Bani Bhagat Surdas Ji

In history, there have been two Bhagats (devotees) by the name of Surdas. Both were Vaishnav devotees who worshipped Krishna, an incarnation of Vishnu. Information regarding both is as follows:

The first Bhagat Surdas Ji (1478-1583 CE)
He was a disciple of Vallabhacharya (1479-1531 CE) and a renowned poet of the Pushti Marg tradition established by Vallabhacharya. His name is also among the eight famous poets of Braj Mandal, also known as the ‘Ashtachap’ poets. Some scholars believe he was born in 1478 CE in Runakta (Uttar Pradesh, India) to a Brahmin named Ramdas or Ramchand, while other scholars believe he was born in a village called ‘Sihi’ near Faridabad in Haryana. He was associated with the Bhatt clan of the Brahmin community. There is debate over whether he was blind from childhood or became blind over his lifetime. John Stratton Hawley’s book, ‘Bhakti Ke Teen Swar: Miran, Sur, Kabir,’ provides arguments suggesting that Surdas became blind later in his life.

Traditionally, he is regarded as a descendant of Chand Bardai, the court poet of Prithviraj Chauhan. After the death of six of his brothers, while fighting against the army of Sikandar Lodhi, he renounced worldly life and departed his home. On his journey, he fell into a well, and it is believed that Krishna himself pulled him out after seven days. Following this, he devoted himself to the worship of Krishna at a temple in Gau Ghat (Mathura, Uttar Pradesh, India), situated on the banks of the Yamuna River.

In 1509 CE, he met Vallabhacharya (1479-1531 CE) and became his disciple. After this, he lived in the village of Parsouli near Chandrasarovar (Uttar Pradesh, India) and continued to engage in devotional practice by singing his own compositions. The Mughal emperor Akbar (1542-1605 CE) also visited him. He passed away in 1583 CE, leaving several literary works, including books such as Sur Sagar, Sursaravali, and Sahitya Lahari. A reference is believed to be available indicating that the transliteration of Sur Sagar was first done by Guru Gobind Singh.

The second Bhagat Surdas Ji (born circa 1513/1529 CE)
He was also known as Madan Mohan or Surdas Madan Mohan (Madan Mohan is one of the names of Krishna). His birth is estimated to be around 1513 CE, but Bhai Kahn Singh Nabha and a few scholars of Shabdarth Sri Guru Granth Shaib Ji have accepted his birth as 1529 CE (Samvat 1586). There is no information available about his parents or his place of birth. He was a disciple of Sri Sanatan Goswami (1488-1558 CE) and was well-versed in languages like Sanskrit and Persian and music. According to ‘Sri Bhakt Mal,’ initially, he signed his compositions with the name ‘Surdas.’ Later, he adopted the name ‘Madan Mohan’ to show his devotion towards Krishna. Once, unable to complete a verse of his composition, he fell asleep. The next day, he found that the verse was completed and signed with ‘Surdas Madan Mohan.’ Subsequently, he adopted this name for his work. He composed a total of 225 compositions, created during the period of 1533-1543 CE.

The Mughal emperor Akbar, a patron of artists and scholars, appointed him a tax collector in Sandilla (Uttar Pradesh, India). On one occasion, a sum of thirteen lakh rupees was collected in the treasury. He spent the entire sum on the service of saints and then went to Vrindavan. He sent a report of expenditures to the royal treasury through the following verse: terah lākh sanḍīle upje, sabh sādhun mili gaṭke. sūrdās madan mohan, brindāvan ko saṭke.

Akbar was pleased upon hearing of his generosity and service to saints. He granted him pardon through a royal decree and summoned him to the court. Declining the summons, he sent his remarks that it was better to be someone who cleans the footwear of saints than to be appointed as the governor of a province. The emperor’s finance minister, Todar Mal (1500-1589 CE), could not tolerate this response. He advised the emperor that if such individuals were to spend the government’s wealth as they pleased and then run away, the administration of the government would collapse. As a result, Emperor Akbar changed his decision and ordered his arrest and imprisonment. He was sent to custody of a jailer named Dastam Khan. Facing the jailer’s harsh treatment, he composed a couplet and sent it to the emperor: ek tam to andherā karai ye to dastam āh. dastam se rakshā karo dinmaṇi akbar shāh.

