The Guru Granth Sahib (; ), is the central religious text of Sikhism, considered by Sikhs to be the final sovereign Guru of the religion. It contains 1430 Angs (limbs, referring to pages of the scripture), containing 5,894 hymns of 36 saint mystics which includes Sikh gurus (6 gurus, possibly as many as 7 or 8Singh, Pashaura. "Fearlessness and human justice: Exploring Guru Tegh Bahadur’s teachings and sacrifice from a fresh perspective." Sikh Formations 17.4 (2021): 409-434.), Bhagats (15 bhagats), Bhatts (11 bhatts) and Gursikhs (4 gursikhs). It is notable among foundational religious scriptures for including hymns from writers of other religions, namely Hindus and Muslims. The scripture also contains compositions by authors of varying caste-backgrounds, including Shudras and untouchables. It also contains teachings of the Sikh gurus themselves.

Categorization of authors Scholars categorize the authors of the Guru Granth Sahib into four groups: Sikh Gurus Bhagats Bhatts Gursikhs

Sikh gurus

Philosophically, Sikhs are bound to believe in Shabad Guru — the words written in the Guru Granth Sahib — but the general belief is that the Sikh gurus established Sikhism over the centuries, beginning in the year 1469. The hymns of six Sikh Gurus are in the Guru Granth Sahib:

Whilst these six gurus are widely accepted as having their writings included in the Guru Granth Sahib, there are some who argue compositions of Guru Har Rai and Guru Gobind Singh are also included. A Salok Mahalla Satvan (7) and Dohra Mahalla Dasvan (10) have been attributed by some to the seventh and tenth gurus, respectively. Bhagats In the below list, the Bhagats (, from Sanskrit भक्त) were holy men of various sects whose teachings are included in the Guru Granth Sahib. Their bani (compositions) come under the title Bani Bhagtaan Ki. The word "Bhagat" means devotee, and comes from the Sanskrit word Bhakti, which means devotion and love. Bhagats evolved a belief in one God that preceded Kabir's selecting the writings of the great Hindu Bhaktis and Sufi saints. According to Surinder Singh Jodhka, Farid and Bhikan were Muslim Sufis.

The 15 Bhagat authors were:

Bhatts Many Hindu Saraswat Brahmins who started to follow the word of Guru Nanak were known as Bhatts, meaning bards. The 11 Bhatt authors were:

Gursikhs The four Gursikhs (devoted Sikhs) were: Bhai Sundar Bhai Mardana Bhai Satta Doom Bhai Balwand Rai

Individuals and their contributions +Background Details and No. of Hymns Name Timeline No. of HymnsGurus Guru Nanak 15th Century 974 Guru Angad 16th Century 62 Guru Amar Das 16th Century 907 Guru Ram Das 16th Century 679 Guru Arjan 16th Century 2218 Guru Tegh Bahadur 17th Century 116Bhagats Bhagat Jaidev 13th Century 2 Bhagat Farid 13th Century 134 Bhagat Ramanand 14th Century 1 Bhagat Namdev 14th Century 62 Bhagat Trilochan 14th Century 5 Bhagat Parmanand 14th Century 1 Bhagat Dhanna 14th Century 4 Bhagat Bhikhan 14th Century 2 Bhagat Beni 14th Century 3 Bhagat Pipa 14th Century 1 Bhagat Sain 14th Century 1 Bhagat Surdas 14th Century 2 Bhagat Sadhana 14th Century 1 Bhagat Ravidas 15th Century 41 Bhagat Kabir 15th Century 541 Bhatts Bhatt Kalshar 15th Century 54 Bhatt Balh 15th Century 5 Bhatt Bhalh 15th Century 1 Bhatt Bhika 15th Century 2 Bhatt Gayand 15th Century 13 Bhatt Harbans 15th Century 2 Bhatt Jalap 15th Century 5 Bhatt Kirat 15th Century 8 Bhatt Mathura 15th Century 14 Bhatt Nalh 15th Century 16 Bhatt Salh 15th Century 3GursikhsBhai Mardana15th century2Baba Sundar15th Century6Satta Doom15th Century1 varBalvand Rai15th Century1 var Controversial authors

Farid It is uncertain if the verses attributed to Farid in the Sikh scripture refers to Fariduddin Ganjshakar (1173–1266). According to Bhardwaj (2016), the language of the verses more closely resembles a later stage of Punjabi, leading credence to the theory that these verses were originally authored by the 11th successor of Farid's spiritual lineage named Ibrahim Farid (also known as Farid Sani, "Farid the Second"), who died in Sirhind in 1552 and had disciples spread across Punjab and Delhi. According to this alternative view, Guru Nanak lived during the period of this Farid and perhaps procured the verses which were originally authored by Ibrahim Farid during a meeting between the two. Another theory is that the verses found in the Guru Granth Sahib attributed to Farid are ultimately originally traceable to Fariduddin Ganjshakar but that successive generations of his spiritual lineage altered the language of the verses to keep them understandable to the common population owing to linguistic evolution and change across generations.

