CHAPTER-I

INTRODUCTION

I. UNDERSTANDING WHAT IS EDITING:

Editing is a stage of the writing process in which a writer or editor strives to improve a
draft and sometimes prepares it for publication by correcting errors, by making words and
sentences clearer, more precise and more effective. It is also the process of selecting and
preparing written, visual, audible and film media correction, condensation, organization
and many other modifications performed with an intention of producing a correct,
consistent, accurate and complete work. Moreover, the editing process often begins with
the author's idea for the work itself, continuing as a collaboration between the author and
the editor as the work is created.
A manuscript is any original document written by hand as opposed to the printed
or reproduced in any other way. Before the arrival of printing, all documents were
manuscripts. An abbreviation for manuscript is MS and for manuscripts MSS. For an
example, in India, the palm leaf manuscripts, with a distinctive long rectangular shape,
were being used from ancient times until the 19th century A.D.
Broadly speaking, editing of a manuscript involves three processes: the original
text, its analysis and annotation. In case of the text of a manuscript, and its analysis it is
the moral or the ethical duty of the researcher to maintain its unity or sanctity. For this,
each folio, line, word and the author's archaic style must be maintained; and in case of
annotation, the researcher must give all the relevant or necessary information in the form
of footnotes and appendices. Technically speaking it means that the comments,
explanations or any other presentations concerning the text should be given adequately.
Nonetheless, the text of the manuscript must be kept intact even while copying it for the
purpose of its analysis.
In regard to the status of sources for writing history of the Sikhs, W.H.Mcleod's
observation is that 'the sources for the study of Sikh history before the 19th century are
comparatively few'. It was in the 19th century that many a Sikh scholars like Santokh
Singh, Pandit Tara Singh Narotam and Giani Gian Singh, have contributed fairly a good
number of literary works, both published and unpublished. Hence, the critical editing of
 Introduction

late 19th century Nirmala work, NirmalPanth Pardipika (A.D.I891) by Giani Gian Singh
that deals with the self-image of the Nirmalas in historical perspective.

II. HISTORICAL CONTEXT:

It is important to know in brief the history of various sectarian developments in Sikhism
for better understanding and an indepth analysis of Nirmal Panth Pardipika. Significantly
indeed, the schismatic groups, which began to pose serious challenges to the newly
evolving Sikh faith from its very inception, were no other than the progeny or direct
descendants of the Sikh Gurus. As a result of this, Sikhism had never been monolithic in
its history of over five hundred years. There were several dissentions in early Sikhism
which emerged during 16th and 17th centuries. The early Sikh dissenters and their
followers generally cropped up due to their conflict with the Sikh Gurus over the issue of
succession. They include the Udasis, the Minas, the Dhirmalias and the Ram Raiyas.
Significantly in 19 century, Giani Gian Singh found more than a dozen, major or minor,
Sikh religious denominations in and outside the Punjab, including the Handalis or
Niranjanis, the Gangushahis, the Nirmalas, the Sewa Panthis, the Hira Dasis and the
Gulab Dasis. Among all these sectarian groups, only the Udasis and the Nirmalas
flourished more during the 18th and early 19th centuries. Being a Nirmala Sikh scholar,
Giani Gian Singh took keen interest in the history of Nirmala Sikhs besides giving
narrative accounts of the other Sikh religious groups. He is one of the eminent Sikh
scholars of the 19th century who has written more than a dozen works including his
Nirmal Panth Pardipika in Braj which highlights his views on the Nirmala Sikh tradition,
its doctrine and literature. A critical analysis and editing of Nirmal Panth Pardipika may
be very useful in understanding the phenomenon of religious diversity in the Sikh
tradition.

III. NIRMAL PANTH PARDIPIKA (A.D. 1891):

(i) Description:
Prior to Giani Gian Singh, history of the Sikh sects was not taken up seriously by the
historians. Giani Gian Singh’s exclusive work on the Nirmalas entitled Nirmal Panth
Pardipika, is very important piece of Sikh literature, hence its critical editing. Nirmal
Panth Pardipika is a Braj work which was completed in A.D.1891. Its litho copy is

2
 Introduction

available to us in size 15 ½ x 9 cms. It has 100 folios and each folio contains 21 lines. 1 It
is the only extant copy available in the Rare Book Section of Guru Nanak Dev
University, Amritsar. Its reproduced copy in hand is available in Nirmal Panchayati
Akhara, Kankhal, Haridwar. Its printed copy has been produced by Inder Singh
Chakarvarti2 as Nirmal panth Pardipika in A.D.1962 with the cost of rupees one and four
anas. It has 88 pages. From the point of view its literary and historical value, it seems to
be very valueable. Its value as a source for constructing the socio-cultural history of the
Punjab in general and the diverse beliefs and practices of the Nirmala Sikh tradition
alongwith several other sects needs to be underlined properly.

