Pritpal Singh Bindra

Zafarnama: Guru Gobind Singh Ji's Letter of Victory

An advanced, semester-length study of the ਜ਼ਫ਼ਰਨਾਮਾ — the "Letter of Victory" composed in Persian verse by ਗੁਰੂ ਗੋਬਿੰਦ ਸਿੰਘ ਜੀ and addressed to the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb after the battle of ਚਮਕੌਰ ਸਾਹਿਬ and the martyrdoms of the ਸਾਹਿਬਜ਼ਾਦੇ. The course examines the epistle as literature, as theology, and as political-moral indictment. Students analyze its 111 couplets in the qasida tradition, its opening hymn of praise to ਅਕਾਲ ਪੁਰਖ, its scathing exposure of Aurangzeb's treachery and broken oaths sworn on the Qur'an, its doctrine of the righteous sword (ਤੇਗ਼), and the celebrated declaration that when all peaceful means fail it is lawful to take up the sword. We situate the text within the Persian literary canon (Firdausi, Sa'di), within ਸਿੱਖ history, and within the manuscript tradition of the ਦਸਮ ਗ੍ਰੰਥ, closing with its historical reception — Aurangzeb's reported remorse and the letter's afterlife as a charter of conscientious resistance.