Kesar Singh Chibbar

Bansavalinama: The Lineage of the Gurus

An intermediate seminar on the ਬੰਸਾਵਲੀਨਾਮਾ ਦਸਾਂ ਪਾਤਸ਼ਾਹੀਆਂ ਕਾ (c.1769) of ਕੇਸਰ ਸਿੰਘ ਛਿੱਬਰ — one of the earliest connected biographical chronicles of all ten Gurus composed in Braj-inflected Punjabi verse. Students examine its structure of ten ਚਰਨ (chapters), its distinctive genealogical material on the Guru families, its theological vision of Sikhi as ਮੀਰੀ ਅਤੇ ਪੀਰੀ, and the Chibbar family's privileged access to the institutional memory of the Guru-darbar as ਦੀਵਾਨ and ਦਿਵਾਨੀ scribes. The course rigorously assesses both the historical value and the well-documented limitations of the text, comparing it with the ਜਨਮਸਾਖੀ tradition, the Gur Bilas literature, and modern critical historiography.