page_title: Dasam Granth
hierarchical_section_title: Dasam Granth
caption_attribution_description: English: The British Library preserves a Dasam Granth manuscript in its collections. It was published before 1850 CE. It is a secondary Sikh scripture attributed to the tenth and last of the Gurus, Guru Gobind Singh (1666-1708). This is a photo of the frontispiece of the manuscript. The center has Gurmukhi text. Surrounding it clockwise: the top image is of the Hindu goddess Saraswati holding vina and other items with a peacock and a reverential boy standing. The second is a young adult seated on throne. The third is a warrior on a horse with some weapon in his right hand, his forehead marked with red band, carrying bow and arrows on his left shoulder. The fourth is similar to the third, but with a hunter's falcon on his right hand. The fifth shows him seated with a sword. The sixth shows him seated with a falcon on his left hand. According to curator notes of the British Library: It was written in Braj Hindi, Persian and Punjabi, and collated by Bhai Mani Singh in 1730. This manuscript, dating from between 1825 and 1850, includes a catalogue of weapons as well as devotional works and the Guru’s autobiography. BL manuscript: Or 6298 Another copy of this image is available on wikimedia commons Dasam.Granth.Frontispiece.BL.Manuscript.1825-1850.jpg This two dimensional artwork was published before 1850 CE. Wikimedia commons PD-Art guidelines apply.
context_page_description: The Dasam Granth, also called the Dasven Pādśāh kā Graṅth, is a holy book in Sikhism with compositions attributed to Guru Gobind Singh. It is a controversial religious text considered to be the second scripture by some Sikhs, and of disputed authority by other Sikhs. The standard edition of the text contains 1,428 pages with 17,293 verses in 18 sections. These are set in the form of hymns and poems mostly in the Braj language, with some parts in Avadhi, Punjabi, Hindi and Persian. The script is almost entirely the Gurmukhi script except for the letter of the Sikh Guru to Aurangzeb – Zafarnama, and the Hikayat in the Persian alphabet.
  The Dasam Granth includes hymns, mythological tales from Hindu texts, a celebration of the feminine in the form of goddess Durga, erotic fables, an autobiography, letters to others such as the Mughal emperor, as well as reverential discussion of warriors and theology. It is a religious text, separate from the Guru Granth Sahib, one considered as Sikhism's second scripture in its history. It is controversial, of disputed authorship, and seldom recited in full within Sikh gurdwaras in the contemporary era.
context_section_description: The Dasam Granth (Gurmukhi: ਦਸਮ ਗ੍ਰੰਥ, lit. "the Book of the Tenth Guru"), also called the Dasven Pādśāh kā Graṅth, (Gurmukhi: ਦਸਮ ਗ੍ਰੰਥ), is a holy book in Sikhism with compositions attributed to Guru Gobind Singh. It is a controversial religious text considered to be the second scripture by some Sikhs, and of disputed authority by other Sikhs. The standard edition of the text contains 1,428 pages with 17,293 verses in 18 sections. These are set in the form of hymns and poems mostly in the Braj language (Old western Hindi), with some parts in Avadhi, Punjabi, Hindi and Persian. The script is almost entirely the Gurmukhi script except for the letter of the Sikh Guru to Aurangzeb – Zafarnama, and the Hikayat in the Persian alphabet.
  The Dasam Granth includes hymns, mythological tales from Hindu texts, a celebration of the feminine in the form of goddess Durga, erotic fables, an autobiography, letters to others such as the Mughal emperor, as well as reverential discussion of warriors and theology. It is a religious text, separate from the Guru Granth Sahib, one considered as Sikhism's second scripture in its history. It is controversial, of disputed authorship, and seldom recited in full within Sikh gurdwaras (temples) in the contemporary era. Parts of it are popular and sacred among Sikhs, recited during Khalsa initiation and other daily devotional practices by devout Sikhs. Such compositions of the Dasam Granth include Jaap Sahib, Tav-Prasad Savaiye and Benti Chaupai which are part of the Nitnem or daily prayers and also part of the Amrit Sanchar or baptism ceremony of Khalsa Sikhs.
  The oldest known manuscript of Dasam Granth is likely the Anandpuri bir. Almost all of the pages in it are dated to the 1690s, with a few folio pages on Zafarnama and Hikayats in a different style and format appended to it in the early 18th century. Other important manuscripts include the Patna bir (1698 CE) and the Mani Singh Vali bir (1713). These manuscripts include the Indian mythologies that are questioned by some Sikhs in the contemporary era, as well as sections such as the Ugradanti and Sri Bhagauti Astotra that were, for some reason, removed from these manuscripts in the official versions of Dasam Granth in the 20th century.
caption: An early 19th-century Dasam Granth manuscript frontispiece (British Library MS Or.6298)
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