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Pahare

Pahare   >   Historical Dimension  
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According to the Puratan Janamsakhi,
Bani Footnote A biographical narrative of Guru Nanak Sahib.
Guru Nanak Sahib revealed this Sabad at a settlement (tanda)
Bani Footnote Mahinder Singh ‘Josh’ has given the meaning of the word ‘tanda’ on page 98 of his book ‘Jivan Gatha Sri Guru Tegh Bahadar Sahib Ate Sikh Inquilab’ as ‘a large caravan of carts used for transportation.’ Consequently, the word tanda connotes a group of people doing business while on the move. In his book ‘Janam Sakhi Parampara: Itihasik Drishtikon Ton, page 47,’ Dr. Kirpal Singh writes, “Wherever merchants made their temporary halt, towns named ‘Tanda’ would later settle there.” Whereas, as per Moti Raj Rathore’s Hindi book ‘Banjara Sanskriti’ (pages 44-45), “The traveling groups of traders were called ‘Tanda.’ Each Tanda had its own chief, who was called a ‘Naik’ (hero).”
of a trader group about sixty miles south of Nanak Mata. It is located on the road from Moradabad (Uttar Pradesh) to Nainital (Uttarakhand) in today’s India. It is in the north, about eight miles from district Rampur and twelve miles from Moradabad. The people of this town used to transport the paddy crop grown in the Terai area to the plains and sell it there.
Bani Footnote Kirpal Singh, Janam Sakhi Parampara: Ithihasik Drishtikon Ton, page 42-43.
The context in which this Sabad was revealed is recorded in the Puratan Janamsakhi
Bani Footnote Saido Jatt, Sakhi Babe Nanak Ji Ki (Puratan Janamsakhi), S. S. Padam (editor), page 126-127.
as follows:

Once, when the Guru arrived at a settlement of traders, a son had taken birth in their leader’s house. People were coming to congratulate him. Some applied colors and others gave blessings. But on the second day, the child died. Within a day, the celebrations had turned into mourning. Witnessing the temporary nature of human life, the Guru revealed this Bani by dividing life into the four quarters (pahare) of the night.

No doubt, through this narrative (sakhi), only the information regarding the place of revelation of the first ‘Pahare’ is known. However, it is possible that the place of revelation of the second ‘Pahare’ might also be the same.