Chritropakhyan of Dasam Granth

There is no such thing as wrong or right.

CHRITROPAKHYAN is a long composition comprising women`s tales in verse. It forms over one third of the entire Dasam Granth and is often misunderstood.

According to the date given in the last Chritra or narrative, this work was completed by Guru Gobind Singh Ji in 1696 AD on the bank of the River Sutlej at Anandpur Sahib. Guru Gobind Singh Ji was 30 years old at the time. The last tale in the series is numbered 405. The tales are designed to teach and they center on the theme of women`s deceits and wiles, though there are some which describe the heroic and virtuous deeds of both men and women.

Tale one is a long introductory composition. It opens with an invocation to Shakti (the feminine power) as embodied in weapons. Following this, a number of Hindu mythical characters appear and a terrific battle between the demons and the gods follows. Finally Chandi appears, riding on her tiger, and her enemies "fade away as stars before the rising sun." The introductory tale ends with a final prayer for help and forgiveness .

Tale number two tells how the wise adviser to Raja Chitra Singh related these various tales of the wiles of women in order to save his handsome son Hanuvant from the false accusations of one of the younger ranis. Some of these tales were taken from old Hindu books such as the Mahabharata, the Ramayana, the Puranas, the Hitopadesa, the Panchatantra, from Mughal family stories, from folktales of Rajputana and the Punjab, and even from ancient Hebrew lore.

The moral they aim at is that one should not become entangled in the intrigues of wily women by becoming a slave to lust, for trusting such women is dangerous. This does not mean that it is wrong to trust one`s own wife, or to trust evolved and spiritual women, but that it is fatal to lose this world and the next by becoming enamoured of lustful women and entrapped in their wiles.

The theme of most of the tales,is that there are many women who will stop at nothing to obtain their heart`s desire, and that many men are helpless in their clutches Also, conversely, that spiritually awakened women are the staunchest of allies, and think nothing of sacrificing their lives for their beloved.

In the Dasam Granth a title is given at the end of each tale. 32 of the total of 404 Tales are thus labelled "Tales of Intrigue." The remaining 372 Tales are labeled as "The Wiles of Women." However, while most of these are about lustful, deceitful women, there are also some 74 tales of the bravery and intelligence of women, such as Tale 102 where Ram Kaikeyi drives Raja Dasaratha into battle when his charioteer is killed; or Tale 137 where Draupadi rescues the unconscious Arjun and puts his enemies to flight. Men also come in for at least a small ... (more)