Tara Singh Narotam

Pandit Tara Singh Narotam
Pandit Tara Singh was the most well-known Nirmala sadhu.[1]
Native name	ਪੰਡਿਤ ਤਾਰਾ ਸਿੰਘ ਨਰੋਤਮ
Born	1822 Kahlwan, Gurdaspur, Punjab, Sikh Empire
Died	1891 Patiala, Patiala State
Language	Punjabi, Sanskrit
Notable works	Gurmat Nirnay Sagar Sri Gur Tirath Sangrah Guru Girarath Kosh

Pandit Tara Singh Narotam (1822–1891) or also Pundit Tara Singh Nawtam, was a famous Punjabi scholar who belonged to the Sikh Nirmala Sect.^[2]

Biography

Pundit Tara Singh was born into a Sikh family who were originally Brahmins. At the age of twenty, he left his village Kahlwan, which was near Qadian, and he arrived at the Nirmala dera of Sant Gulab Singh^[3] at Kurala, Hoshiarpur.

He was now a renowned scholar and had accumulated some fame throughout the region. The Maharaja of Patiala, Maharaja Narinder Singh (1824–1862) gave patronage to him,^[3] after which Tara Singh came to Patiala and established his own Nirmala dera by the name of Dharam Dhuja and began doing scholarly work. Pundit Tara Singh taught a large group of scholars which include the famous Sikh historian Giani Gain Singh (1822–1921) and Bishan Singh Ji Muralewale of the Damdami Taksal.^[4]

Finding Hemkunt

Hemkunt Lake

Pundit Tara Singh was the first Sikh to trace the geographical location of Hemkunt Sahib. Using clues from the Bachitar Natak^[5] to reveal Guru Gobind Singh's tap asthan (place of meditation) such as the place was named Sapatsring (seven peaks) and was on/near Hemkunt Parbat (lake of ice mountain), he set out to explore the Garhwal Himalayas and his search took him to Badrinath and to the nearby village of Pandukeshwar, near the present-day Gobind Ghat.

Gurbani Interpretation

Pandit Tara Singh conforms to the Nirmala school of thought. He presents Sikhism from a Vedantic orientation,^[6] and it being a blend of Sankara and Ramanuja. He believed that Guru Nanak was an incarnation of Vishnu (Mahavishnu as opposed to the deva) and that Waheguru was another name for Mahavishnu. He wrote extensively about the meaning of Waheguru in his book Waheguru Shabad-Arth Tika. In the Mahan Kosh, it is written that Pandit Tara Singh believes that the Sarbloh Granth was produced by Bhai Sukha Singh, the head Granthi of Patna Sahib from a manuscript given by an Udasi from Shri Jagannathpuri (Odisha) who said it was Guru Gobind Singh's writing. Pandit Tara Singh also believed that the entire Dasam Granth was written by Guru Gobind Singh.^[7]

Published works

He may have written an commentary on the entire SGGS but it is assumed to be lost. His more famous works are Gurmat Nirnay Sagar, Sri Gur Tirath Sangrah, and Guru Girarath Kos. Other notable works include a commentary on Bani of the Bhagats included in the Guru Granth Sahib.

• Vahiguru Sabdarth (1862)
• Tika Bhagat Banika (1872)
• Tika Guru Bhav Dipika (1879)
• Sri Guru Tirath Sangrahi (1883)
• Granth Sri Gurmat Nirnaya Sagar (1877)
• Sabda Sur Kosh (1866)
• Akal Murati Pradarsan (1878)
• Guru Vans Taru Darpan (1878)
• Granth Guru Girarth Kosh (1889)
• Prikhia Prakaran (1890)
• Tika Sri Raga (1885)
• Updesh Shatak Basha
• Sehrafi Raje Bharthari
• Japji Sahib Steek

See also

• Ratan Singh Bhangu
• Kavi Santokh Singh
• Giani Gian Singh

References

1. Oberoi, Harjot (1994). The Construction of Religious Boundaries: Culture, Identity, and Diversity in the Sikh Tradition. University of Chicago Press. p. 126. ISBN 9780226615929.
2. Singh, Trilochan (2011). The Turban and the Sword of the Sikhs: Essence of Sikhism : History and Exposition of Sikh Baptism, Sikh Symbols, and Moral Code of the Sikhs, Rehitnāmās. B. Chattar Singh Jiwan Singh. p. 14. ISBN 9788176014915.
3. Singh, Harbans (1998). The Encyclopaedia of Sikhism: S-Z. Publications Bureau. p. 315. ISBN 9788173805301.
4. "Leaders of Damdami Taksaal". Damdami Taksal. Retrieved 6 June 2014.
5. Singh Johar, Surinder (1998). Holy Sikh Shrines. New Delhi: M.D. Publications Pvt. Ltd. p. 168. ISBN 9788175330733.
6. Pemberton, Kelly (2011). Shared Idioms, Sacred Symbols, and the Articulation of Identities in South Asia. Routledge. p. 76. ISBN 9781135904777.
7. Kapoor, Sukhbhir (2009). Dasam Granth An Introductory Study. Hemkunt Press. p. 10. ISBN 9788170103257.