Artifact
Hukamnamas of Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji
Dated letters from the Anandpur period onwards, written by scribes and marked by Guru Ji.[EoS][Mann][EoS]
- Date
- 1691-1707 for dated examples
- Held by
- Various, including families in the United States and Takht Harmandir Sahib, Patna
- Location
- Dispersed
- Provenance
- Documented
- Status: Held
- Mann (2008) says two newly published letters, dated 1698 and 1699, were with families in the United States, and that he held photographs of five others. He also cites letters at Takht Harmandir Sahib, Patna.
Ganda Singh's 1967 edition prints 34 of these letters. Mann describes them as working like royal decrees, with illuminated paper and sometimes serial numbers.
The Encyclopaedia of Sikhism uses them as historical evidence. Letters telling Sikhs to bring offerings directly date from 1699 or later and confirm the end of the masand system. Two dated 2 October 1707 mention Guru Ji's meeting with Emperor Bahadur Shah.
What is disputed
- A disputed letter at Patna
Mann reports that scholars dismiss as spurious a Patna letter asking for hukkas and chilams to be sent to Anandpur. He suggests these may have been wanted for non-Sikh soldiers.[Mann]
See it online
A hukamnama of Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji dated 24 July 1698. The date comes from Commons, whose source is a social media post.
Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji and his scribe, 24 July 1698. Public domain. Source
An illuminated hukamnama of Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji of 1699 (Samat 1756), published by Gurinder Singh Mann in 2008 from a family collection in the United States.
Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji and his scribe, 1699. Private collection, USA (per Mann, 2008). Public domain. Source
