PARCHIAN PATSHAI

PARCHIAN PATSHAI 10 is an anonymous and so far unpublished work, comprising 50 parchts or stories from the life of Guru Gobind Singh (MS. held at the Khalsa College, Amritsar, under MS. No. 2300E). Of the 45 folios, 14 describe in brief the lives of the first nine Gurus; the rest are devoted to Guru Gobind Singh. Special mention is made of the Zafamdmah at which point the Guru`s major battles against the hill chiefs and the Mughal government are alluded to.

The abolition of the institution of masands is ascribed to the corruption that had overtaken it. Guru Gobind Singh\’s friendship with Bahadur Shah, son of Emperor Aurangzib, is justified on the ground that he (Bahadur Shah) was a great lover of saints and had served them with devotion in his previous life. The circumstances of the death of the Guru are described in some detail. His orders for Sikhs to venerate the Adi Granth as Guru after him and to read barn daily are said to have been explained to a Sikh named Prahlad Singh. A great part of Rahitndmd Prahlad Singh is reproduced in the text in 31 stanzas in a mixed form of poetry and prose. S.S.Am.