| Religion: | Sikhism |
| Gurdas Singh | |
| Honorific Prefix: | Bhai |
| Relations: | Alam Singh Nachna (brother) |
Bhai Gurdas Singh (fl. 18th century), also known as Bhai Gurdas II, was a Sikh during the time of Guru Gobind Singh.[1] [2] He is most known for writing a Vaar (folk ballad).[3] [4] He was one of the traditionally-ascribed 52 poets of the Kavi Darbar of Guru Gobind Singh, being one of the three most renowned and famous of the group.[5] [6]
He was the brother of Alam Singh Nachna. He served as one of the many poets in the durbar (court) of Guru Gobind Singh. According to Louis E. Fenech and W. H. McLeod, he was a Sindhi poet who lived in the early part of the 18th century.
In praise of Guru Gobind Singh, he exclaimed in his writing:[7]
He was an eyewitness to the Vaisakhi event which occurred in Anandpur on 13 April 1699, when the Guru formalized the Khalsa order. He later recounted his account of that day in a Vaar, named the Vaar Sri Bhagaut Ji Ki Patshahi Dasvin Ki, amidst hostilities from Hindus and Muslims alike. In a manuscript of the Vaar kept in the collection of the Sikh Reference Library, the work is known under the titled Vaar Bhai Gurdas Ji Ki. The entire work comprises twenty-eight pauris (Indic term for stanzas), with twenty of the pauris praising Guru Gobind Singh and singling out unique aspects of the tenth guru. A common theme emphasized throughout the work is how Guru Gobind Singh transformed the sangat (congregation) of Sikhs into the Khalsa. The comparison is made to the Guru's sword and Kalika, the Indic deity. Reference is made to the predecessor gurus Har Rai, Har Krishan (both on pauri 22) and Tegh Bahadur (pauri 23), with the last containing an account of the Guru's martyrdom in Delhi. The finishing stanzas eulogize the Khalsa. The work was composed in "Hindized Punjabi".
In his Vaar, he states:In his Vaar, he furthermore stresses the importance of the remembrance and chanting of Akāl ( 'immortal') for Sikhs:This work is commonly appended at the end of Varan Bhai Gurdas as a 41st Vaar on-top of the traditional forty authored by Gurdas Bhalla.
According to Louis E. Fenech and Vir Singh, the 41st Vaar would have been written in the mid-1780s as per internal evidence.[8]
After the death of his master, Guru Gobind Singh, in 1708, it is said Gurdas Singh traveled to Sindh, where he did missionary work spreading the tenets of Sikhism in the local area of Shikarpur. Traditional lore claims he lived to an impressive age of 150. His life is commemorated in the Khatwari Dharamsal of Bhai Gurdas in Shikarpur, Sindh.