Guru Gobind Singh (1666-1708) Master of the White Hawk Book Review
Guru Gobind Singh (1666-1708) Master of the White Hawk by J. S. Grewal
Oxford University Press, 2019
296 pages
Introduction
J. S. Grewal is a stalwart of Sikh history and philosophy and this book is one of his latest, being published in 2019 by Oxford University Press. It is a superb and well rounded book, just shy of 300 pages, split into four parts - i) Introductory, ii) The pre-Khalsa decades, iii) Institution of the Khalsa iv) Direction confrontation with the state. In total there are twelve chapters, two chapters each for the first two parts, three chapters for the third part and four chapters for the fourth part.
Alongside, there are three tables, four maps and fifteen images, mostly of contemporary hukumnamas of Guru Gobind Singh Ji, Mata Sundari, Mata Sahib Devi and Banda Singh Bahadaur ranging from 24th July 1698 to 12th April 1759.
To summarise the book it’s a brilliant historical recounting of Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji’s life based on the majority of contemporary and near-contemporary Gurmukhi, Persian and English sources. The book is a cross between a novel and highly analytical work, outlining the part of Guru Gobind Singh Ji’s life followed by what the various sources agree and disagree on. For instance, “Sukha Singh gives all the four episodes mentioned by Koer Singh and adds two more.”
As you can see my copy is pretty well read with various post-it notes to expand on numerous points of interest found throughout the book.
Review
Part I: Introductory covers the work of past historians and their interest in the creation of the Sri Dasam Granth and Rahitnama literature. In addition, it outlines a series of 18th century Gurmukhi, Persian and English sources.
“In all, 10 works in Gurmukhi are consulted more than others. Chronologically, they are the Bachittar Natak (1698), Sri Gur Sobha (1708), the Prachian of Sewadas (1709), the Rahitnama associated with Chaupa Singh (1700, 1740-65), Koer Singh’s Gurbilas (1751), Guru Kian Sakhian of Kaushish (1790), Sukha Singh’s Gurbilas (1797), and Panth Prakash of Ratan Singh Bhangu (1810-14).
Sukha Singh was familiar with Koer Singh’s Gurbilas, while both of them [Sukha Singh and Koer Singh] were familiar with the first three works [Bachittar Natak, Sri Gur Sobha and Prachian of Sewadas]. Chibber was familiar with the work of Chaupa Singh. Bhangu refers to Sukha Singh’s Gurbilas in several different situations. All these works support, supplement, and complement one another. They also differ, and it is not easy to resolve all the differences. It may be added that the evidence of these works becomes more useful when seen in combination with one another and with the sources in Persian and English.”
I feel the introductory chapter is beneficial to all. If you’re a beginner to Sikh history this chapter is great as it outlines most of the previous influential studies and their area of focus. If you’ve already read through most of the books or aware of the debates, then this book is perfect for reference purposes.
“Nikky-Gurinder Kaur Singh talks of Durga becoming Guru Gobind Singh’s favourite literary subject. Durga is ‘recalled’ as a figure of myth and not ‘invoked’ as a goddess. Nowhere does Guru Gobind Singh profess himself to be a devotee of the Goddess.”
“Gurinder Singh Mann points out, ‘We know relatively little about the precise corpus of the Guru’s [Gobind Singh Ji] writings, the circumstances of their entry into these texts, and the history as well as the position of the Dasam Granth within the Sikh community.”
“W. H. McLeod asserted in his book Sikhs of the Khalsa that no Rahitnama was composed in the lifetime of Guru Gobind Singh. The Tankhanama, the earliest Rahitnama for him, was written a few years after Guru Gobind Singh’s death. He places the Sakhi Rahit and the Rahitnama Prahlad Singh in the mid-1730s, the Chaupa Singh Rahit-Nama between 1740 and 1765, and the Rehitnamas of Desa Singh and Daya Singh at the end of the 18th century.”
