Dasam Granth - Structure

Structure

The Dasam Granth has 1428 pages and contains Jaap Sahib, the Akal Ustat or praise of the Creator, the Bachitar Natak or Wonderful Drama, in which gives an account of his parentage, his divine mission, and the battles in which he had been engaged.

Then come three abridged compositions of the wars of Durga with demons, (Chandi Chritras: Chandi Chritra I, Chandi Chritra II, Chandi di Var). These were written to instill the spirit of war among Sikhs. The first stanza of the Sikh ardaas, an invocation to God and the 9 Guru's preceding Guru Gobind Singh Ji, is from Chandi di Var.

Then follow the Gyan Parbodh, or awakening of knowledge; the Shabad Hazare; quatrains called Sawaiyas, which are hymns in praise of God and reprobation of idolatry and hypocrisy; the Shastar Nam Mala, a list of offensive and defensive weapons used in the Guru's time, with special reference to the attributes of the Creator; the Kabiovach Bainti Chaupai will "absolve the suffering, pain or fear of the person, who will even once recite this Bani"; the Zafarnamah, containing the tenth Guru's epistle to the emperor Aurangzeb; and Hikayats, several metrical tales in the Persian language.