(ii) Invocation and contents:

Nirmal Panth Pardipika by Giani Gian Singh begins with a prayer or a Salok invoking
God or the Parmeshwer Brahm for the completion of his Granth.3 According to the Indian
tradition this style means pleasure or to be more exact it means seeking of the spiritual
ecstasy for the human being. Giani Gian Singh has inherited this rich ancient tradition
incorporated in his Nirmal Panth Pardipika.

1
The Litho copy of this work is available in Rare Book Section of Guru Nanak Dev University,
Amritsar (No 958). The Nirmal Panchayati Akhara Kankhal, published the text prepared by Inder
Singh Chakravarti.
2
For details of the life and works of Inder Singh Chakarvarti, See Appendix-VIII.
3
Giani Gian Singh, Nirmal Panth Pardipika, Folio-2:
ƒ> ;fsr[o gq;kfd..
d'jok..
J/e nekb d:kb r[o[ d; fp;kb r[o[ rqzE.
rD gfs r"oh r[Dh iB ;zs ykb;k gzE..ƒ..
;p e' pzdB eo Gb/ ouj'_ rqzE BthB.
fBowb gzE gqdhgek fBowb g`Xfs uhB..„..
;zs fBowb/ GJ/ fiw gzE d;'_ r[o[ e/o.
;kE gq/w ;' rkE ;G wkE BkfJ fdj[ N/o..…..
g[ok rozEB pj[ fty/ fby/ fgy/ go;zr.
phB phB pj[ m"o s? b? ;kyh ;p uzr..†..
uwB uwB s? ;[wB b? ;[wB bkfJ jfo r:kB.
dkw o{g nfG okw fJj[ rqzE pkofse mkB..‡..
G/y nb/y ;o{g by fJFN fFqFN fBiwkB.
fBowb gzE ;[d/t e" nogh pzdB mkB..à..
gzE nBkdh r[o{ ek nkfj fBowbk i?;.
gowkD'_ :[s f;`X eo fdy o?j?_ np s?;..‰..
i/ pepkdh ws;oh eos ;[;eN eN?_;.
fsB?_ T[b{eB c{e w[y ekoe fJj[ oft j?;..ä..
Fzek gze fptkd ;p fJ;e' gVQ ;[B iKfj.
gzE fBowbk r[o{ ek nkdh n?B bykfj..ã..

3
 Introduction

(iii) Language and Style:

Nirmal Panth Pardipika is written in Braj4 the language which was most commonly used
in the area of Mathura and Varindavan near Agra i.e. the area South-East of Delhi. His
language is simple and transparent and also he has not tried at all to embellish his style with
jugglary of words. This type of language not only suited to his audience or the common
people but also to his personality and poetic genius. The language of Nirmal Panth
Pardipika clearly reflects the influence of the Sanskrit Language and its vocabulary.

(iv) Purpose:
In regard to the purpose of Nirmal Panth Pardipika, Giani Gian Singh himself claims its
religious and social merits by asserting its relevance for his contemporaries. Being a
Nirmala or a missionary of the Nirmala Sikh tradition, he has given enough space to its
origin and growth in terms of a Panth. Indeed, the author traces its evolution by using a
metaphor of a big tree having a number of its branches and leaves as its offshoots just to
prove its antiquity. With a view to all this, Giani Gian Singh like many a Nirmala writers,
states that Guru Nanak was the founder of the Nirmala Panth.5 To prove this, he has used
the evidence of Varan Bhai Gurdas, which is misrepresentation of the text and hence
difficult to uphold it historically:
wko:k f;Zek irs ftZu BkBe fBowb gzE ubk:k.
Ekfg:' bfjDk ihAtd/ r[fonkJh f;o SZsq fcok:k.
(Var-l,Pauri-45)

