Dasam Granth - Language and Literary Quality

Language and Literary Quality

The Dasam Granth is written in rhymed poetry. It was designed to be heard, so there is considerable repetition, and a variety of meters to hold the attention. The language of most of the Dasam Granth is largely Braj Bhasha veering towards Sanskrit at one extreme and simple colloquial Hindi at the other, although conventional Hindi is used marginally. The Braj dialect is a variety of medieval Hindi with a mixture of Sanskrit and Arabic words. The Zafarnamah and the Hikayats are in Persian using Gurmukhi characters and several passages in other works are in Punjabi. The 'author(s)' not only used this melange of languages but also coined words half Arabic half Sanskrit (and sometimes words without any meaning just to create a musical effect). Some of this kind of writing has great power and beauty.

From A Short History of the Sikhs, Ganda Singh & Teja Singh:

"In Hindi he developed a style, which for martial cadence, variety of form and richness of imagination...has remained unsurpassed since his times. In lines ranging from monosyllabic verse to long and multiplied swayyas and kabits, we seem to hear the torrential flow of hill streams or the galloping sweep of cavalry on the march. His intellect quivers in emotion and breaks out against superstition and hypocrisy into humour, irony or banter. His emotion...is raised to the highest pitch of ecstasy when he communes with God."

From Sikhan de Raj di Vithya (History of the Sikh Rule):

"This Granth is very difficult, and is composed in the Gurmukhi dialect in several kinds of verses. In it there is the description of several weapons of warfare, the rules of warfare, the shortcomings in the character of men and women, and some information on worship and religious knowledge. The descriptions of scenes of battle are couched in extremely vigorous staccato rhyme often reduced to lines of one word each. The battles waged by Chandi encounters with the hill chiefs at Bhangani and Nadaun are among the most stirring that exist.