajput eulogistic traditions, and Sufi hagiography all provided models and conventions that Sikh biographical writers adapted for their own purposes. Understanding this wider context helps readers approach the Gurbilas with appropriate expectations: it is a work that combines historical reportage, devotional celebration, and literary art in proportions typical of its genre and era.

Janamsakhis and Gurbilases

The principal genres of Sikh biographical literature in the early period are the ਜਨਮ ਸਾਖੀ (birth narrative) and the ਗੁਰਬਿਲਾਸ (celebration of the Guru's glorious deeds). The Janamsakhis, primarily associated with Guru Nanak Dev Ji, are prose collections of episodic anecdotes arranged loosely around the theme of the Guru's spiritual journey. The Gurbilases are typically composed in verse and provide more sustained narrative accounts of specific Gurus' lives. The Gurbilas Patshahi Chevin belongs firmly to the Gurbilas tradition: its twenty-one chapters cover the entire life of Guru Hargobind Sahib Ji in continuous narrative form, using multiple poetic metres appropriate to different moods and events.

Purpose and Audience

The Gurbilas was composed for a Sikh audience already devoted to the Guru, not for a general readership. Its purpose was not neutral historical documentation but the celebration of the Guru's glory, the inspiration of devotion in the reader or listener, and the preservation of significant events in a memorable form. W. H. McLeod emphasises that this purposive character does not disqualify the text as a historical source but requires that readers approach it with awareness of its generic commitments, separating the historical content from the devotional framework in which it is embedded (McLeod 1980, 25).

2. The Composition of the Gurbilas Patshahi Chevin

The Origin Story

The Gurbilas Patshahi Chevin's own account of its origin is distinctive and historically significant. The text describes its compositional genesis as follows: Bhai Mani Singh Shaheed visited Nankana Sahib, where ragi singers were performing a Var by Bhai Gurdas Ji. Bhai Bhagat Singh, moved by the text's reference to the Sixth Guru, requested a detailed account of Guru Hargobind Sahib Ji's life. Bhai Mani Singh agreed and narrated the Guru's life story at the Nanaksar Gurdwara, with Bhai Bhagat Singh and his teacher Bhai Dharam Singh present as listeners. Bhai Bhagat Singh then composed the present text in poetic form based on this oral narration (Bhagat Singh 1997, 10-11).

The Transmission Chain

This origin story establishes a specific transmission chain: from the events of Guru Hargobind Sahib Ji's life (early 17th century) to Bhai Mani Singh's memory and narration (early 18th century) to Bhai Bhagat Singh's poetic composition (18th century) to the manuscript copies made by scribes including Hari Singh (who identifies himself as Bhai Bhagat Singh's descendant). Each link in this chain introduces the possibility of addition, omission, and interpretation. The critical editor acknowledges this complexity while arguing that the core of Bhai Mani Singh's narration — himself a figure with direct connections to Guru Gobind Singh Ji's circle — preserves reliable tradition about the Sixth Guru's life.

Date of Composition

The precise date of the Gurbilas's composition is uncertain. The events it describes occurred in the early seventeenth century; Bhai Mani Singh's narration, if historical, would have been in the early eighteenth century; the text's composition and the earliest manuscripts belong to the eighteenth century as well. The 1997 Punjabi University edition, based on manuscript comparison, represents the most reliable available text. The gap between the events described and the text's composition — approximately a century — is important context for evaluating its historical claims, particularly its specific dates.

3. Who Was Bhai Bhagat Singh?

The Problem of Authorship

The authorship of the Gurbilas Patshahi Chevin presents interesting textual challenges. The critical editor Dr. Gurmukh Singh addresses the claim, made by some scholars, that the text was composed by a poet named Sohan Kavi rather than by Bhai Bhagat Singh (Bhagat Singh 1997, 11). The basis for this claim is a couplet at the end of the text that appears, in some printed editions, to use the name Sohan. However, the examination of manuscript evidence reveals that the original text uses the term das kavi (servant-poet) rather than a proper name, and that the attribution to Sohan Kavi arose from a misreading of later printed editions. The manuscript evidence consistently supports Bhai Bhagat Singh as the author.