“Karamjit K. Malhotra has studied the Nashitnama in detail and suggested that no element in this manuscript goes against the assumption that the original was composed in the lifetime of Guru Gobind Singh, between 1699 and 1708.”
Attached to this introductory chapter are appendix 1A to 1D. Appendix 1A deals with Purnima Dhavan’s recent work When Sparrows Became Hawks: The Making of the Sikh Warrior Tradition, 1699-1799. Without paraphrasing the entire appendix, Grewal provides a brilliant analysis of Dhavan’s work. Appendix 1B covers Ani Rai’s Jangnama and the oppression of Aurangzeb.
Appendix 1C covers Koer Singh’s Gurbilas Patshahi 10, published by the Punjabi University in 1968.
“The debate has gone no further, but scholars in the field have tended to accept the view put forth by Surjit Hans. For Harjot Oberoi, Hans 'convincingly demonstrated’ that this work should be placed in the early 19th century.”
Appendix 1D covers Guru Gobind Singh’s speech on the Baisakhi of 1699. The key take away for me was:
“Ghulam Muhiyuddin does not betray any anxiety about early evidence, and we may be sure that the speech which he attributes to Guru Gobind Singh on the day of creating the Khalsa is purely an imaginative feat. Direct speech was a stylistic feature of historical works in Perisna, and the Tawarikh-i Punjab is quite full of it. The passage on ‘address’ deserves no special credence.”
Chapter 2: The Mughal State and the Sikh Panth covers the Mughal Empire under Aurganzeb, explaining the bureaucratic setup of the Empire, revenue collection and sub-ordinate states. In addition, it includes a table of contemporary hill chiefs, a brief explanation of the culture of the hill states and the role of Shaiva shrines and Vaishnavism.
The remainder of this chapter is dedicated to the Sikh Panth outlining a brief history of the Sikhs from Guru Nanak Dev Ji through to Guru Gobind Singh Ji, the role, functions and development of the Sikh community.
This includes a brilliant analysis of Guru Arjun Dev Ji’s shaheedi and Guru Hargobind Sahib Ji’s spiritual and temporal concerns from contemporary records including Dabistan-i Mazahib and Bhai Gurdas Ji.
“The terms ‘Akal Takht’ and ‘Miri-Piri’ occur in the Gurbilas Chhevin Patshahi (This Gurbilas is placed by some scholars in 1718 and by some others in the early 19th century. The authorship of the work is controversial).
Grewal continues to cover Guru Har Rai Sahib, Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji, the cleavage in the Panth caused by Prithi Chand, Dhir Mal and the institution of the Khalsa.
“The execution of Guru Tegh Bahadur in 1675 was an act of extreme aggression. Thus, the young Guru Gobind was faced with the problem of internal disunity and external interference. The institution of the Khalsa was his well-considered response to a grave situation.”
Part II covers the pre-Khalsa decades of Guru Gobind Singh Ji’s life including birth, shaheedi of Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji and Guru Gobind Singh Ji’s reaction to the shaheedi of his father. Grewal then moves on to cover Guru Gobind Singh Ji’s first decade of Guruship and throws some light on the family history of the Chibber family - made famous by Chaupa Singh Chibber and the attributed Rahitnama. As is common throughout the book, the chapter concludes with a brilliant overall analysis of the sources and arguments put forward. In this instance:
“In retrospect, we can see that the most important event from the early life of Gobind Das was the martyrdom of his father, Guru Tegh Bahadur, in 1675.”
The next chapter of part II, the pre-Khalsa decades, covers battles - Bhangani, Nadaun - and politics - expeditions sent by the governor from Lahore, arrival of Prince Mu’Azzam (Bahadur Shah I, son of Aurganzeb) - from 1685 to 1698 and the first of a number of contemporary hukumnamas are included.
Throughout Grewal is true to his historical sources, for instance:
"Ajit Singh was born to Mata Sundari, whom Guru Gobind Das had married in 1685 before leaving Makhowal for Paunta. The other three sons were born to Mata Jito, who had been married to Guru Gobind Das in 1677."