According to Hanif (2000), reviewing arguments made by previous scholars regarding the identity of the author of the Farid verses, the terminology of the verses, their language, idioms, expressions, utilised pen-names (with Ganjshakar employing the pen-name Masud rather than Farid), and apparent Vaishnavist, Vedantic, and Bhakti influences support them being authored by the later Farid rather than the original. As per Bhardwaj (2016), the verses linguistically match with a later period of Punjabi than that of Farid Ganjshakar, which support a later date of compilation around the time of Ibrahim Farid.

Mardana and Tall Two more writers of the present recension of the Adi Granth are a matter of debate among scholars, namely Bhai Mardana and Bhatt Tall.

According to different scholars: Two hymns under the title Mardana 1Page 553, Adi Granth, Translation of Sant Singh Khalsa are said to be compositions of Bhai Mardana; however, others refute this claim, because the pen name Nanak is used inside the hymn,ਇਸ ਸਲੋਕ ਮੈਂ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਗੁਰੂ ਜੀ ਮਰਦਾਨੇ ਕੇ ਪੂਛਨੇ ਸੇ ਤਿਸ ਕੇ ਪ੍ਰਤਿ ਗੁਰਮੁਖਤਾ ਅਰੁ ਮਨਮੁਖਤਾ ਕੀ ਮਦਰਾ ਕਾ ਰੂਪੁ ਬਰਨਨ ਕਰਤੇ ਹੈਂ ਔਰੁ ਦੋ ਪਰਕਾਰ ਕੀ ਮਦਿਰਾ ਮਨਮੁਖੋਂ ਕੀ ਔਰੁ ਗੁਰਮੁਖੋਂ ਕੀ ਕਹੀ ਹੈ॥ ਪ੍ਰਥਮ ਮਨਮੁਖੋਂ ਕੀ ਮਦਿਰਾ ਕਹਤੇ ਹੈਂ॥: Fareedkoti Teeka, Adi Granth and because Mardana is a type of shalok. Similarly, there is a Swaiya (poetical metre) under the name of Bhatt Tall,ਟਲ' ਜੀ ਕਹਤੇ ਹੈਂ ਹੇ ਭਾਈ ਐਸੇ ਸਤਿਗੁਰੋਂ ਕੋ ਸਹਜ ਸੁਭਾਵਕ ਨਿਰੰਤਰ ਹੀ ਸੇਵੀਐ ਹੇ ਭਾਈ ਸਤਿਗੁਰੋਂ ਕੇ ਦਰਸਨ ਕਰਨੇ ਤੇ ਜਨਮ ਮਰਨ ਦੁਖ ਜਾਤਾ ਰਹਿਤਾ ਹੈ॥੧੦॥: Page 1392, Teeka Fareedkoti, Adi Granth which according to some scholars is a Gurmukhi copyist's error for Kal i.e. Bhatt Kalshar.Page 1392: ਟਲ = ਹੇ ਟੱਲ! ਹੇ ਕਲ੍ਯ੍ਯ! ਹੇ ਕਲ੍ਯ੍ਯਸਹਾਰ!: Teeka by Professor Sahib Singh, Adi Granth

Sri Chand According to a sakhi, when Guru Arjan had finished composing sixteen astpadis (cantos) of the Gauri Sukhmani composition, popularly known as Sukhmani Sahib, Sri Chand, the son of Guru Nanak, visited him. During this visit, it is said that Guru Arjan requested him to continue the composition he was compiling and complete the seventeenth canto of the Sukhmani Sahib. Sri Chand humbly recited the verse of his father following the Mul Mantar in the Japji Sahib. Thus, it became the seventeenth canto of the Sukhmani Sahib.

Writers whom were rejected by the guru Sikh tradition narrates that at-least four figures, namely Pilu, Kahna Bhagat, Chajju Bhagat, and Shah Husain, paid a visit to Guru Arjan in Amritsar when they learnt he was compiling the Ād Granth to suggest their compilations be included. Guru Arjan contemplated but ultimately decided to reject the idea of including their works in the Sikh scripture as they were not in-line with Sikh tenets as per the guru's analysis and judgement. Their works were rejected due to them having a pessimistic approach and promoting worldly renunciation/denunciation and escapism. As per Kavi Santokh Singh's Suraj Prakash, the version narrated only mentions Kahna, Pilu, and Shah Hussain. Pilu's verses were rejected for being misogynistic and promoting celibacy over the life of a householder, while Kahna's verses were philosophically correct but would lead to egotism in kaliyuga. Shah Hussain, seeing the other two rejected, instead wrote a verse about the virtues of remaining silent.

See also

Bhat Vahis

Notes

References