Punjabi literature, specifically literary works written in the Punjabi language, is characteristic of the historical Punjab of present-day Pakistan and India and the Punjabi diaspora. The Punjabi language is written in several scripts, of which the Shahmukhi and Gurmukhī scripts are the most commonly used in Western Punjab and Eastern Punjab, respectively.
History
Periodisation Punjabi itself is divided into four stages of development by Padam (1954) and Bhardwaj (2016):
First phase (1000–1400 CE) - with surviving works authored by Addahmāṇ (Abdul Rahman) and other works attributed to Fariduddin Ganjshakar (however the attribution is disputed and Ganjshakar's claimed works in the Sikh scripture may date to a later period by a different author named Farid Sani/Ibrahim Farid) Second phase (1400–1700 CE) - with surviving works authored by Farid Sani/Ibrahim Farid and the Sikh gurus Third phase (1700–1850 CE) Fourth phase (1850 CE to present)
Early history
The earliest writings in Punjabi belong to the Nath Yogi era from the 9th to the 14th centuries. According to Gurinder Singh Mann et al, these earliest Nath writers consisted of the likes of Gorakh Nath and Charpat Nath.An Introduction to Punjabi: Grammar, Conversation and Literature (Patiala: Punjabi University, 2011) by Gurinder Singh Mann, Gurdit Singh, Ami P. Shah, Gibb Schreffler, and Anne Murphy. p. viii. They referred to God with various names such as "Alakh Nirajan" which are still prevalent in Punjabi vernacular. According to Master Tara Singh, the Punjabi poetry authored by Baba Farid, Guru Nanak, and Bhai Gurdas was already at a high-level where subtle ideas could be expressed through a medium of a literary language, therefore Punjabi must have evolved centuries before then, perhaps in the 9th or 10th centuries. In addition to Nath literature, there is indirect evidence of Punjabi bardic literature from this period, although none has been uncovered or preserved. The names of some Punjabi bards who survive in references are Jodha and Vira, Lalla and Behlima, Mahima and Hasana, Rana Kailash and Maldeo, Sikandar and Birham, Tunda and Asraja. The Naths and bards were likely mostly oral traditions rather than literary. Their script was likely Sharada or Nagari. Other claimed authors of this early stage include Puran Bhagat and Shah Shams Sabzvari.
An example of surviving work of an early-stage showcasing Old Punjabi emerging from Apabhraṃśa is a doha couplet dated to 760 by Saraha, a Vajrayana Mahasiddha saint, which is as follows:
Another early work in a northwestern Apabhramsha precursory to Punjabi and Sindhi is the Sandeśarāsaka by Addahamāṇa (Apabhraṃśa form of the name Abdur Rahman).सन्देशरासक (Sandeś Rāsak) : संस्कृत-टिप्पनक-अवचूरिकादिसमेत अपभ्रंश मूलग्रन्थ तथा आंग्लभाषानुवाद-विस्तृत प्रस्तावना-टिप्पणी-शब्दकोषादि समन्वित अब्दुल रहमान-कृत; संपादक, जिनविजय मुनि (Editor: Jinavijaya Muni), तथा हरि वल्लभ भायाणी, सिंघी जैन ग्रन्थमाला (Singhi Jain Granthamala), भारतीय विद्या भवन (Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan), 1945हिन्दी साहित्य में रासो काव्य परम्परा, सन्देश रासक, Ajay KumarSandesh Rasak, Hazari Prasad Dwiwedi, Rajkamal Prakashan Pvt Ltd, 2003, p. 12-13 (Google Books.)Panjab Past and Present, Volume 29, Part 1, Issue 57 – Part 2, Issue 58, Punjabi University. Dept. of Punjab Historical Studies, 1995 p. 56 It is popularly asserted as being written in the 11th century, although it has been dated variously from the 12th to 13th centuries by other scholars.Roberts, John T. (translator). 1999. "The Message" - A Tale in Song. Addahamana's Sandesa Rasaka (12th Century AD). Charlottesville, VA: Papercraft Printing.
Medieval period
The Punjabi Sufis who wrote in Punjabi rather than Persian were Shaikh Farid (1175–1266), Shaikh Sharaf (c. 1271–1332), Shah Hussain (1539–1599), Bulleh Shah (1680–1758), and Waris Shah (1735–1784). The Punjabi literary tradition is popularly seen to commence with Baba Farid (1173–1266), whose Sufi poetry was compiled after his death in the Adi Granth. However, the author of the Farid verses found within the Guru Granth Sahib is disputed, with some scholars attributing the verses to a later writer named Ibrahim Farid. Amir Khusrau (1253 – 1325), a prominent Indo-Persian poet, is also known to have written a vaar in the Punjabi language. Punjabi literature saw further development between the 15th–16th centuries. Roughly from the 12th century to the 19th century, Punjabi Sufi poetry developed under Shah Hussain (1538–1599), Sultan Bahu (1628–1691), Shah Sharaf (1640–1724), Ali Haider Multani (1690–1785), Bulleh Shah (1680–1757), Saleh Muhammad Safoori (1747–1826), Mian Muhammad Baksh (1830–1907) and Khwaja Ghulam Farid (1845–1901). In contrast to Persian poets, who had preferred the ghazal for poetic expression, Punjabi Sufi poets tended to compose in the Kafi. Another literary genre developed by the Sufis was siharfi. The Farid verses found within the Sikh scriptures may have been written by a Punjabi Sufi named Farid Sani (1450–1552/1554). Perso-Arabic script became used for writing Punjabi by the early 17th century, which was later standardised as Shahmukhi.