This brings us to part III, which focuses on the institution of the Khalsa. The first chapter of this section focuses on literary articulation from the years 1685-98. This provides a breakdown of the Darbar of Guru Gobind Singh Ji.
“Guru Gobind Singh adopted many courtly symbols and features, and their accompanying Persian terminology.”
It also covers literary activity recorded in 18th century sikh sources, which provides further credence to the literary prowess of the Anandpur Darbar and traces Bhai Nand Lal’s work, dating of Sri Dasam Granth and the utilisation of Sri Dasam Granth by writers of rahitnamas.
The final two subsections of this chapter deal with the poets of Guru Gobind Singh’s court and observations on courtly literature.
“Piara Singh Padam in his Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji de Darbari Ratan highlights that Guru Gobind Singh gave as much regard to the pen as to the sword. He quotes Kesar Singh Chibber on the point that Guru Gobind Singh issued hukumnamas to Sikh sangats to send learned persons to the Guru’s court at the Guru’s expense.”
“As courtly poetry, one of the fundamental dimensions of the compositions of Dasam Granth and the works of the court poets was their ‘performative nature’. Most of these works were prepared in order to fulfill the needs of ‘Sikhs, authors, patrons, and listeners alike.’ The vast majority of the compositions of the Dasam Granth were ‘not meant to be understood in the same way as the Adi Granth.’”
The following appendix, appendix 5A, is included that covers Bhai Nand Lal’s ghazals from Granthavali and their homage to the Sikh Gurus.
Chapter 6 - socio-political import of courtly literature covers Kesar Singh Chibber’s account of the formation of the Bhai Mani Singh Bir, beliefs and practices based upon the writings of Dasam Granth such as Akal Ustat and Savvayyae. The section ‘agents of change’ expands upon Chandi Di Var and the final subsection deals with ‘Guru Gobind Singh’s mission’.
“Meditating on Mahakal and Kalka in the mountains known as the Sapt-sring, Gobind became one with the One Supreme Being. Akal Purkh said to Gobind: ‘I have given you the status of my son; I have resolved to empower you to propagate the cause of a panth to establish dharam everywhere and to stop people from doing foolish things.’”
Chapter 7, which is the final chapter of the third section, deals with the Baisakhi of 1699. This section is split into ‘removal of the masands’ due to their greed and banful influence, ‘fresh initiation: khande di pahul’ deals with the events of the famous Baisakhi of 1699 from pre-colonial Sikh literature, a chapter I found the most interesting, and will form the basis of an upcoming podcast.
“Thus, five Sikhs became ‘Keshdari Singhs’ and were authorised to initiate others.”
The final two subsections of chapter 7 deals with the new obligations of the new initiation and rahitnamas. Personally, these two subsections were some of the most interesting. New injunctions states:
“The Sikhs who took the pahul were to keep their hair uncut, add the epithet ‘Singh’ to their names, and bear arms. In other words, the person who takes khande ki pahul becomes a keshdhari, shastardhari Singh. The Khalsa were to have no association with five categories of people: the followers of masands, Dhir Mal and Ram Rais, the Minas, and those who cut their hair. They were to shun hukka and never observe bhaddan. The Khalsa of Vaheguru were never to smoke or cut the hair of the head or the beard… In the instructions for the Khalsa, the ‘Turks’ are mentioned in addition to the five categories of people to be shunned. A very essential part of the rahit was to keep uncut hair (kes), to bear arms, to carry a kard (dagger), to wear kachh, and to remain devoted to Gur-shabad. Deg, teg, and fatheh (triumph) were ordained for the Khalsa. They were to rule in all the three worlds. The Sikhs of all four varnas (castes) were to eat together at one place.”
“Guru Gobind Singh instructed the Sikhs never to threaten anyone, nor feel afraid of anyone. They should have complete trust in Akal Purakh… The sacred threat was replaced by the sword. The rahit of the Khalsa is enunciated here with emphasis on naam and dan, seva and bhakti, astar (long-range weapons) and shastar (hand held weapons), and shabad and ardas.”
