BAVAÑJĀ KAVĪ lit. fifty-two poets, is how the galaxy of poets and scholars who attended on Gurū Gobind Siṅgh (1666-1708) is popularly designated. Gurū Gobind Siṅgh, Nānak X, prophet and soldier, was an accomplished poet and also a great patron of letters. According to Sarūp Dās Bhallā, Mahimā Prakāsh, he sent out Sikhs to different parts of the country to invite and bring to him scholars of repute. His instruction was : "Let them bring with them works pertaining to the fields they specialize in. " When they came, "the, True Gurū bestowed great respect and honour upon them and provided for them without discrimination. " Although traditionally mentioned to be 52, the number of scholars who came and stayed with the Gurū at one time or the other was even larger. Bhāī Santokh Siṅgh, Srī Gur Pratāp Sūraj Granth, mentions 52 poets and Bhāī Sukkhā Siṅgh, Gurbilās, 36 lekhaks (writers or scribes). Besides, there were bhaṭṭs who often recited their own poetical compositions. Several poets like Paṇḍit Sukhdev, Brind, 'Ālim, Kuṅvaresh, Kāṅshī Rām and Nand Lāl Goyā, who had earlier been at the Mughal court, came to spend the rest of their lives at the feet of the Gurū. These men were assigned by Gurū Gobind Siṅgh to the task of rendering of Hindi, Sanskrit and Persian classics into Bhākhā written in Gurmukhī script. The work appears to have been taken in hand quite early in his career, probably in 1678 and spread over the next two decades and more, including four very productive years at Pāoṇṭā Sāhib (1685-88), until the Gurū, foreseeing the impending conflicts that were to engulf Anandpur, relieved the poets, scholars and scribes. Classics such as Chaṇakya-nīti, Pañchtantra, Hitopadeśa, Upaniṣads and parts of Mahābhārata were translated into Braj and Punjabi and works and manuals on martial arts such as rearing, training and employment of hawks, horses, elephants, camels and dogs were prepared. A few Hindi classics were transliterated into Gurmukhī. According to Bhāī Santokh Siṅgh, Srī Gur Pratāp Sūraj Granth, the entire work was collected into a single anthology called Vidya Sar or Vidya Sāgar, lit. ocean of knowledge. The poet even mentions the weight of the whole mass of manuscripts - nine maunds or approximately 350 kilograms. Whatever the quantity of the material, the entire treasure was lost consequent upon the evacuation of Anandpur in December 1705, most of it in the flooded Sarsā stream. Only small fragments and copies of some of the manuscripts already prepared and carried out of Anandpur by the authors themselves or by others survived. The names of poets and scholars which have come down to us through these fragments or through other works such as Sau Sākhī, Mahimā Prakāsh, Gurbilās Dasviṅ Pātshāhī, Srī Gur Pratāp Sūraj Granth, Gurpad Prem Prakāsh and Twārīkh Gurū Khālsā are listed below: