JANGNĀMĀ GURŪ GOBIND SIṄGH is a Punjabi ballad by Bīr Siṅgh Bal of the village of Saṭhiālā in Amritsar district of the Punjab. Bīr Siṅgh was the author of a number of works in Braj Bhāṣā and Punjabi which he wrote in the third and fourth decades of the nineteenth century. His theme is primarily Sikh history, though he has also composed Qissā Hīr Rāñjhā incorporating the romance of Punjab's famous lovers, Hīr and Rāñjhā.

         The Jaṅgnāmā, in Punjabi verse, is in the form of a Bārah Māhā for which reason it is also known as Bārāṅ Māṅh Gurū Gobind Siṅgh. It consists of one doharā of four lines and twelve stanzas of four verses each. These stanzas are in Adibhut Chhand in which each verse consists of six lines rhyming together, with an additional half line. Each stanza has a further short verse the burden of which is the poet's desire to visit Amritsar. Following the style of a Bārah Māhā, the twelve stanzas are each assigned to a month of the Indian calendar.

         The Jaṅgnāmā dealing mainly with the battles of Gurū Gobind Siṅgh, refers also to the victories won by his Sikhs against the Durrānīs and later in the Sikh times. The object of the poet is not to present linear history, but to sing praises of Gurū Gobind Siṅgh and eulogize the gallantry of his brave Sikhs. Thus the Jaṅgnāmā is not a description of any particular battle; it takes into account a few of the significant engagements of different battles. No factual information about any battle is provided; even the dates and places of different actions are missing. Only the names of some enemy commanders are mentioned which may provide a clue to the battle being described in a particular stanza. Bīr Siṅgh is essentially a bard whose aim is to recite the praise of Gurū Gobind Siṅgh and of the Sikh heroes who fought for the liberation of mankind from oppression and injustice.

         His Jaṅgnāmā, of little historical value, is a fine piece of combat poetry. It captures in a vigorous metre the grim fury of battle scenes.

Piārā Siṅgh Padam