From The Back Cover Of 'Select Sikh Scriptures IV , Guru Gobind Singh' By K S Duggal

Being published on the auspicious occasion of the birth of the Khalsa, the final in the four-volume series entitled Select Sikh Scriptures is exclusively devoted to Sri Guru Gobind Singh, the creator of the Khalsa who moulded the followers of Guru Nanak into a people fired with the spirit of righteousness and imbued to resist evil, if necessary, by sword. The selection is based upon Dasam Granth, the compilation said to have been undertaken by Bhai Mani Singh at the command of Mata Sundri after the passing away of her spouse. Of late, there has been a well-meaning controversy about the authenticity of the entire text of Dasam Granth as it has travelled to us. An assiduous attempt has, therefore, been made to include in the present volume only those Banis whose veracity is beyond doubt. It contains major works like Jaap Saheb, Bachitar Natak, Chandi Ki Var, Zafar Nama, Shabd Hazare in full and select sheaves of Swaiyyas, Kabits and Chhands, the poetic moulds in which the Master excelled. Guru Gobind Singh wrote at an ecstatic pitch; in Jaap Saheb alone he has some 950 names for Divine Entity. The text of the original in Hindi, Braj, Sanskrit and Persian is transcreated by Kartar Singh Duggal, an eminent litterateur, trying as far as possible to do full justice to the original which is both lyrical and searching, intense and rarefied.

About The Author Of 'Select Sikh Scriptures IV , Guru Gobind Singh' By K S Duggal

Kartar Singh Duggal (born 1917) has to his credit twenty-two collections of short stories, ten novels, two collections of poetry, seven plays, more than fifty short plays, an autobiography in two volumes and several works of literary criticism. K.S. Duggal has been honoured with the Padma Bhushan, the Soviet Land Nehru Award and Punjabi Sahitya Akademi's Sarva-­Saresht Sahityakar Award for the totality of his contribution to Indian literature besides the National Academy of Letters Award for short stories, the Ghalib Award for drama, the Bhasha Parishad Award for fiction and the Bhai Mohan Singh Award for autobiography. Shri Duggal was conferred the degree of D.Litt. (Honoris Causa) by the Punjabi University in 1994 and nominated as a member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha) in 1997. Having served as Director, All India Radio, Director, National Book Trust, and Adviser (Information) in the Planning Commission of India, he is currently devoted exclusively to literary activity.