In Nirmal Panth Pardipika these lines have been given in the following way referring to
Pauri 44, instead of 45:
Ekfg:' bfjDk ihAtd/ r[fonkJh f;o SZsq fcok:k.
wko:k f;Zek irs ftZu BkBe fBowb gzE ubk:k.6
4
The Vernacular spoken around Mathura and Brindaban, as-sociated with the Krishna stories. Braj
differs from Punjabi, though they have a certain amount in common. The greater part of the
Dasam Granth (q.v.) is in Braj, recorded in Gurmukhi script: W.H. McLeod, Historical Dictionary
of Sikhism, Oxford, 1995, P. 57.
5
Giani Gian Singh, Nirmal Panth Pardipika, Folio-12:
fBowb gzE ;ky:ks yk; r[o{ ;kfjp'_ ek j? gfjb/ r[o{ BkBe ;kfjp ih B/ r[o{ nzrd ih e' ;op
gqeko bk:e gqhy:k eoe/ ngDh r`dh r[fonkJh n"o i's ns/ ngDk fBowb t/; d/ eo T[B e' irs
r[o{ pBk:k fco r[o{ nzrd ih ngB/ ;wkB nwo dk; ih e' pBkts/ GJ/ n?;/ jh d;t/_ r[o{ gq:zs
ohsh ubh nkJh..
6
Nirmal Panth Pardipika, Folios-17-18.

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 Introduction

(v) The Probable Sources:

What is important to note is that the works of Giani Gian Singh including his Nirmal
Panth Pardipika seem to have been written under the influence of the classic writings
of both the Hindus and the Sikhs. Giani Gian Singh was quite well versel in the
Sanskrit and the Punjabi languages and literature.He was widely travelled person.
Moreover, he had a tenacious memory and probably he often did not have the text of
many of his authorties with him. That’s why he often uses his memory to cite from
the religious texts with which his acquaintance or familiarity can not be ruled out
altogether. Giani Gian Singh invariably makes references here and there to the kinds
of the sources he has used, the most significant of which are the works of Sikh history
written previously by his predecessors during the first half of the 19 th century: the
oral Sikh tradition or the history by the word of mouth, listened to or collected
personally by him from the elderly men and women of his times; the works of Persian
Chroniclers; and the last, but not the least, is the evidence of his personal
observations. He was very much impressed by his religious mentor Pandit Tara Singh
Narotam who helped him very much in his works. However Nirmal Panth Pardipika
stands a witness to the inherited influence. On the whole, Giani Gian Singh
extensively inherited thoughts and ideas from his travellings, his personal experiences
and medieval poets and ofcourse had re-interpreted them in accordance with his own
acquired skills and literary acumen. His Nirmal Panth Pardipika very largely turns
out to be a synthesis of the Vedantic text of the ancient Indian Philosophy and
religious thought of the Sikh Gurus recorded or enshrined in the Adi-Granth.

(vi) Evidence on Socio-Cultural History:

As a source for comprehending the socio-cultural history of early 19th century Punjab, the
evidence of Nirmal Panth Pardipika is very valuable. It contains numerous references to
the contemporary social and religious practices and institutions. For instance, Giani Gian
Singh’s account of the establishments of the Nirmalas or the Akharas;7 the conflict of the

7
Nirmal Panth Pardipika, Folio-83:
c/o ;zws ƒäää w?_ fBowb gzE B/ T[;h irk e[zG ek w/bk ehnk ijK gfjb/ d' w/b/ ehJ/ E/ gfjb/
Mzvk Bjh_ yVk ehnk Ek fJ; w/b/ go r'fpzd f;zx ih ek Mzvk yVk ehnk r?nk.

