JANGNAMA SIU GURU GOBIND SINGHJIKA

JANGNAMA SIU GURU GOBIND SINGHJIKA, a vdr or stanzas by Am Rai describing Guru Gobind Singh`s battle with a Mughal force at Anandpur. Am Rai was one of the fifty-two poets who enjoyed the Guru`s patronage. The welcome he received on his arrival in Anandpur and the conferment through a hukamndmd of costly presents including gold and jewels upon him find mention in the opening stanzas of Jangndmd. The conjecture is that lie came to Anandpur after AD 1699, the year of the promulgation of the Khalsa, for he makes no mention of the battles of Bharigani and Nadaun which took place prior to that event and he throughout refers to the Guru as Gobind Singh, which name he took only after receiving initiation at the hands of the Parij Piare.

Written in an admixture of Braj and Punjabi, the poem comprises 69 cantos. A manuscript copy is preserved in the private collection of the Maharaja of Patiala. The text is now available in an anthology entitled Prachin Varan te Jangndme, published by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee in 1950. The theme of the Jangndmd is the battle fought outside the fortress of Anandgarh. Azim Khan had under the orders of Emperor Aurarigzib marched to Anandpur with a strong force and, supported by seven of the surrounding hill chiefs, reached the outskirts of the town.

In eloquent poetic image, Ani Rai evokes the battle scenes and describes with special relish the feats of valour displayed by Sikhs such as Bhai Himmat Singh and Bhai Dalel Singh who, tearing their way through the host, attacked Azim Khan`s own elephant hitting its howdah or saddle with their swords, and Bachittar Singh and Mohkam Singh confronting and killing a drunken elephant covered with deadly weapons let loose by the Mughal army, and of Guru Gobind Singh who overpowered Azim Khan in a duel. The last eight cantos of the Jangndmd are devoted to summing up the events narrated in the preceding parts of the poem. Towards the close, the poet being a devout Sikh begs for the blessing of the Guru whom he calls the saviour of the world appointed by God Himself to chastise the tyrants.

References :

1. Asliok, Slianisher Singh, ed., Prnclun Varan tejnugnfiwc. Amrit.sar, 1950