Santokh Singh

Kavi Santokh Singh (Punjabi: ਕਵੀ ਸੰਤੋਖ ਸਿੰਘ) (8 October 178719 October 1843/1844) was a Sikh historian, poet and writer. He was such a prolific writer that the Sikh Reference Library at Darbar Sahib Amritsar was named after him, located within the Mahakavi Santokh Singh Hall. In addition to "Great Poet" (Mahākavī) Santokh Singh was also referred to as the Ferdowsi of Punjabi literature, Ferdowsi wrote ~50,000 verses while Santokh Singh's Suraj Prakash totals ~52,000. Other scholars have thought of Santokh Singh as akin to Vyasa. Gottlieb Wilhelm Leitner in 1883 wrote that, "Santokh Singh of Kantal in the Karnal District, has rendered his name immortal" through the production of his works. Although identified as being a Nirmala by scholars like Shackle, Jvala Singh argues that Santokh Singh was part of the Giani Samparda. Harjot Oberoi also notes Santokh Singh's connection to the gianis via him being a student of Giani Sant Singh.

Biography

Early life Santokh Singh was born into a poor yet educated family of cloth-printers (or tailors He had an elder brother named Gurmukh Singh. His father, Deva Singh, had been well-educated in Gurbani and Vedantic philosophy. This label however requires scrutiny, at no point in any of his writings does Santokh Singh claim himself to be a Nirmala, nor does he even ever mention Nirmalas. Vir Singh (writer) also never associates Santokh Singh with Nirmalas. Rather, because of Santokh Singh's instruction from Giani Sant Singh, his association can be seen to fall under the Giānīan Bungā, a learning institution beginning from Bhai Mani Singh. Giani Sant Singh (1768-1832), the head Giani of Amritsar, was a renowned scholars both inside and outside of Sikh circles. Throughout all of Santokh Singh's works he includes invocations (Mangalacharana) directed at his teacher, Giani Sant Singh.

Later life He married Ram Kaur from Jagadhari, who belonged to the Rohilla subcaste, in 1821. His magnum opus was the Suraj Prakash, completed in 1843, a volumous poetic text which documents in-detail the lives of all the Sikh gurus in fourteen volumes, intended as a sequel to his earlier work, Nanak Parkash. He was the first scholar to elaborate on the Dusht Daman incarnation of Guru Gobind Singh in a previous lifetime, connected to Hemkunt, a tale narrated by the guru in his Bachittar Natak composition.

Assessment and legacy Photograph of Haveli Kavi Santokh Singh in Kaithal, taken by Vir Singh, ca.1920's. Re-discovered by Vir Singh, this haveli is where Santokh Singh wrote his Suraj Prakash. Later Sikh scholars, such as Vir Singh, mention that Santokh Singh's works become the foundation for historical texts written in the late 19th and 20th centuries. Vir Singh (writer) himself would reference and summarize Santokh Singh's work in his own works.

Bhai Vir Singh's respect and admiration for Santokh Singh can be seen throughout his publication, within the introduction of the text or in the footnotes. One example includes context clarifying that Santokh Singh's devotional focus: “His writings were filled with such praise, faith and devotion to the Guru, in front of which no further proof is required that the Exalted Poet was a fully imbued Gursikh, an esteemed Sikh, and a Gurmukh who was drenched in the love of the Guru.”

Professor Ashanand Vohra, Member of Punjabi Board of Studies, Kurukshetra university, who Santokh Singh's Garab Ganjani Teeka (1829), comparing it with other Sanskrit and Brajbhasha alaṃkāraśāstras, writes: "The Great Poet Bhai Santokh Singh Ji, the emperor of poetry on the Gurus, the crown jewel of the world's community of poets - as a result of his stand alone poetic practice & Ganges like flow of wisdom, his name will forever remain written in Indian Literature with golden letters."

Harjot Oberoi writes that Santokh Singh's Suraj Prakash "to this day is consulted by Sikh public and religious officiants for an explication of Sikh tenets and the life-stories of the gurus". Karam Singh was highly critical of Kavi Santokh Singh's works, specifically accusing him at taking sources at face value without questioning their historicity and veracity, such as in the case of the Bhai Bala janamsakhi tradition.