What We Know

The biographical information available about Bhai Bhagat Singh is limited. The text itself, along with a note by the scribe Hari Singh who identifies himself as Bhai Bhagat Singh's descendant, establishes that: he was present at Bhai Mani Singh's narration at Nanaksar Gurdwara; his poetic mentor was Bhai Dharam Singh; he composed the text at the request of Bhai Mani Singh and Bhai Dharam Singh; and he described himself with characteristic humility as das kavi (servant-poet) or bal kavi (young poet). Beyond these details, his biography remains largely unknown. The critical introduction to the Punjabi University edition surveys the available evidence without claiming more certainty than the sources support (Bhagat Singh 1997, 1-3).

The Poet's Voice

Despite the limited biographical information, Bhai Bhagat Singh's poetic voice is distinctive throughout the text. He writes with genuine literary skill across multiple metres, shows a deep familiarity with the Puranic and classical literary traditions he draws upon, and brings both devotional fervour and narrative energy to his subject. His humility about his own role — consistently foregrounding Bhai Mani Singh as the source and himself as the faithful recorder — reflects the Sikh literary tradition's characteristic attribution of all credit to the Guru and his servants rather than to the poet's own genius.

4. The Oral Chain: Mani Singh to Bhagat Singh

Bhai Mani Singh as Source

Bhai Mani Singh Shaheed (c. 1644-1737) is one of the most important figures in early Sikh literary history. He was a devoted Sikh who served at Amritsar, transcribed texts, and maintained the tradition of Sikh learning during the turbulent early eighteenth century. His connection to Guru Gobind Singh Ji's circle — attested in multiple sources — gave him access to traditions about the earlier Gurus that had been transmitted through the Guru's companions and their descendants. The critical editor of the Gurbilas notes that Bhai Mani Singh's narration of Guru Hargobind Sahib Ji's life was based on traditions he had received from Guru Gobind Singh Ji himself (Bhagat Singh 1997, 6).

The Gap and Its Implications

Between Guru Hargobind Sahib Ji's Jyoti Jot in 1644 CE and Bhai Mani Singh's narration in the early eighteenth century lies a gap of approximately fifty to sixty years — two to three generations. This is a meaningful gap in oral transmission: sufficient for details to be forgotten or modified, but not so long as to render the tradition unreliable in its broad outlines. Scholars of oral tradition would classify this as within the range of reliable transmission for major events and the character of significant figures, while acknowledging the greater risk of error in specific dates, numbers, and minor details. This assessment aligns well with what historical analysis of the Gurbilas actually finds: the major events are consistent with other evidence, while specific chronological details are sometimes inaccurate.

From Oral to Written

The transition from Bhai Mani Singh's oral narration to Bhai Bhagat Singh's written composition involved a fundamental transformation of medium. Oral narration is fluid, responsive to audience questions, and shaped by the dynamics of the moment; written composition requires selection, organisation, and the adoption of formal structures. Bhai Bhagat Singh's choice to render the narrative in classical poetic metres rather than prose further transformed the material, imposing the constraints and expansions of metre, rhyme, and genre convention on the historical content. Understanding this transformation helps readers appreciate both what the text preserves from the oral tradition and what it adds through its literary elaboration.

5. The Manuscript Tradition

The Manuscripts Available

The critical edition of the Gurbilas Patshahi Chevin published by Punjabi University in 1997 was prepared by Dr. Gurmukh Singh using three principal manuscripts. The primary text was the manuscript belonging to Harchand Singh Sunam; this was compared with manuscripts held by Dr. Ram Singh of Bhogpur (a 410-page manuscript dated 1848 CE, described as having an accurate text despite some scribal omissions) and by S. Dalbir Singh of Mohali (Bhagat Singh 1997, 909). The editor's comparison of these three manuscripts enabled the reconstruction of a text that is more reliable than any single manuscript taken alone.

The Printed Versions and Their Problems

Before the 1997 critical edition, the Gurbilas Patshahi Chevin had circulated in printed versions of varying quality and reliability. The critical editor notes that some printed versions contained additions and deletions made by scribes and editors according to their own judgments rather than being faithful to the manuscript evidence (Bhagat Singh 1997, 227). This situation — in which multiple printed versions circulated with varying texts — is common in South Asian classical literature and is one of the reasons why critical editing of manuscripts is so important for historical research. The 1997 Punjabi University edition represents the first genuinely critical text of this important source.

Scribal Notes and Colophons

The manuscripts contain scribal notes and colophons that provide additional historical information. The note by the scribe Hari Singh — who identifies himself as a descendant of Bhai Bhagat Singh — is particularly valuable, as it confirms the author's identity and provides information about the composition's origins (Bhagat Singh 1997, 11). Such colophons are a standard feature of South Asian manuscript culture and are among the most reliable pieces of information in manuscript texts, since scribes had little motivation to fabricate their own genealogical connections to the text's author.

6. The Critical Edition of 1997

The Manuscript Editing Project

The 1997 Punjabi University edition of the Gurbilas Patshahi Chevin was produced as part of the Department of Punjabi Literature Studies' manuscript editing series, under the overall direction of the departmental head and the editorship of Dr. Gurmukh Singh. The preface by Vice Chancellor Joginder Singh Poar notes the significance of this series for making classical Punjabi texts available in reliable, scholarly editions for researchers and general readers alike (Bhagat Singh 1997, iv). Dr. Gurmukh Singh's expertise in medieval Punjabi manuscript literature is identified as a key qualification for the editorial work.

Editorial Methodology

Dr. Gurmukh Singh employed standard methods of textual scholarship: establishing a primary manuscript as the base text, comparing it systematically with variant manuscripts, recording significant variant readings, and making emendations where the primary text is clearly corrupt or deficient. The edition includes a substantial critical introduction that addresses the text's composition history, authorship, historical content, literary qualities, and relationship to other sources. This introduction is itself a significant scholarly contribution to the study of Guru Hargobind Sahib Ji's period (Bhagat Singh 1997, 1-38).

Appendices and Research Tools

The 1997 edition includes two appendices: a glossary of difficult or unusual words (Appendix 1) and a supplementary index of names and places (Appendix 2). These research tools significantly enhance the edition's value for scholarly use. The index of names and places is particularly important for historical research, as it allows systematic tracking of individuals and locations across the text. The inclusion of these appendices reflects the scholarly orientation of the Punjabi University publication and distinguishes it from popular editions designed primarily for devotional reading.

7. Poetic Metres and Their Functions

A Multi-Metre Composition

One of the most distinctive literary features of the Gurbilas Patshahi Chevin is its use of multiple classical Indic poetic metres. The text employs Savaiya, Chaupai, Dohra, Soratha, Kabitt, Chhapai, and Aril metres, among others (Bhagat Singh 1997, 4). This variety is not random but purposive: different metres are employed for different types of content and emotional register, with the metre itself contributing to the reader's or listener's experience of the passage. The poet's skill in metre — acknowledged in the critical introduction as exemplary — reflects the literary traditions of classical Punjabi poetry that drew on both Braj and Punjabi formal conventions.

Metre and Mood

The critical editor notes that the poet uses Savaiya and Kabitt metres for auspicious occasions and elaborate descriptions, while Dohra-Chaupai pairs are employed for narrative passages (Bhagat Singh 1997, 717). Most significantly, the text's battle scenes employ short, rapid metres — Sirkhandi and Rasaval — whose quick rhythms mirror the pace and urgency of combat (Bhagat Singh 1997, 558). This correspondence between metrical form and emotional content is a sophisticated literary technique that demonstrates Bhai Bhagat Singh's command of the classical metrical tradition and his artistic sensitivity to the relationship between form and meaning.

The Language of the Text

The critical introduction describes the Gurbilas's language as primarily Punjabi, written in Gurmukhi script, with a clear influence from Braj — the classical literary language widely used for devotional and biographical poetry across North India in this period (Bhagat Singh 1997, 7). The Braj influence is reflected in vocabulary choices and some grammatical forms, but the overall character of the language remains accessible to Punjabi readers rather than requiring specialist knowledge of Braj. This linguistic accessibility reflects the text's intended audience: a Punjabi-speaking Sikh community rather than the Persian-literate Mughal court or the Sanskrit-trained Brahmanical establishment.

8. Historical Content: What the Gurbilas Records

The Structure of the Twenty-One Chapters

The Gurbilas Patshahi Chevin is organised into twenty-one chapters (adhyays) that roughly follow the chronology of Guru Hargobind Sahib Ji's life from birth to Jyoti Jot. The critical introduction provides a chapter-by-chapter summary (Bhagat Singh 1997, 5-16). The text covers: the circumstances of the Guru's birth and childhood; the martyrdom of Guru Arjan Dev Ji; the investiture ceremony with the two swords; the construction of the Akal Takht; the Guru's relationships with Mughal officials; his imprisonment in Gwalior Fort and liberation; his four battles; his travels to the Shivalik Hills; and the final episodes of his life. This comprehensive scope makes the text indispensable for reconstructing the major events of the Sixth Guru's life.

Where the Gurbilas Is Most Reliable

The Gurbilas is most reliable in its descriptions of the character and atmosphere of events: the Guru's personal qualities, the spirit in which battles were fought, the conduct of ceremonies and celebrations, the names and roles of key individuals. These qualitative details are precisely the type of information most reliably preserved in oral tradition and least likely to be distorted by the transmission process. When the Gurbilas tells us that Guru Hargobind Sahib Ji gave the enemy the opportunity to strike first, treated the fallen enemy with respect, and grieved for his own martyred warriors, we have every reason to trust that this reflects genuine tradition about his character.

Where the Gurbilas Requires Caution

The text requires most caution in areas where specific dates, numbers, and Mughal political context are involved. As the critical editor notes, the battle dates are in some cases incorrect; the account of the Guru accompanying Jahangir toward Kashmir is not corroborated by the Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri; and the attribution of some events to Jahangir's reign rather than Shah Jahan's reflects a chronological error (Bhagat Singh 1997, 448-457). These specific errors do not undermine the text's overall historical value but require scholars to use it in conjunction with other sources — particularly Mughal records — when precision about dates and political context is required.

9. Historical Errors and Their Significance

Catalogue of Major Errors

The critical editor of the Gurbilas Patshahi Chevin identifies several significant historical errors in the text (Bhagat Singh 1997, 448-457). These include: incorrect dating of the four battles, with some battles attributed to Jahangir's reign rather than Shah Jahan's; the claim that Guru Hargobind Sahib Ji accompanied Jahangir toward Kashmir after his release from Gwalior, which is not corroborated by the Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri; incorrect sequencing of the Battle of Harigobindpur relative to other events; and inaccurate dates for the battles of Maraj and Kartarpur. The editor provides specific Bikrami year corrections based on historical analysis.

Why These Errors Occurred

Understanding why these errors occurred is as important as identifying them. The most significant factor is the century-long oral transmission between the events and their written recording. Specific dates — expressed in the Bikrami calendar — are precisely the type of detail most vulnerable to transmission error: they carry no inherent meaning that would make them memorable, unlike the substance of what happened. A tradition that accurately preserved the character of battles, the names of commanders, and the theological meaning of events might still lose or confuse specific calendar dates over fifty to sixty years of oral transmission.

Errors in Context

Crucially, the historical errors in the Gurbilas are not evidence of fabrication or dishonest invention but of the natural limitations of oral transmission and the constraints of composing in verse form. The poet was not attempting to write a chronicle with precise dates; he was celebrating the Guru's glory in the tradition of devotional biographical poetry. That he got specific dates wrong while preserving a historically consistent overall picture of the Guru's life is exactly what one would expect of a text with the Gurbilas's compositional history. Fauja Singh's assessment of the text as historically valuable despite its limitations reflects the balanced scholarly consensus on this question (Singh 1978, 78).

10. The Gurbilas and the Suraj Prakash: Comparing Sources

The Suraj Prakash as a Secondary Source

Kavi Santokh Singh's Sri Gur Pratap Suraj Granth, composed in the early nineteenth century, is one of the most comprehensive sources for Sikh history from the Guru period. Its treatment of Guru Hargobind Sahib Ji draws on the Gurbilas tradition and other earlier sources, supplementing and sometimes expanding the Gurbilas's account. As a secondary source — composed approximately two centuries after the events — the Suraj Prakash must be evaluated with the same historical-critical awareness applied to the Gurbilas, while recognising that its later composition gave the author access to a wider range of sources and traditions than were available to Bhai Bhagat Singh.

Where the Sources Corroborate

When the Gurbilas and the Suraj Prakash agree on specific events — such as the investiture ceremony, the construction of the Akal Takht, the Gwalior imprisonment, and the four battles — this agreement across independent sources provides greater confidence in the historical reliability of those events. The broad outline of Guru Hargobind Sahib Ji's life as recorded in both texts is consistent and mutually reinforcing, suggesting that both drew on a well-established Sikh historical tradition about the Sixth Guru.

Using Multiple Sources Together

The critical approach to the Gurbilas era requires reading the Gurbilas alongside the Suraj Prakash, the relevant Mughal court records, and the available archaeological and material evidence. No single source provides an adequate basis for historical reconstruction; it is the convergence and divergence of multiple sources that enables the historian to build a picture of the past with appropriate confidence and appropriate acknowledgment of uncertainty. J. S. Grewal's careful approach to the sources in his study of Sikh history exemplifies this multi-source methodology (Grewal 1990, 55-60).

11. Reading the Gurbilas Today

The Historical Reader

For the historian, the Gurbilas Patshahi Chevin is a primary source of irreplaceable value for the life of Guru Hargobind Sahib Ji. Its preservation of specific names, events, places, and the character of the Guru's actions provides a foundation for historical reconstruction that no other source can substitute for. Reading the text historically requires the skills outlined in this course: awareness of its compositional history, sensitivity to the distinction between reliable and unreliable types of content, willingness to cross-reference with other sources, and familiarity with the editorial work of Dr. Gurmukh Singh and other scholars who have worked to establish the most reliable text available.

The Devotional Reader

For the devotional reader, the Gurbilas offers something different but equally valuable: a sustained imaginative encounter with the greatness of Guru Hargobind Sahib Ji, rendered in the full resources of classical Punjabi verse. The text's vivid depictions of battles, celebrations, the Guru's personal qualities, and the devotion of his companions create an experience of the Guru's era that no chronicle could match. Reading the Gurbilas devotionally means allowing the text to do what it was designed to do: inspire love, reverence, and commitment to the values the Guru embodied. This devotional reading is not in tension with historical-critical reading but complements it.

The Student Reader

For students of Sikh studies, the Gurbilas is an essential text that rewards multiple readings from multiple angles. Its historical content informs understanding of the early Sikh period; its literary qualities exemplify the classical Punjabi biographical tradition; its theological perspectives articulate the Sikh values of the Miri-Piri era with eloquence and conviction. Approaching it with the combination of critical awareness and devotional openness that characterises the best Sikh scholarship will yield the fullest understanding of this remarkable text and the remarkable Guru whose life it celebrates.

12. Using the Gurbilas as a Research Tool

The Appendices and Index

The 1997 Punjabi University critical edition's appendices are essential research tools for anyone working with the Gurbilas. The glossary (Appendix 1) clarifies the meanings of difficult vocabulary, including technical terms from classical poetry, regional dialects, and military contexts. The supplementary index of names and places (Appendix 2) allows researchers to locate all references to specific individuals and locations across the text's twenty-one chapters — an invaluable resource for prosopographical research (the study of historical persons) and for tracing the geographical dimensions of events. These tools transform the Gurbilas from a text to be read linearly into a searchable database of historical information about the Guru Hargobind Sahib Ji era.

Citation and Attribution

Scholarly citation of the Gurbilas Patshahi Chevin should follow the CMOS format, citing the Punjabi University edition: Bhagat Singh, Gurbilas Patshahi Chevin, edited by Gurmukh Singh (Patiala: Punjabi University Publication Bureau, 1997), followed by page number. When citing specific passages, it is good practice to note which chapter of the twenty-one the passage comes from, as this helps other readers locate the context. The critical introduction should be cited separately when referring to the editor's historical analysis rather than the text itself.