The subsection covering the rahitnamas starts with:
“There has been a debate in the recent decades about the dates of the Rahitnamas, and their texts have been studied in detail. Six Rahitnamas are now placed in the time of Guru Gobind Singh. It is important to note that the authors of the Rahitnamas do not write with reference to the Baisakhi of 1699. They write on the assumption that rahit is indispensable for the Khalsa.”
“The most remarkable feature of the Sakhi Rahit Patshahi 10 is an emphatic assertion of the Singh identity. Just as the sacred thread was a mark of Hindu identity, the kes, the turban, and the flowing beard served as the markers of Singh identity. A Singh did not remain concealed amidst thousands of Hindus and Musalmans. The distance appearance of the Singhs was a reflection of their distinct religious beliefs and practices.”
Appendix 7A is one of the most interesting and important sections of this book, which deals with the signification and historical use of the term ‘Khalsa’. The appendix starts with:
“The term ‘Khalsa’ appears in the hukumnamas of Guru Hargobind: ‘the sangat of the east’ is ‘Khalsa of the Guru’. In a hukumnama of Guru Tegh Bahadur to the sangat of Pattan Farid, the sangat is ‘Guru ji Ka Khalsa’. A hukumnama of Guru Gobind Singh, dated 25 April 1699, is addressed to ‘sangat sahlang’ (a sangat initiated into the Sikh faith by a masand on the behalf of the Guru) of the village ‘Bhai Gurdas Bhagte Phaphre’.”
This appendix ends with photographs of the hukumnamas referenced and a photo of a contemporary painting of Guru Gobind Singh Ji.
The final part, part IV, is entitled ‘direct confrontation with the state’ and includes the most chapters - chapter 8 ‘ouster from Anandpur 1699-1704, chapter 9 ‘negotiations with Aurganzeb 1705-7, chapter 10 ‘failure of negotiations with Bahadur Shah 1707-8, chapter 11 ‘the last commandment’ and finally, chapter 11 ‘political, social and cultural legacies.’
The last four chapters also come with an appendix - 9A ‘perspectives on the Zafarnama’, 10A ‘how to account for Guru Gobind Singh’s presence near Bahadur Shah in 1707-8, 11A ‘Mata Sundari, Mata Sahib Devi, and the Khalsa Panth and 12A ‘Hanne Hanne Patshahi’.
This final part is the largest and is full of the critical analysis and use of pre-colonial, near-contemporary sources that makes this book an absolute gem; multiple perspectives are outlined, compared and analysed.
Conclusion
This has to be given a full 5* rating. Whether you agree or not with some of the conclusions reached or evidence provided doesn’t matter and shouldn’t take away from your appreciation of such a masterful piece of work. If anything, by the end of reading this book you will see the multiple perspectives, the reasons behind their differences, and most importantly, the cross-over between near-contemporary sources. More importantly, Grewal does not shy away from pointing out where sources are inaccurate or misleading.
The book is full of information from overarching discussions around key events in the life of Guru Gobind Singh Ji to providing the origins of many oral histories and tales. For example, “Padam points out that the number 52 for the poets at the court of Guru Gobind Singh was merely conventional” or the fact that the Khalsa used artillery during the last siege of Anandpur. A question that arises off the back of the aforementioned is, what happened to these pieces of artillery?
The footnotes alone are an absolute treasure trove have led me to some brilliant primary sources including Amarnama, Sri Gur Sobha, Dabistan-i Mahzib, Umdut Ut-Tawarikh and not to forget the nine Gurmukhi sources - Sri Gur Sobha (1708), the Prachian of Sewadas (1709), the Rahitnama associated with Chaupa Singh (1700, 1740-65), Koer Singh’s Gurbilas (1751), Guru Kian Sakhian of Kaushish (1790), Sukha Singh’s Gurbilas (1797), and Panth Prakash of Ratan Singh Bhangu (1810-14).
Where can I purchase a copy? Click here.