Zafarnama (letter)

The Zafarnāma /zəfərnɑːmɑː/ (Punjabi: ਜ਼ਫ਼ਰਨਾਮਾ, Persian: ظفرنامہ‎‎‎, Hindi: ज़फ़रनामा, lit. Epistle of Victory) was a victory letter sent by Guru Gobind Singh Ji in 1705 to the Mughal Emperor of India, Aurangzeb after the Battle of Chamkaur. The letter is written in Persian verse.

Guru Gobind Singh Ji sent Bhai Daya Singh to Ahmednagar to give it to Aurangzeb. However it is said that a copy of the Zafarnama, written by himself, was found with the Mahant of Patna Sahib in 1890 and one Babu Jagan Nath made a copy; this copy was somehow misplaced by him. Since Babu Jagan Nath was himself a scholar in Persian language, he could reproduce it from his memory and got it printed in Nagri Parcharni Patrika in Benaras. He is also believed to have sent a copy to Sardar Umrao Singh Shergill in Amritsar who is said to have given it to Khalsa college and which in turn reproduced in Makhz-e-Twarikh Sikhan. In Punjab newspapers, it first appeared in the Khalsa Samachar of 16 July 1942. Then in 1944, Kapur Singh ICS published it in Urdu Ajit of Lahore under the heading "Fatehnama". It is quite possible that in the process of translations and publications of the Zafarnama at different stages, some verses were not reproduced correctly and what we have today is not the original Zafarnama of the Guru in its entirety. The abrupt end of the Zafarnama also indicates that it is not complete and that some verses have been left out. Objections raised by some scholars on the authenticity of a few verses may be viewed in this context.

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