Limitations and Supplements

The Gurbilas must always be used with awareness of its limitations as outlined in this course: its dating errors, its dependence on oral transmission, its devotional rather than documentary purpose. These limitations make it essential to supplement the Gurbilas with the Suraj Prakash Granth, with Mughal administrative records where available, with the scholarly secondary literature, and with the material and archaeological evidence for the period. The combination of these sources, used critically and comparatively, provides the most reliable available picture of Guru Hargobind Sahib Ji's life and times — a picture that, despite all its incompleteness, is remarkable in its richness and detail.

References & further reading

  1. Bhagat Singh. Gurbilas Patshahi Chevin. Edited by Gurmukh Singh. Patiala: Punjabi University Publication Bureau, 1997.
  2. Santokh Singh, Kavi. Sri Gur Pratap Suraj Granth. Amritsar: Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, 1963.
  3. Fauja Singh, ed. Historians and Historiography of the Sikhs. New Delhi: Oriental Publishers, 1978.
  4. Ganda Singh, ed. Early European Accounts of the Sikhs. Calcutta: Indian Studies Past & Present, 1962.
  5. J. S. Grewal. The Sikhs of the Punjab. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990.
  6. W. H. McLeod. Early Sikh Tradition. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1980.
  7. Gurinder Singh Mann. The Making of Sikh Scripture. New York: Oxford University Press, 2001.

From the source text

(੧੭੬) ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ਹੈ, ਤਿਸ ਬੀਰਜ ਤੇ ਹੀ ਸਰਬ ਕੀ ਉਤਪਤੀ ਹੈ। ਅਰ ਜਲ ਕੇ ਬਰਸਬੇ ਤੇ ਸਰਬ ਉਤਭੁਜ੧ ਕੀ ਉਤਪਤੀ ਹੈ। ਇਸੀ ਹੇਤ ਕਰਿ ਸਰਬ ਜਗਤ ਕੋ ਪਿਤਾ ਜਲ ਹੈ। ‘ਮਾਤਾ ਧਰਤਿ ਮਹਤੁ’=ਸਰਬ ਜਗਤ ਕੀ ਮਾਤਾ ਧਰਤੀ ਹੈ। ਕੈਸੀ ਧਰਤੀ ਹੈ? ‘ਮਹਤੁ’ ਕਹੀਏ ਬਡੀ ਹੈ।
(176) ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Yes, from that seed, everything originates. And from the raining of water, all vegetation originates. For this reason, water is the father of the entire world. ‘Mata dharat mahat’ = the earth is the mother of the entire world. What kind of earth is it? It is called ‘mahat’, meaning great. A mother is one who supports and raises a child, nourishes them by producing milk from her own body, and bears the impurities of the child; in the same way, the earth relates to the entire world. First, it supports and holds everything upon itself; second, the earth produces grain and other sustenance within itself to feed everyone—the nourishment of all comes from the earth, and everything that originates from it consumes it.
— from Garab Ganjinee Teeka. Gurmukhi is the author's original text (OCR); the English is a machine translation. Both are short study excerpts — refer to the original for an authoritative reading.Read the full work on SikhLibrary ↗

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Course test

Pass with 80% or higher to complete the course and unlock the next one.

1. Who is identified as the author of the Gurbilas Patshahi Chevin?
2. Bhai Bhagat Singh composed the Gurbilas based on a narration by whom?
3. Where did Bhai Mani Singh deliver his narration of Guru Hargobind Sahib Ji's life?
4. The 1997 critical edition of the Gurbilas Patshahi Chevin was published by which institution?
5. Which editor prepared the 1997 critical edition of the Gurbilas?
6. What type of metre does the Gurbilas use for its battle scenes to convey speed and urgency?
7. What is identified as the main type of historical error in the Gurbilas?
8. The claim that Guru Hargobind Sahib Ji accompanied Jahangir toward Kashmir after his Gwalior release is NOT corroborated in which Mughal source?
9. What does the term 'Gurbilas' mean?
10. How many chapters does the Gurbilas Patshahi Chevin contain?

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