Max Arthur Macauliffe recorded the jailer’s name as Timir Das. The word ‘timir’ means night or darkness, and ‘das,’ when pronounced without the long vowel ‘a’ sound, means ten. According to Macauliffe, the meaning of the couplet is that a small lamp dispels the darkness of the night. O emperor Akbar! Like the sun, free me from the ten nights of darkness (Timir Das). After reading this couplet, the emperor released him from prison.

About the author of the line recorded in Guru Granth Sahib
Both Bhagats mentioned above are significant in the Indic Bhakti movement due to their individual contributions and personality. Scholars have varying opinions on which of these two devotees composed the line in the Guru Granth Sahib.

Among the scholars who believe that this line belongs to the first Bhagat Surdas are Prof. Piara Singh Padam, Dr. Madan Gopal Acharya, Dr. Ram Prakash, Dr. G S Chauhan, Sukhdev Singh Shant, and others. Among these scholars, Prof. Piara Singh Padam and Sukhdev Singh Shant’s views are particularly noteworthy. Prof. Piara Singh argues that the line recorded in the Guru Granth Sahib closely resembles the line found in the text of Sur Sagar, with minor differences. Furthermore, the complete composition found in some manuscripts has the signature ‘Surdas.’ Their argument is that if this line belonged to Bhagat Madan Mohan Surdas, the name ‘Surdas’ would not have been mentioned in the text.

Sukhdev Singh Shant has provided several arguments in support of his opinion. According to him, the line in Guru Granth Sahib (chāḍi man hari bimukhan ko saṅgu) and the first line in the Sur Sagar text (tajau man, hari bimukhani kau saṅg) differ only in the words ‘chāḍi’ and ‘tajau.’ However, these words have the same meaning. Both lines are set to Rag Sarang. It is also significant to note that, in addition to the Sabad of Bhagat Surdas Ji, the Sabads of Bhagat Parmanand Ji are also recorded in the Guru Granth Sahib. Both are poets of ‘Ashtachap.’ Furthermore, the fact that Guru Gobind Singh had the Sur Sagar text transliterated is an indication of the greatness of Bhagat Surdas Ji.

On the other hand, scholars who believe that this line belongs to the second Bhagat Surdas Ji (Madan Mohan Surdas) include Bhai Kahn Singh Nabha, Max Arthur Macauliffe, Bhai Jodh Singh, and the scholars of Shabdarth Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji such as Giani Gurdit Singh, Giani Pratap Singh, and others. Giani Gurdit Singh argues that the line in Rag Sarang of the Guru Granth Sahib, attributed to Bhagat Surdas Ji, originally belongs to Bhagat Madan Mohan Surdas Ji. He points out that the writings of Madan Mohan Surdas were so rich and distinctive that it became challenging to differentiate them from the works of Surdas. This difficulty is further compounded by the fact that they were contemporaries. Giani Gurdit Singh supports his argument with references from Dayal Gupta’s book ‘Ashtachap Aur Vallabh Sampradaya.’ Dayal Gupta notes in his book that during Bhagat Surdas Ji’s life, the writings of other poets had begun to be incorporated into his own works.

From the above discussion, the argument in favor of attributing this line to the first Bhagat Surdas Ji appears more compelling. This is primarily due to the line’s presence in the Sur Sagar text. Although some editions of the Sur Sagar do not include this line, no scholar has identified the line in the Sur Sagar as belonging to another Bhagat. Furthermore, scholars have found no distinct work by Bhagat Madan Mohan Surdas containing a line comparable to this line in the Sur Sagar.