Brief information about Bhatts (Bards)

Almighty God has made this magnificent worldly game. He has created such beings in this world that consider visible objects and things as the ultimate end, engrossing themselves in the lifelong tussle to obtain these objects of desire sacrificing everything including their life for the attainment of these visible things. On the contrary there are some lucky people who consider these visible items as perishable and desire to see and meet the Creator who created them. They pray from within for the harmony with the invisible creator. As stated on page 701 :

If only someone would unite me with the Lord ! I hold tight to His feet, and utter sweet words with my tongue; I make my breath of life an offering to Him.

Also on page 757 :

If only someone would come, and lead me to meet my Darling Beloved; I would sell myself to him.

Seeing their internal agitation, pang of separation and keen desire to see the Creator, God Almighty reveals Himself to them by creating some sort of pretext. Then these loved ones proclaim openly,” O Lord!, Now with your grace and blessings I am able to see and feel your omnipresence. As mentioned in Raag Asa mahala 1 :

Where ever I go , I see you in all places , dear true creator I see God Almighty

In this context, in order to find out the invisible through the visible and for eternal peace and true bliss, the Bhatts (bards) came to the holy embrace of Sri Guru Arjun Dev ji. Before coming to Sri Guru Arjun Dev ji, these Bhatts¹traveled throughout the country to quench their thirst for spiritual fulfillment and peace. They went to different sadhus, saints, yogis, Hermits, worshippers and ascetics. They discussed with them, exchanged views and told their inner urge to meet Almighty Lord, but could not be satisfied. Instead they got disappointment after wandering for one full year. They also traveled to different places of pilgrimage but nothing seemed to quench the thirst inside for fulfillment of the desire to meet Waheguru. Finally, they came to the Holy feet of Guru Arjun Dev ji and told Him about their innermost desire. After hearing the teachings of Sri Guru Arjun Dev ji and seeing his Holy form ,the Bhatts were totally impressed. They were highly influenced to witness the traditions of Guru-Darbar(Guru’s house or temple). They accepted Sri Guru Arjun Dev ji as their Guru and described his state without any hesitation in the following words of Gurbani on page 1395 :

I have been searching for the Saints; I have seen so many Holy and spiritual people. The hermits, Sannyaasees, ascetics, penitents, fanatics and Pandits all speak sweetly. I wandered around lost for a year, but no one touched my soul.

1 Bhatts belonged to Brahmin caste. They were highly intelligent scholars of Vedas and Shashtras. The Bhatts of Punjab call themselves as Sarsut Brahmin. They derive their origin from koshik Rishi. The high class of Brahmins consider them as of low status. They lived on the bank of river Saraswati(River of knowledge). Previously it flowed near Pihova Distt, Karnal,India. With the passing of time, in order to earn their livelihood, some of them migrated to Jind, Sultanpur and other places. The Bhatts on one side of the river Saraswati called themselves Sarsut , while Brahmins on the other side of the river were called Gaurh Bhatt. The eleven Bhatts who came to the shelter of Sri Guru Arjun Dev ji were Sarsut Bhatts. They were :

1. Bhikha
2. Kalsahar
3. Jalap
4. Kirat
5. Nalh
6. Gayand
7. Mathura
8. Ballh
9. Sallh
10. Bhallh
11. Harbhans

The author of Gur Bilas Patshahi Chhevee (6TH Guru) has written about Bhatts as :

For a year they roamed and witnessed every religion and sect The giver of peace , ocean of bliss guru was not seen anywhere Having rambled and roamed many regions they arrived at the ultimate ocean Witnessing the form of Guru Arjun dev ji gave peace and calmed the heart Doharaa--- In this manner all praised guru and fell at his feet The ocean of mercy Sri gur ji said “ask for whatever you desire Bhikha ji the bard then uttered his plight to guru ji We all have this desire O lord Make all of us your sikhs Initiate us through your divine sermon and still our Minds

All Bhatts were overjoyed to be blessed by the great Guru. They enunciated 121 Swayias in praise of God and Guru. These Swayias have been preserved in Sri Guru Granth Sahib ji. According to Gur Bilas Patshahi Chhevee’ s words :

extremely happy was the benevolent lord They wrote eulogies in the Granth that was pleasing to the mind Boons were blessed fulfilling all the minds desires By initiating them as Sikhs all their doubts were dispelled

The internal feelings, devotional intensity, love and affection for God and the Guru’s in the minds of Bhatts are clearly visible in the Swayias written by them. They have used the most sublime and subtle similes, metaphors, contrasts, parallels, symbolic and affectionate language in a very artistic and deeply devotional style. They did use difficult and compound words. If one studies and recites these Swayias with complete grammatical punctuation and pauses they produce a sense of asceticism and pleasure instantly in the mind of the reader. The Swayias uplift the soul into areas of the highest consciousness. This is the reason when Sri Guru Granth Sahib ji is to be installed in the Holy Darbar Sahib(Golden Temple, Amritsar) before dawn, different Gursikhs recite these Swayias turn by turn, standing for fifteen minutes in a very devotional and melodious voice, daily, before the actual Hukamnama(Guru’s order) is read. Every body is enthused, impressed at these moments and one feels as if indeed Guru Ji has descended from heaven to be amongst the congregation. A strange feeling of pious love prevails there. The scene can be portrayed in the words of Baba Kabir ji as stated on page 1370 :

I cannot describe its sublime glory; it has to be seen to be appreciated.

This has been a well- established tradition that the singing of Swayia’s by Bhatts was first stated at the time of Guru Arjun Dev ji. Starting from that time period, these Bhatts used to stand up turn by turn and recite Swayias them selves. That tradition prevails till this day with the grace of Guru Arjun Dev ji.





