The Sikh Zafar-namah of Guru Gobind Singh

The Sikh Zafar-namah of Guru Gobind Singh

Author: Louis E. Fenech

Publisher:

Published: 2013-01-31

Total Pages: 332

ISBN-13: 0199931453

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Louis E. Fenech offers a compelling new examination of one of the only Persian compositions attributed to the tenth Sikh Guru, Guru Gobind Singh (1666-1708): the Zafar-namah or 'Epistle of Victory.' Written as a masnavi, a Persian poem, this letter was originally sent to the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb (d. 1707) rebuking his most unbecoming conduct. Incredibly, Guru Gobind Singh's letter is included today within the Sikh canon, one of only a very small handful of Persian-language texts granted the status of Sikh scripture. As such, its contents are sung on special Sikh occasions. Perhaps equally surprising is the fact that the letter appears in the tenth Guru's book or the Dasam Granth in the standard Gurmukhi script (in which Punjabi is written) but retains its original Persian language, a vernacular few Sikhs know. Drawing out the letter's direct and subtle references to the Iranian national epic, the Shah-namah, and to Shaikh Sa'di's thirteenth-century Bustan, Fenech demonstrates how this letter served as a form of Indo-Islamic verbal warfare, ensuring the tenth Guru's moral and symbolic victory over the legendary and powerful Mughal empire. Through analysis of the Zafar-namah, Fenech resurrects an essential and intiguing component of the Sikh tradition: its Islamicate aspect.


Insights and Interpretations

Insights and Interpretations

Author: Colum Hourihane

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Published: 2002

Total Pages: 260

ISBN-13: 9780691099903

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Established in 1917, the Index of Christian Art, located at Princeton University, is now the largest archive of medieval art in existence and the most specialized resource for the iconographer. Throughout its eighty-five years, it has justly been recognized as one of the most learned institutions for the study of the art and culture of the medieval world. The essays in this book, all by staff or scholars of the archive, highlight some of the current research in the archive and the scholarship for which it has been widely renowned. The studies cover art from the Late Antique period to the end of the fifteenth century and include most of the media represented in the archive, from manuscripts to sculpture to glass. From reinterpreting previous scholarship to making new insights into the medieval mind, they explore such themes as Jephtha's Daughter; Mary Magdalene; Saints Blaise, Paul, Joseph, and Elisabeth of Hungary; and topics including women in the Bibles moralis es, Late German sermons, the iconographic program at Bourges Cathedral, Franciscan devotional art, and a late medieval Islamic manuscript. This volume presents some of the most exciting and interdisciplinary approaches to the study of these subjects, from the home of medieval iconography in Princeton. The contributors are Adelaide Bennett, Lois Drewer, Ivan Great, Judith Golden, Gerald Guest, Margaret Jennings, Margaret Lindsey, Mika Natif, Lynn Ransom, Pamela Sheingorn, and A. E. Wright.


Fatehnama ; And, Zafarnama

Fatehnama ; And, Zafarnama

Author: Gobind Singh (Guru)

Publisher:

Published: 1980

Total Pages: 188

ISBN-13:

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Two historic letters in Persian verse with English translation addressed to Aurangzeb, Emperor of Hindustan, 1619-1707; includes a detailed introduction.


Ferdowsi, the Mongols and the History of Iran

Ferdowsi, the Mongols and the History of Iran

Author: Robert Hillenbrand

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2013-11-18

Total Pages: 645

ISBN-13: 1786724650

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I.B.Tauris in association with the Iran Heritage Foundation Iran's rich cultural heritage has been shaped over many centuries by its rich and eventful history. This impressive book, which assembles contributions by some of the world's most eminent historians, art historians and other scholars of the Iranian world, explores the history of the country through the prism of Persian literature, art and culture. The result is a seminal work which illuminates important, yet largely neglected, aspects of Medieval and Early Modern Iran and the Middle East. Its scope, from the era of Ferdowsi, Iran's national epic poet and the author of the Shahnameh to the period of the Mongols, Timurids, Safavids, Zands and Qajars, examines the interaction between mythology, history, historiography, poetry, painting and craftwork in the long narrative of the Persianate experience. As such, Ferdowsi, the Mongols and the History of Iran is essential reading and a reference point for students and scholars of Iranian history, Persian literature and the arts of the Islamic World.


The Book of Nanak

The Book of Nanak

Author: Navtej Sarna

Publisher: Penguin UK

Published: 2016-12-07

Total Pages: 69

ISBN-13: 8184750226

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Guru Nanak was deeply spiritual from an early age, having being born into a society caught in the throes of orthodoxy and ritualism. The ills of child marriage, infanticide and a rigid caste system had further crippled his people. The outpouring of Nanak’s faith evolved into the universal message of the omnipresence and existence of one God, of true love, equality and compassion, which appealed to Hindus and Muslims alike. Drawing upon the various myths and legends contained in anecdotal biographies and placing them in as precise a historical framework as possible, The Book of Nanak traces the chronology of the main events of Nanak’s life. It sheds new light on Guru Nanak’s message and includes translations of some of his hymns, which continue to inspire people the world over.


Guru Gobind Singh (1666–1708)

Guru Gobind Singh (1666–1708)

Author: J. S. Grewal

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2019-07-25

Total Pages: 245

ISBN-13: 0190990384

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The unifying theme in the life of Guru Gobind Singh was confrontation with the Mughals, which culminated in a struggle for political power. This fact is brought into sharp focus when we consider the Guru’s life and legacy simultaneously in the contexts of the Mughal Empire, its feudatory states in the hills, and the Sikh movement. The creation of the Khalsa in 1699 as a political community with the aspiration to rule made conciliation or compromise with the Mughal state almost impossible. Their long struggle ended eventually in the declaration of Khalsa Raj in 1765. Using contemporary and near contemporary sources in Gurmukhi, Persian, and English, J.S. Grewal presents a comprehensive study of this era of Sikh history. The volume elaborates on the life and legacy of Guru Gobind Singh and explores the ideological background of the institution of the Khalsa and its larger political context. Grewal, however, emphasizes that the legacy of the Khalsa was also social and cultural. This authoritative volume on the tenth Guru is a significant addition to the field of Sikh studies.


Zafarnama

Zafarnama

Author: Harinder Singh Mehboob

Publisher:

Published: 2020-09-23

Total Pages: 366

ISBN-13:

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This is Book #5 in the English translation of the famous, Sehje Rachio Khalsa, written by Harinder Singh Mehboob and translated by Gurtarn Singh Sidhu. Gurtarn Singh Sidhu is one of Harinder Singh's closest friends and confidante's. After Harinder's death, Gurtarn took it upon himself to spread Harinder Singh's message with this book. He translated the entirety of Sehje Rachio Khalsa, and that one giant book was split into smaller parts. This is the fifth in the full series.