The Zafarnāma (Gurmukhi: ਜ਼ਫ਼ਰਨਾਮਾ; ) was a spiritual victory letter sent by Guru Gobind Singh in 1705 to the Mughal Emperor of India, Aurangzeb, after the Battle of Chamkaur.
Background
In the aftermath of the Battle of Chamkaur, the Guru wanted to write a letter of condemnation to the Mughal emperor for breaking his oath swore upon the Quran by attacking the Sikhs who were evacuating the fort of Anandpur after a long siege when they were promised safe passage by Aurangzeb. According to Sikh tradition, the village of Dina located near the district's border with the neighbouring Bathinda district is where Guru Gobind Singh rested for a few days after the Second Battle of Chamkaur. when they promised safe passage to the Guru but launched a hidden attack of an army described as much larger, on forty famished Sikh soldiers. He tells Aurangzeb this was not a battle, it was a slaughter. As such, in spite of losing most of his Sikhs in this attack, he had won a moral victory over the Emperor who had broken his vows to Allah. He also states that despite sending a huge army to capture or kill the Guru, the Mughal forces did not succeed in their mission.
In the 111 verses of this notice, Guru Gobind Singh rebukes Aurangzeb for his weaknesses as a human being and for his lack of morality as a leader. Guru Gobind Singh also confirms his confidence and his unflinching faith in the Almighty even after suffering extreme personal loss of his father, mother, all four of his sons, and many fellow Sikhs to Aurangzeb's tyranny.
Guru Gobind Singh then invites Aurangzeb to meet him in Kangar village near Bathinda (Punjab) and assures him the Brar tribe will not harm him (Aurangzeb) as they are under his command.
"On the way there will be no danger to your life, for, the whole tribe of Brars accepts my command."
Of the 111 or 112 verses, the maximum numbers of 34 verses are to praise God; 32 deal with Aurangzeb’s invitation for the Guru to meet him and the Guru's refusal to meet the Emperor – instead the Guru asks Aurangzeb to visit him; 24 verses detail the events in the Battle of Chamkaur, which took place on 22 December 1704; 15 verses reprove Aurangzeb for breaking promise given by him and by his agents to the Guru; In verses 78 and 79, Guru Gobind Singh had also warned Aurangzeb about the resolve of the Khalsa not to rest till the Mughal Empire is destroyed; 6 verses praise Aurangzeb.
In the work, the criteria for invoking dharamyudh is listed: (a chapter which deals with "how to treat a tyrant who strikes fear in the hearts of the pure") and the eighth chapter of Gulistan, with the replacement of دست (hand; figuratively: trick) with کار (deed; figuratively: strategy). It serves as a recontextualization of a popular work which would be familiar to Aurangzeb, with the purpose of undercutting Aurangzeb's authority by using ideas from his favorite works of literature against him. This line was later appropriated by Lahore Singh Sabha intellectuals, unaware of the connection to Saadi, as a summary of the Sikh ideals of miri piri and dharam yuddh.
The work is sometimes considered to be the first of the Hikayats, with the remaining 11 works following it in the Dasam Granth. However, in one recension there are four verses in Braj. The version currently in circulation found in the Dasam Granth, the compilation of Guru Gobind Singh’s poetry, is in Gurmukhi script and Persian verse. Copies printed and sold today are usually in Gurmukhi script.
Authenticity
Academics Anil Chander Banerjee and Christopher Shackle believe the extant work is not the authentic one as originally written by Guru Gobind Singh.