Punjabi literature also developed under the Sikh gurus and later Sikh authors. They wrote mostly using Gurmukhi script from the early 16th century onwards. Guru Nanak was one of the first major Punjabi poets. Guru Nanak himself composed Punjabi verse incorporating vocabulary from Sanskrit, Arabic, Persian, and other South Asian languages as characteristic of the Gurbani tradition. Under the Sikhs, early Punjabi prose literature evolved with the janamsakhi, sakhi, parchai, and goshti genres. Examples of early prose works include the Ekadashi Mahatam and the Puratan Janamsakhi. The Janamsakhis, stories on the life and legend of Guru Nanak (1469–1539), are early examples of Punjabi prose literature. Chandar Bhan Brahman was a major 16th century Punjabi and Persian poet and prose writer. In 1588/1589, a Muslim scholar Abdī Kodhan wrote a treatise on Islam in Punjabi under the title of rīsālā e mēhndī to be taught in Nizamiyya madrasas. Another important prose writer from the 16th century was Abdullah Lahori, who wrote Bāra Anva. The Vars of Bhai Gurdas employ the Punjabi language in a series of stanzas, known as pauṛīs. In the early 17th century, Guru Arjan collected various works and compiled the Ād Granth. Other Sikh writers include Bhai Mani Singh and Sewa Singh. In around 1650, Jasoda Nandan wrote a Ramayana episode called Lava Kush Dia Pauria.
In the 18th and early 19th centuries, oral traditions, folklore, and ballads by bards were recorded in writing as romance tales, such as Raja Rasalu, Puran Bhagat, Heer-Ranjha, Mirza-Sahiba, Sohni-Mahiwal, Sassi-Pannu, and Yusuf-Zulaikha. Punjabi Sufi poetry also influenced other Punjabi literary traditions particularly the Punjabi Qissa, a genre of romantic tragedy which also derived inspiration from Indic, Persian and Quranic sources. The Qissa of Heer Ranjha by Waris Shah (1706–1798) is among the most popular of Punjabi qisse. Other popular stories include Sohni Mahiwal by Fazal Shah, Mirza Sahiba by Hafiz Barkhudar (1658–1707), Sassi Punnun by Hashim Shah (1735?–1843?), and Qissa Puran Bhagat by Qadaryar (1802–1892).
Heroic ballads known as Vaar enjoy a rich oral tradition in Punjabi. Prominent examples of heroic or epic poetry include Guru Gobind Singh's Chandi di Var (1666–1708), Najabat's semi-historical Nadir Shah Di Vaar describing the invasion of India by Nadir Shah in 1739, Agra Sethi's account on the martyrdom of Haqiqat Rai, and the Chatthian di Vaar describing the struggle between the Chatthas and the Sukerchakia Misl. The Jangnama, or 'War Chronicle,' was introduced into Punjabi literature during the Mughal period; the Punjabi Jangnama of Shah Mohammad (1780–1862) recounts the First Anglo-Sikh War of 1845–46. Another popular Jangnama was authored by Hamid Shah in the 18th century.
Sikh literature is more comparable to the literary traditions of other religions of the subcontinent, rather than being analogous to Punjabi literature, which is a regional-language literary tradition. Although usually employing Gurmukhi script, the corpus of Sikh texts utilize various languages aside from Punjabi proper, namely belonging to New Indo-Aryan, such as Saraiki, Khariboli, and Braj. Thus, the situation for Sikh literature is comparable to the literary tradition of the subcontinental Ismailis. Non-religious works were authored by Isar Das, Kisen Singh Arif, Hidayatullah, and Muhammad Boota.
Colonial period
With the onset of colonial rule, Urdu was adopted in the province for administrative and educational purposes. Urdu became favoured by the Muslims while Hindi was supported by Hindus. The introduction of the printing-press to the Punjab by the colonial-administration was to suppress the Punjabi language written in Gurmukhi script, which was seen as being associated with the Sikhs. Thus, printing in Urdu in Perso-Arabic script became favoured by the colonial government.Deol, Amrit. (2022). Echoes of protest: The role of art and literature in the Farmers and Laborers Protest. Sikh Formations, 18(1–2), 225–230. https://doi.org/10.1080/17448727.2022.2082197. Quote: "during the British colonial period, printing presses were brought to Punjab to: (1) promote the use of the British-supported Urdu language in the Indo-Persian script, and (2) to suppress the use of Punjabi-Gurmukhi which was considered to be too closely associated with the Sikh identity." The first Punjabi printing press (using Gurmukhi font) was established through a Christian mission at Ludhiana in 1835, and the first Punjabi dictionary was published by Reverend J. Newton in 1854. At some educational institutions, such as the University of the Punjab, Lahore, Punjabi was offered as a field of study.
The British colonial-administration produced quarterly catalogue reports of the books officially registered and published in Punjab, under Act XXV of 1867 and Act X of 1890. The Victorian novel, Elizabethan drama, free verse and Modernism entered Punjabi literature through the introduction of British education during the Raj. From the 1890s, the development of a Modern Standard Punjabi started occurring, with it arising in around 1900. It was promoted and utilized by Sikh reformers and authors, later becoming the standard form of Punjabi used in Punjab, India after independence.