Kahn Singh Nabha

Kahn Singh Nabha Biography

Kahn Singh Nabha was a lexicographer and encyclopedist belonging to Sikh community from Sabaz Banera, Patiala State of British India. His magnum opus - Guru Shabad Ratnakar Mahan Kosh, shortly called ‘Mahan Kosh’ has served as a guide and referral book for many generations followed. It was the first encyclopedia written in Punjabi language which is considered a groundbreaking work, with its huge impact later. It covered 64,263 entries belonging to religious and historical terms in the Sikh canon. He also played a key role in the Singh Sabha movement in the early 1900s.

He was born in Patiala State of British India of present day Pakistan. Narain Singh and Har Kaur were his parents. He had two younger siblings. He never took any formal education, but attained knowledge in different branches and sectors by self-learning. He learnt to quote Guru Granth Sahib and Dasam Granth by the age of only 10 without any formal learning. He later learnt Sanskrit, music and Persian language from respected gurus.

In1883 he assisted Bhai Gurmukh Singh to publish Sudhararak. He has served Nabha State many ways. He served as the tutor of Ripudaman Singh, heir apparent to Nabha State and held the post of personal secretary of Maharaja Hira Singh to judge of the High Court. In 1885 he met Max Arthur Macauliffe, a prolific scholar and author with whom he bonded a deep friendship. He also helped Macauliffe in his study of early Sikhism and Sikh scriptures for his research works.

He authored Gurmat Prabhakar and Gurmat Sudhakar – two principle books on Sikhism. He is best remembered for his outstanding contribution to Sikhism - Guru Shabad Ratnakar Mahan Kosh. In 1912 he resigned his position in Nabha State to work on this book. Ham Hindu Nahin, Roop Deep Pingal, Raj Dharam, Sad Parmarth, Gurchhand Diwakar and Gur Shabdalankar are other noted works.

Published: N/A

Updated: January 28, 2016