Source: https://www.youtube.com/live/3ZBY1UwRkHU?feature=share Some notes to add to my collection of [[Sikhi]] notes. --- Starts with Bhai Mani Singh, who attends the Kavi Darbar. Guru Gobind Singh Ji called scholars from around India to come and translate texts into Gurmukhi lipi. Bhai Mani Singh passes his knowledge down to Bhai Gurbaksh Singh. That gets passed down to Bhai Soorat Singh Giani (the term _Giani_ is introduced here), who passed away just before the Ranjit Singh period. Then comes Bhai Sant Singh Giani, who was appointed Head Granthi of Darbar Sahib during the time of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. His name is credited above the door at Darbar Sahib. He managed the renovation project and hired workers to cover Darbar Sahib in gold and marble. Kavi Santhok Singh was Bhai Sant Singh’s student. He did a lot of original research and study that no one else had done at the time. Much of the modern work we read today, like that of Bhai Vir Singh, is essentially a translation or interpretation of Kavi Santhok Singh’s work. Bhai Vir Singh wrote in Punjabi, while Santhok Singh wrote in _Braj_—an older form of Hindi that’s not widely used anymore. Santhok Singh was born during the Sikh Raj and also died during the Sikh Raj. Maharaja Udai Singh, king of a place called Kantil, hired Santhok Singh as a poet in his court. He asked him to create a detailed commentary on Japji Sahib to showcase its depth and rhetorical brilliance—this was to counter critics who doubted its richness. The result was _Garab Ganjani Teeka_. --- ### **Sooraj Parkash** **“The sun that never sets.”** The Sikh Raj “set” after the death of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Santhok Singh wrote _Sooraj Parkash_ in a haveli in Kantil, gifted to him by Raja Udai Singh. That haveli has now been purchased by Giani Sher Singh to preserve his legacy. _Sooraj Parkash_ is **10,000 pages long**—a historical chronicle covering the lives of Guru Nanak Dev Ji to Guru Gobind Singh Ji. Bhai Vir Singh typed and published _Sooraj Parkash_. It took him **7 years**. He added commentary and footnotes. The first edition was published in **1927**, with a revised second edition in **1935**. --- ### **Structure of**  **Sooraj Parkash** - Stories of Guru Nanak Dev Ji (M1) = **Sunrise and Sunset** - Stories of Guru Angad Dev Ji to Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji (M2–M9) = **12 Months** - Stories of Guru Gobind Singh Ji (M10) = **6 Seasons + 2 Solstices**