Savaiye (Mukhbakya Mahala 5– I)

Savaiya Chand
Savaiya is an ancient and significant poetic form used in the Indian poetic tradition. Savaiya can be composed in two styles: varnik (based on the number of letters) and matrik (based on the number of meters). However, in Sanskrit literature, only varnik savaiyas are found. Later, in the literatures of Hindi, Panjabi, Braj, and other languages, both varnik and matrik forms became prevalent. In varnik savaiyas, each line typically contains twenty-two to twenty-six meters, whereas in matrik savaiyas, the number of meters per line ranges from twenty-six to forty-six.

In ‘Guru Chand Divakar,’ authored by Bhai Kahn Singh Nabha, thirty-four forms of this poetic meter are discussed. Various scholars have identified more than forty distinct forms of this meter. This poetic form has been used in many Sikh literary works such as the Dasam Granth, Kabit Savaiye of Bhai Gurdas, Gurbilas Patshahi 6, Gurbilas Patshahi 10, and Bhai Santokh Singh’s Gurpratap Suraj Granth, as wells as in the compositions of poets like Tulsidas, Raskhan, Keshav Das, Matiram, Padmakar, Ghananand, and others. The following savaiyas can be seen as examples of these:

deh sivā baru mohi ihai subh karman te kabahūṁ na ṭaroṁ.
na ḍaroṁ ari so jab jāi laroṁ niscai kari apunī jīt karoṁ.
aru sikh hoṁ āpane hī man kau ih lālac haü gun taü ucroṁ.
jab āv kī aüdh nidān banai ati hī ran mai tab jūjh maroṁ. -Dasam Granth, Ukti Bilas, chapter eight, page 231.

kab lāgai mastak carnan raj, daras dayālu drigan kab pekhoṁ.
ammrit bacan suno kab sravnani, kab rasnā bentī bisekhoṁ.
kab tani karauṁ ḍanḍaut bandanā, pari pari pagani kripā pun rekhoṁ.
prem bhaki su prataccha prānpati, gyān dhyān jīvan pad lekhoṁ. -Bhai Gurdas Ji

vardant kī paṅgat kundkalī, adhrādhar pallav kholan kī.
caplā camkaiṁ ghan bīc jagaiṁ, chabī motin māl amolan kī.
ghuṅghrāri laṭaiṁ laṭkaiṁ mukh upari, kunḍal lol kapolan kī.
nivchāvari prān karaiṁ tulsī, bali jāuṁ lalā in bolan kī.5. -Tulsidas

mānush ho tau vahī raskhāni basau braj gokul gāṁv ke gvāran.
jo pasu hau to kahā basu mero carau nit nand kī dhenu manjhāran.
pāhan hau to vahī giri ko jo dharyo kar chatra purandar dhāran.
jo khag hau basero karau mili kālindī-kūl-kadamb kī ḍāran.1. -Raskhan

Savaiyas Sri Mukhvak Mahala 5
The composition titled ‘savaye/savaīe’ is recorded on pages 1385 to 1409 of the Guru Granth Sahib. These savaiyas are revealed by Guru Arjan Sahib and the Bhatt poets. The composition revealed by Guru Arjan Sahib is titled ‘savaīe srī mukhbākya mahalā 5,’ which means: utterances revealed in the form of savaiyas by the fifth Embodiment, Guru Arjan Sahib. The savaiyas of the Bhatt poets sing the praises of the first five Sikh Gurus. The titles of these savaiyas are:
savaīe mahale pahile ke 1
savaīe mahale dūje ke 2
savaīe mahale tīje ke 3
savaīe mahale caüthe ke 4
savaīe mahale panjave ke 5.

The composition ‘savaīe srī mukhbākya mahalā 5’ revealed by Guru Arjan Sahib is recorded on pages 1385-1389 of the Guru Granth Sahib. They include twenty savaiyas, which are further divided into two parts. The first part contains nine savaiyas, and the second part contains eleven savaiyas with four to eight lines in each savaiya.

According to Dr. Rattan Singh Jaggi, in the first and second parts of this composition, the verses do not fully adhere to the rules of savaiya poetic form. This is because in the Guru Granth Sahib, the meaning or idea of a composition is prioritized over strict adherence to poetic norms. As exemplified in these savaiyas, certain creative liberties were taken to present the main idea as intended. Consequently, there is variation in the number of lines in these savaiyas.

In the first part of the savaiyas, Guru Arjan Sahib praises IkOankar. While highlighting the all-pervasiveness of IkOankar, the virtues of IkOankar are extolled. The idea that IkOankar’s Nam is like nectar is also affirmed. Further, through the remembrance and contemplation of Nam, joy is attained, and transgressions are eradicated. Those whom IkOankar blesses are graced with the company of virtuous beings. These savaiyas also express immense devotion towards Guru Nanak Sahib. In the end, Guru Nanak Sahib is described as a lamp of wisdom that dispels ignorance in Kaliyug.

In the second part, beings become aware of their ignorance and of how they deviate from their true purpose. Their focus wavers due to worldly entanglements, causing them to stray from their true purpose. The real purpose of their existence is the remembrance of IkOankar’s Nam, with the ultimate goal of union with IkOankar.