5
 Introduction

Nirmalas with the priests of the Takhat Sri Hazar Sahib at Nander; 8 and the relations of
the Nirmalas with the Sikh rulers especially of the Princely states are very important from
the historian’s point of view.9 It goes without saying that almost all the writers, who have
written on the Nirmalas subsequent to Giani Gian Singh’s writing, have widely used his
works with merit.
Giani Gian Singh writes that even Guru Gobind Singh sought knowledge of the
Hindu Epics and works or religion and philosophy from a famous Nirmala scholar Pandit
karam Singh who got many of them translated from Sanskrit into other
languages.10Moreover, Giani Gian Singh asserts that the Nirmala scholars should be well
versed in Vedic and Sanskrit literature. For an example, Pandit Nihal Singh 11 wrote an
exposition or teeka of the japuji of Guru Nanak.12 Harjot Oberoi states that the Nirmala
scholar played a key role in the creation and diffusion of both sacred and secular
knowledge. According to him some of the foremost Sikh educationists, writers,
historians, exegetes, transcribers, translators and Ayurvedic medical experts in the 19th
century were Nirmalas. For instance, Malcolm’s Nirmala interlocutor was a part of a
much larger cultural framework. Indigenous schools run by Nirmalas in the countryside
attached students from a wide spectrum of social and denominational backrounds. Sant
Attar Singh, one of the most influential Sikh saint in recent times was educated at a
Nirmala establishment in his native village Cheema in the Princely state of Patiala. Fauja
Singh states that in 19th century Punjab, the purpose of education was not only develop

8
Nirmal Panth Pardipika, Folio-83:
bzro dorkjk f;zx e/ v/o/ w/_ j'sk ojk f;`y ;odko pj[s ;/tk eos/ oj/ fJ;h w/b/ go ;zB:k;hU_ B/
T[dk;h ;kXK e' bVkJh eo e/ GikfJ dhnk SktDh Mzvk c{e dhJ/ rqzE ;kfjp ih e/ sbtkoK wkohnK.
9
Nirmal Panth Pardipika, Folio-86:
fBowb/ ;zs GkJh jhok f;zx GkJh wskp f;zx fpoes nkfde wjkswk d/ gq/o/ j'J/ wjkokik Bo/_dq f;zx
;kfjp pjkdo Xow w{ofs B/ okik ;o{g f;zx ;kfjp pjkdo e' n"o okik Gog{o f;zx ;kfjp e' J/;
gow Xow go'geko d/ ezw ~ s'V gj[zuktD tk;s/ nkgD/ ;kE Fkwb eo bhnk J/BQK shBK ;oekoK B/
fJscke ;bkj eoe/ jfodPko gokroki T[i?B e[o[y:/sq r'dktoh d/ w/b/ e[zG tr?o/ go bzro d/D tk;s/
J/e bky o[gJ/ d/ br Gr Bed o[g:k.
10
Nirmal Panth Pardipika, Folio,24:
ekj/ s? r[o{ ;kfjp e/ ykb;k gzE w?_ F;sq d'B'_ gqeko dh fp`d:k gquko eoB/ dk pj[s F"e Ek fJ;/
tk;s/ nkg th GkJh eow f;zx fBowb/ gzfvs ;?_ wjkGkoE T[gfBFd'_ eh eEk jw/F ;[Ds/ E/ pbe/
Gft`ysg[okD,wkoezvg/ [okD,d?thGkrts,gdwg[okD,wjkGkoE,F[eqBhsh nkfde nB/e rqzE ;z;feqs ;? Gkyk
pBtks/ pBtks/ ojs/ E/, i' nB/e g[;se pB/ j{J/ nBzdg[o S'vD/ d/ tes n;pkp ;w/s iKd/ oj/..
11
See Appendix IX for the works of Pandit Nihal Singh
12
Nirmal Panth Pardipika,Folio,78:
gzfvs fBjkb f;zx ih e/ fiBQ/_ B/ ig[ ;kfjp ek Nhek ;z;feqs w?_ pBk:k j?.

6
 Introduction

the original and independent thinking of the students but also to inculcate in their minds
respect and reverence for the time honoured values and usages.The chief emphasis in the
system of education whether Muslim or Hindu was on the preservation of established
traditions rather than on bringing about any change in them.
Giani Gian Singh does not speak in favour of the Nihangs and their way of living.
His account depicts hatred and contempt for them. His account of the Kukas or the
Namdharis, however is meaningful. Giani Gian Singh was a keen observer of his society
to which he had sharply reacted in his Nirmal Panth Pardipika, it carries considerable
historical value for writing the social history of 19th century in broder context of the
contemporary Indian Society. Its significance as a source for early 19th century history of
the Nirmalas, their socio-psychological needs and perceptions as well as its value for
comprehending the debased nature of the contemporaneous society of the Punjab
undoubtedly is very revealing and noteworthy.