Bhai Nand Lal

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. Lal was born in Ghazni. His father, Diwan Chajju Mal (1600-1652) was a disciple of the 8th Sikh Guru Har Krishan. Chajju Mal was chief secretary (Diwan) of Dara Shikoh, the eldest son of Shah Jahan. Chajju Mal went with Shikoh to conquer Afghanistan. Dara Shikoh returned to India while Chajju Mal stayed in Ghazni, Afghanistan, where Bhai Nand Lal was born. There, at the age of 12, Lal started writing Persian poetry with the Takallus of Goya. He learned Sanskrit, Hindi, Arabic, and Persian from his father who was a great scholar himself. Lal was a scholar of Islamic studies too, even though he was never initiated into Islam. He lost his mother, Dharga Mal, an Amrithdari Sikh, at 17. At the age of 19, he lost his father. In 1652, Lal settled in Multan, West Punjab, where he married. Lal later became a courtier in the darbar court of Guru Gobind Singh; the tenth Sikh Guru. He was one of the fifty-two poets of the court. Initially, he joined Prince Muazzam as secretary and later rose to become chief secretary. He left his job with Prince Muazzam to become the personal teacher of the Mughal emperor's son Prince Bahadur Shah. One day, a letter came from the Persian king which contained a verse from the Quran. The emperor was unable to determine the meaning or find a satisfactory interpretation of this verse. He searched throughout his court and the entire Mughal Empire, but was unable to find a satisfactory interpretation. Upon hearing of his troubles his father, Prince Bahadur Shah asked Lal if he could put together a interpretation for the emperor. The interpretation was provided and it greatly pleased the emperor to such delight. However, when he noticed the name was that of a Hindu, the emperor said that a man who carries such great wisdom of the Quran cannot be of Hindu faith, so he should accept Islam. Upon hearing of this, Prince Bahadur Shah immediately summoned an imperial horse and asked a close friend, Ghyaz Uddin, to help escort his teacher to safety. Immediately, Bhai Nand Lal was forced to flee to Anandpur Sahib, the only place in the entire Mughal Empire that was out of the tyrant emperor's reach. They rode there overnight, and appeared before Guru Gobind Singh, who stayed in the town until 1704.