Bhai Nand Lal


Nand Lal
ਨੰਦ ਲਾਲ
نند لال

BornUnknown
1633
Ghazni, Mughal Empire
(present-day Afghanistan)
Died1713
Multan, Mughal Empire
(present-day Punjab, Pakistan)
Resting placeMultan
Pen nameGoya
OccupationPoet
LanguagePersian, Arabic, Punjabi
EducationPersian, Arabic, Punjabi, Mathematics
Period1633—1720
RelativesDiwan Chhaju Mal (Chajju Ram) (father)

Bhai Nand Lal (Persian: بھائی نند لال; Punjabi: ਭਾਈ ਨੰਦ ਲਾਲ; 1633–1720), also known by his pen name Goya (Persian: گویا; Punjabi: ਗੋਯਾ), was a 17th-century Sikh poet in the Punjab region.[1]

Bhai Nand Lal Ji was an eminent poet and scholar of extraordinary linguistic abilities. Once considered to be one of the wisest scholars of the Mughal empire of India during the 17th century, he later became known as ‘the crown jewel’ of Guru Gobind Singh Ji’s court.

His in-depth and wide array of knowledge pertaining Hindu, Sanskrit, and Persian teachings, religious texts, and poetries and his devotion towards the teachings of the 10th Sikh Guru earned him the rank of ‘Court Poet Par Excellence’ among the 52 scholarly poets of Guru Gobind Singh Ji’s court. The divine bliss he found at the feet of Guru Gobind Singh Ji is poetically documented by him in his works — many of which were written in Persian.

Despite being of Hindu origin, Bhai Nand Lal became a revered Sikh of the times of Guru Gobind Singh Ji and is remembered in the Sikh community for his poetic, linguistic, and literary work that sparks with spiritual enlightenment. Most of his works have also been given the approval of recitation in Gurudwaras.

  1. ^ Singh, Pashaura; Fenech, Louis E. (2014-03-27). The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies. OUP Oxford. p. 168. ISBN 9780191004117.