Amarnama a Perspective - Last Phase of Guru Gobind Singh's Life

Amarnama is in all probability the composition of Dhadi Nath Mal, the bard of the Guru Hargobind who survived upto the times of Guru Gobind Singh’s visit to Nanded during the last phase of his life. He composed the var in Persian, the very first ballad cited by him in this language as the Sikhs over there were conversant with Persian rather than Punjabi. It was scribed in gurmukhi script.

The bard has given a profile of the socio-religious conditions of the time adequately while explaining the religious concerns of Guru Gobind Singh. Certain facts have been delineated afresh while others have been confirmed and verified which is a significant step towords an approach to authentic historical writing. Of course, he has touched very important themes of Sikh history pertaining to the last phase of the career of the tenth Guru. Never-theless, he has omitted certain incidents and episodes which defeat the purpose of giving a compete and precise account.

However, in order to make up this discrepancy, presently the milieu has been given in order to draw an elaborate pen-picture of the issues taken up in the Amarnama. Of course, critical appreciation of the work is our chief concern. Besides, translation of the text in English has been taken up in order to enhance its scope and to acquaint the readers with the original subject matter. Over and above all, a bibliographical survey has been attempted to provide an illustrative account of books helpful in the study of the last phase of Guru Gobind Singh’s life. An appendix comprising the last injuction of the Guru is also provided which is helpful in so far as the desiderative readers need to know the succession of Guruship after the tenth Guru.