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				Brief information about Bhatts (Bards) Almighty God has made this magnificent worldly game. He has created such beings in this world that consider visible objects and things as the ultimate end, engrossing themselves in the lifelong tussle to obtain these objects of desire sacrificing everything including their life for the attainment of these visible things. On the contrary there are some lucky people who consider these visible items as perishable and desire to see and meet the Creator who created them. They pray from within for the harmony with the invisible creator. As stated on page 701 : If only someone would unite me with the Lord ! I hold tight to His feet, and utter sweet words with my tongue; I make my breath of life an offering to Him. Also on page 757 : If only someone would come, and lead me to meet my Darling Beloved; I would sell myself to him. Seeing their internal agitation, pang of separation and keen desire to see the Creator, God Almighty reveals Himself to them by creating some sort of pretext. Then these loved ones proclaim openly,” O Lord!, Now with your grace and blessings I am able to see and feel your omnipresence. As mentioned in Raag Asa mahala 1 : Where ever I go , I see you in all places , dear true creator I see God Almighty In this context, in order to find out the invisible through the visible and for eternal peace and true bliss, the Bhatts (bards) came to the holy embrace of Sri Guru Arjun Dev ji. Before coming to Sri Guru Arjun Dev ji, these Bhatts¹traveled throughout the country to quench their thirst for spiritual fulfillment and peace. They went to different sadhus, saints, yogis, Hermits, worshippers and ascetics. They discussed with them, exchanged views and told their inner urge to meet Almighty Lord, but could not be satisfied. Instead they got disappointment after wandering for one full year. They also traveled to different places of pilgrimage but nothing seemed to quench the thirst inside for fulfillment of the desire to meet Waheguru. Finally, they came to the Holy feet of Guru Arjun Dev ji and told Him about their innermost desire. After hearing the teachings of Sri Guru Arjun Dev ji and seeing his Holy form ,the Bhatts were totally impressed. They were highly influenced to witness the traditions of Guru-Darbar(Guru’s house or temple). They accepted Sri Guru Arjun Dev ji as their Guru and described his state without any hesitation in the following words of Gurbani on page 1395 : I have been searching for the Saints; I have seen so many Holy and spiritual people. The hermits, Sannyaasees, ascetics, penitents, fanatics and Pandits all speak sweetly. I wandered around lost for a year, but no one touched my soul. 1 Bhatts belonged to Brahmin caste. They were highly intelligent scholars of Vedas and Shashtras. The Bhatts of Punjab call themselves as Sarsut Brahmin. They derive their origin from koshik Rishi. The high class of Brahmins consider them as of low status. They lived on the bank of river Saraswati(River of knowledge). Previously it flowed near Pihova Distt, Karnal,India. With the passing of time, in order to earn their livelihood, some of them migrated to Jind, Sultanpur and other places. The Bhatts on one side of the river Saraswati called themselves Sarsut , while Brahmins on the other side of the river were called Gaurh Bhatt. The eleven Bhatts who came to the shelter of Sri Guru Arjun Dev ji were Sarsut Bhatts. They were : 1. Bhikha 2. Kalsahar 3. Jalap 4. Kirat 5. Nalh 6. Gayand 7. Mathura 8. Ballh 9. Sallh 10. Bhallh 11. Harbhans The author of Gur Bilas Patshahi Chhevee (6TH Guru) has written about Bhatts as : For a year they roamed and witnessed every religion and sect The giver of peace , ocean of bliss guru was not seen anywhere Having rambled and roamed many regions they arrived at the ultimate ocean Witnessing the form of Guru Arjun dev ji gave peace and calmed the heart Doharaa--- In this manner all praised guru and fell at his feet The ocean of mercy Sri gur ji said “ask for whatever you desire Bhikha ji the bard then uttered his plight to guru ji We all have this desire O lord Make all of us your sikhs Initiate us through your divine sermon and still our Minds All Bhatts were overjoyed to be blessed by the great Guru. They enunciated 121 Swayias in praise of God and Guru. These Swayias have been preserved in Sri Guru Granth Sahib ji. According to Gur Bilas Patshahi Chhevee’ s words : extremely happy was the benevolent lord They wrote eulogies in the Granth that was pleasing to the mind Boons were blessed fulfilling all the minds desires By initiating them as Sikhs all their doubts were dispelled The internal feelings, devotional intensity, love and affection for God and the Guru’s in the minds of Bhatts are clearly visible in the Swayias written by them. They have used the most sublime and subtle similes, metaphors, contrasts, parallels, symbolic and affectionate language in a very artistic and deeply devotional style. They did use difficult and compound words. If one studies and recites these Swayias with complete grammatical punctuation and pauses they produce a sense of asceticism and pleasure instantly in the mind of the reader. The Swayias uplift the soul into areas of the highest consciousness. This is the reason when Sri Guru Granth Sahib ji is to be installed in the Holy Darbar Sahib(Golden Temple, Amritsar) before dawn, different Gursikhs recite these Swayias turn by turn, standing for fifteen minutes in a very devotional and melodious voice, daily, before the actual Hukamnama(Guru’s order) is read. Every body is enthused, impressed at these moments and one feels as if indeed Guru Ji has descended from heaven to be amongst the congregation. A strange feeling of pious love prevails there. The scene can be portrayed in the words of Baba Kabir ji as stated on page 1370 : I cannot describe its sublime glory; it has to be seen to be appreciated. This has been a well- established tradition that the singing of Swayia’s by Bhatts was first stated at the time of Guru Arjun Dev ji. Starting from that time period, these Bhatts used to stand up turn by turn and recite Swayias them selves. That tradition prevails till this day with the grace of Guru Arjun Dev ji.

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