I just finished the hardest chapter of the Suraj Prakash I've ever done for [Podcast](www.surajpodcast.com), taking me about three days. The master Poet Santokh Singh, incredibly describes the scene of Guru Gobind Singh roaming through the Nahan region looking for the perfect spot to set up their residence. Describing over 30 different trees alone, the chapter includes details of the birds and animals along with a stunning depiction of the Yamuna river. Some of these verses were so poetically dense and difficult that Bhai Vir Singh in his publication included his father's handwritten notes (see image below). Vir Singh describes his father, Dr. Charan Singh, as a highly and widely acknowledged Pandit (scholar) of Suraj Prakash, who taught countless of householder and renunciate scholars the text. Unfortunately the area around Yamuna river is not as vibrant and lush today as it once was, with the construction of dams that have restricted the flow of the river around Paonta Sahib. However when Vir Singh was writing his publication in the 1930s, he specifically wrote a footnote on how stunning the area was: "This location truly is incredibly beautiful and captivating, here the flow of the Yamuna river flows from above, clashing against the Shivalak hills it turns downward, it is exceptionally lovely. The colour of the water also looks so extraordinary in the winter, so blue, with the banks being so high. It would be great if the Khalsa would increase festivities here, it is such a beautiful place." (ਇਹ ਟਿਕਾਣਾ ਸੱਚਮੁਚ ਬੜਾ ਸੁਹਣਾ ਤੇ ਰਮਣੀਕ ਹੈ, ਜਮਨਾ ਦਾ ਪ੍ਰਵਾਹ ਏਥੇ ਉਪਰੋਂ ਆਉਂਦਾ ਸ਼ਿਵਾਲਕ ਨਾਲ ਟੱਕਰ ਖਾਕੇ ਹੇਠ ਨੂੰ ਮੁੜਦਾ ਡਾਢਾ ਖੂਬਸੂਰਤ ਲਗਦਾ ਹੈ । ਜਲ ਦਾ ਰੰਗ ਭੀ ਸਿਆਲੇ ਵਿਚ ਅਜੀਬ ਨੀਲਾ ਨੀਲਾ ਹੁੰਦਾ ਹੈ, ਕਿਨਾਰਾ ਉਚਾ ਹੈ । ਕਦੇ ਖਾਲਸਾ ਏਥੇ ਰੌਣਕ ਵਧਾਵੇ ਤਾਂ ਚੰਗਾ ਹੋਵੇ, ਬੜਾ ਸੁਹਣਾ ਥਾਉਂ ਹੈ ) See footnote for Rut 1, Chapter 46, verse 11. ![[dr charan singh translation.jpg]] Note regarding Dr Charan Singh's handwritten note above, this svaiyya meter was used twice by Santokh Singh. In the above we see it appearing earlier in his Rāsi 11, Chapter 49, verse 19, depicting the beautiful flowers and citron trees at the foothills of the Himalayas.