AMARNAMA, a Persian work comprising 146 verses composed in AD 1708 by Bhai Natth Mall, a dhadi or balladeer who lived from the time of Guru Hargobind to that of Guru Gobind Singh, Nanak X. The manuscript of the work in Gurmukhi script obtained from Bhai Fatta, ninth in descent from Bhai Natth Mall, through Giani Gurdit Singh, then editor of the Punjabi daily, the Prakash, Patiala, was edited by Dr Ganda Singh and published by Sikh History Society, Amritsar/ Patiala in 1953.
The Amarnama opens with the words “ath Amarnama tat Godavari Sri Mukhvak Patshahi 10” (This Amarnama was written on the bank of the River Godavari by the Tenth Lord, Guru Gobind Singh) and ends with the words “iti Sri Amarnama Mukhvak Patshahi Dasam sati sampurann (Thus this Amarnama of the Tenth Master was completed). In spite of these statements and in spite of the fact that the author at places uses the first person and directs the Sikhs, as Guru, to follow certain rules of conduct, the work clearly is not the composition of Guru Gobind Singh but that of a poet who, with a view to imparting authenticity to it, attributed it to the Guru.
It seems that Natth Mall and his son had accompanied Guru Gobind Singh to the Deccan and entertained Sikhs at the afternoon assemblies reciting heroic poetry. From events narrated in the Amarnama it can easily be surmised that the author was an eyewitness to most of them.The Amarnama is not a work of any high literary merit. The author, a Punjabi, possessed very little knowledge of Persian and his verse is desultory. However, it is historically very valuable, not only because it is a composition coming from one of Guru Gobind Singh`s contemporaries and his companions but also because the author had personal knowledge of the events described in it.
The work briefly refers to Guru Gobind Singh`s meeting with Banda on 3 September 1708, on the occasion of the solar eclipse, the fighting between the Sikhs and Banda`s men, the lodging of complaints by Hindus against the Guru before Emperor Bahadur Shah, Bhai Nand Lal`s presence in the Emperor`s camp at Nanded, the Guru`s generous and lavish distribution of charity among the needy, and the despatch of Banda Singh with five Sikhs to the Punjab.Among Guru Gobind Singh`s precepts recorded in the text, primacy attaches to Sikhs receiving the rites of amrit, i.e. baptism of the double edged sword, disregarding Brahmanical counsel (12728). They must at all stages of their life, in childhood and in youth and before the end comes, seek to remain baptized (14244).
Animals must not be slaughtered in the Muslim way of halal (132). As Sikhs engage in amusement and festivity, they must in the afternoon listen to bards reciting ballads (135).
Composed in Farsi by Nath Mal Dhadi and completed in October 1708, the Amarnama captures the moment in Sikh history at which Guru Gobind Singh strictly admonishes the Sikhs against following the Hindu beliefs. A Brahman, the elite of the Hindu society, caused the death of the Guru’s four sons, and the implication is that any association with the Brahmans/Hindus is a source of shame and is likely to produce hardship for the Sikhs. Rejecting the funeral rites followed by the Brahmans and of consuming meat with animal slaughtered in Islamic
manner,1 the Amarnama instructs the Sikhs to utter only the name of God and Guru Nanak on auspicious occasions, and recommends reciting the ballad of dhadis for prosperity. These injunctions manifests the crystallization of this third path, one in which Singhs are to be free from the influence of the Brahmans and Muslims in order to develop the Sikh way of life.
The first account narrated in the Amarnama takes place at the banks of the river, Godavri, where the Guru has set up a posting only to find the seat of a Hindu ascetic [known to the later tradition as Banda Singh] in the vicinity. The Guru is told that the ascetic has a large following of people who believe that he has subdued the ‘demons of the wilderness’ (ghule biaban and vohoosh). While having control over these, he also hoards local assets such as the sheep. On one occasion, the Guru happens to visit the ascetic’s seat and orders his sheep to be slaughtered
during the sacred time of the solar eclipse. He then distributes the meat as alms (along with his other assets) to the people around.3 Upon discovering that his sheep have been slaughtered, the ‘holy man’ goes to Nanded to gather Hindus and takes his grievance to the King who then comes to the Guru to discern the truth.
When the King places a pearl in his hand, the Guru casts the pearl into the Godavari as an offering. Seeing this, the King realizes that the Guru is not after materials gains and he absolves him of the accusation of sacrilege.
In the second account, there is the story of a Brahman who is willing to exploit the beliefs of a humble Sikh. The father of this young Sikh dies in his bedstead. As the son and his wife were away tilling the fields, they were not able to place the father on the ground to release his soul to heaven. Perplexed by this situation, the man
goes to the Brahman who directs him to surrender the worth of his belongings, and sends him to the Ganges to perform the ritual bath and offer alms in order to absolve his father for his sins in this world. As the narrative unfolds, the disciple pays homage to the Guru on his way to the Ganges, the Guru discovers the deceit
of the Brahman, but does not stop him from going to the Ganges.
