Bhai Banno

Bhai Banno (30 April 1558 – January 1645) was a Sikh figure who is remembered for being a devoted follower of the fifth Sikh guru, Guru Arjan. He was also a contemporary of Guru Hargobind. He is remembered for preparing a copy and possible variant recension of the Ād Granth.

Early life and association with Sikhism Banno was born on 30 April 1558 and lived in Mangat village (originally called Khara, later Khara-Mangat) in the Gujrat District of Punjab. He was the son of Bishan Chand Bhatia. Said to have a religious inclination, he became a Sikh and helped with the construction of the Golden Temple in Amritsar. He visited Guru Arjan and was interested in the Ād Granth, whose original manuscript had been recently compiled by Guru Arjan.

Creation of a copy of the Ād Granth

According to Sikh lore, Banno asked the guru if he could take the manuscript to his village on loan, a request that the guru granted hesitantly as long as Banno only spent one-night in his village with the volume. Banno found a way to adhere to this condition but still have enough time to produce a copy by only travelling a small distance each day on his way to his village and back, which gave him enough time to produce an exact copy of the manuscript, which would come to be known as the Banno Bir. However, there is an alternative story that explains how Bhai Banno created a copy of the manuscript. According to this version, Bhai Banno was tasked with taking the original Ād Granth manuscript to Lahore to be bound and managed to produce his own copy of it while carrying out this task. Another narration claims that Bhanno, enroute to Lahore, first took the volume to his village to prepare a copy, then went to Lahore to get the original volume and the copy both bound, returning both to the guru afterwards, who permitted Bhanno to retain possession of the copy while the guru kept the original. Banno's copy came to be known as the Bhāī Banno Vālī Bīṛ or Khāre Vālī Bīṛ, as it was installed at his residence in his native village Khara-Mangat.

Bhai Banno recension A recension of the Guru Granth Sahib, known as the Bhai Banno Bir (also known as the Bhai Bhannowali Bir), was in circulation during the historical period. The composition of this recension is traced back to 1604 and attributed by Bhai Banno, a prominent follower of the Guru, who prepared an unauthorized copy of the composition of Guru Arjan when the Guru asked him to get the leaves bound together into a manuscript at Lahore.Clary, Randi Lynn. ‘Sikhing’a husband: Bridal imagery and gender in Sikh scripture. Rice University, 2003.Singh, Pashaura. "Recent Research and Debates in Adi Granth Studies." Religion Compass 2.6 (2008): 1004-1020.Zelliot, Eleanor. "The Medieval Bhakti Movement in History: An Essay on the Literature in English." Hinduism. Brill, 1982. 143-168.Singh, Pashaura. "Scriptural adaptation in the Adi granth." Journal of the American Academy of Religion 64.2 (1996): 337-357. Another view is that it was prepared in 1642 by a certain Banno of Khara Mangat (located in modern-day Gujrat district). This composition contains many extraneous, superfluous, and apocryphal writings, including sectarian Mina compositions and compositions of the female Bhakti saint, Mirabai.Clary, Randi Lynn. ‘Sikhing’a husband: Bridal imagery and gender in Sikh scripture. Rice University, 2003.Singh, Pashaura. "Recent Research and Debates in Adi Granth Studies." Religion Compass 2.6 (2008): 1004-1020.Zelliot, Eleanor. "The Medieval Bhakti Movement in History: An Essay on the Literature in English." Hinduism. Brill, 1982. 143-168.Singh, Pashaura. "Scriptural adaptation in the Adi granth." Journal of the American Academy of Religion 64.2 (1996): 337-357. Guru Gobind Singh would later publish the Damdami recension (also spelled as 'Damdama') of the Adi Granth with Bhai Mani Singh acting as the scribe. The reason for him doing so has been said to be the unauthorized recensions of the Adi Granth scattered throughout the community, especially the Banno recension, which contained unauthorized additions.

Bhai Banno is said to have made an exact copy of the original manuscript of the Ād Granth that had been compiled by Guru Arjan. However, Banno's copy (known as the Khari bir) contained extra works authored by Mirabai, Surdas, and Guru Arjan appended at the end, along with the work Hakikat rah mukam raje shivanabh ki, which were not found or included in the canonical edition finalized by Guru Arjan in 1604. Much of the early Sikh manuscripts of the Guru Granth Sahib that still survive are of the Banno recension, such as those kept at the India Office Library and British Museum. There is a debate regarding whether the Kartarpur Bir or Banno Bir is closer to the original Ād Granth manuscript.

Death and legacy Bhai Banno later conducted missionary work in northwestern Punjab, dying in January 1645. A namesake gurdwara in Bhai Banno's memory is located in Mangat, Mandi Bahauddin, Punjab, Pakistan. The gurdwara was constructed by Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Havelis for Banno's descendants were also constructed in the settlement. Furthermore, a jagir was bestowed upon the family.

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Bhai Banno

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