| Tara Singh Narotam | |
| Native Name: | ਪੰਡਿਤ ਤਾਰਾ ਸਿੰਘ ਨਰੋਤਮ |
| Birth Date: | 1822 |
| Birth Place: | Kahlwan, Gurdaspur, Punjab, Sikh Empire |
| Death Date: | 1891 |
| Death Place: | Patiala, Patiala State |
| Language: | Punjabi, Sanskrit |
| Notableworks: |
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| Honorific Prefix: | Pandit |
Pandit Tara Singh Narotam (1822–1891) or also Pundit Tara Singh Nawtam, was a famous Punjabi scholar who belonged to the Sikh Nirmala Sect.[1]
Pundit Tara Singh was born into a Sikh family who were originally Brahmins. At the age of twenty, he left his village Kahlwan, which was near Qadian, and he arrived at the Nirmala dera of Sant Gulab Singh[2] at Kurala, Hoshiarpur.
He was now a renowned scholar and had accumulated some fame throughout the region. The Maharaja of Patiala, Maharaja Narinder Singh (1824–1862) gave patronage to him,[2] after which Tara Singh came to Patiala and established his own Nirmala dera by the name of Dharam Dhuja and began doing scholarly work. Pundit Tara Singh taught a large group of scholars which include the famous Sikh historian Giani Gain Singh (1822–1921) and Bishan Singh Ji Muralewale of the Damdami Taksal.[3]
Pundit Tara Singh was the first Sikh to trace the geographical location of Hemkunt Sahib. Using clues from the Bachitar Natak[4] to reveal Guru Gobind Singh's tap asthan (place of meditation) such as the place was named Sapatsring (seven peaks) and was on/near Hemkunt Parbat (lake of ice mountain), he set out to explore the Garhwal Himalayas and his search took him to Badrinath and to the nearby village of Pandukeshwar, near the present-day Gobind Ghat.
Pandit Tara Singh conforms to the Nirmala school of thought. He presents Sikhism from a Vedantic orientation,[5] and it being a blend of Sankara and Ramanuja. He believed that Guru Nanak was an incarnation of Vishnu (Mahavishnu as opposed to the deva) and that Waheguru was another name for Mahavishnu. He wrote extensively about the meaning of Waheguru in his book Waheguru Shabad-Arth Tika. In the Mahan Kosh, it is written that Pandit Tara Singh believes that the Sarbloh Granth was produced by Bhai Sukha Singh, the head Granthi of Patna Sahib from a manuscript given by an Udasi from Shri Jagannathpuri (Odisha) who said it was Guru Gobind Singh's writing. Pandit Tara Singh also believed that the entire Dasam Granth was written by Guru Gobind Singh.[6]
He may have written an commentary on the entire SGGS but it is assumed to be lost. His more famous works are Gurmat Nirnay Sagar, Sri Gur Tirath Sangrah, and Guru Girarath Kos. Other notable works include a commentary on Bani of the Bhagats included in the Guru Granth Sahib.