BHAG SINGH CHANDRA UDAYA

BHAG SINGH CHANDRA UDAYA, an undated manuscript preserved in the Punjab State Archives, Patiala, under accession No. M/773, deals with the life and achievements of Sardar Bhag Singh Ahluvalia (1745-1801), who succeeded Sardar Jassa Singh Ahluvalia as ruler of Kapurthala state in 1783. Its author, Ram Sukh Rao, was tutor to Bhag Singh`s son and successor, Fateh Singh Ahluvalia (1784-1836). The latter, after his accession in 1801, commissioned Ram Sukh Rao to write biographies of Sardar Jassa Singh and Sardar Bhag Singh. Bhag Singh Chandra Udaya, a biography of the latter, comprises 188 folios, size 22 x 16 cm, each page containing 16 lines.

The first 107 folios cover events of the life of Jassa Singh, and the rest deal with the rule of Bhag Singh ending with his death in 1801. The language of the manuscript is a mixture of Hindi, Sanskrit, Punjabi and Persian, but the script is Gurmukhi. Ram Sukh Rao is also the author of a book devoted to the life of Jassa Singh. That also is an unpublished manuscript under the title Sri Jassa Singh Binod, preserved in the Punjab State Archives, Patiala. B.S.N.