Anandpur Lipi

Anandpur Lipi
*Anandpuri Lipi*
ਆਨੰਦਪੁਰ ਲਿਪੀ
Anandpur Lipi; Anandpuri Lipi; ਆਨੰਦਪੁਰ ਲਿਪੀ
	Detailed example of calligraphic Gurmukhi (Anandpur Lipi) in the hand of Guru Gobind Singh, from a manuscript held in the Bhai Rupa Collection
Script type	Abugida
Time period	1670's–Unknown
Languages	Sant Bhasha;
Related scripts
Parent systems	Egyptian Proto-Sinaitic Phoenician Aramaic Brahmi script Gupta Sharada Landa Gurmukhi Anandpur Lipi; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;
	This article contains phonetic transcriptions in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA. For the distinction between [ ], / / and ⟨ ⟩, see IPA § Brackets and transcription delimiters.

Anandpur Lipi (Punjabi: ਆਨੰਦਪੁਰ ਲਿਪੀ; also known as Anandpuri Lipi or Shehkasteh) is a calligraphic (Punjabi: Shikasta^[1]^[2]^{[note 1]}) style of the Gurmukhi script associated with Guru Gobind Singh.^[3] It is commonly found among early manuscripts of the Dasam Granth scripture as the employed script.^[4]^: 242

Features

The font is characterized by "long flowing animated strokes".^[5]

History

Origin

According to Sikhologist Gurinder Singh Mann, Anandpur Lipi first appears in the decade of the 1670's, developing further in the following three decades after.^[6] Surviving examples of the font can be found on copper plates and scriptural manuscripts from the time-period.^[6] The script was used in Hukamnama edicts, Khas Patra ('important pages') found within historical Dasam Granth manuscripts, and on the inscribed copper plate gifted to the Naina Devi temple by the tenth guru.^[2]^[7]^: 182 In early Dasam Granth manuscripts, the calligraphic font is employed alongside regular, non-calligraphic Gurmukhi writing.^[4]^: 242 The development of its physical appearance may have been influenced by Persian.^[5]

Decline

After Guru Gobind Singh, the style of writing was not continued by his wives or his followers who survived him.^[2]

Decipherment

In 1963, the late Sikh scholar Manohar Singh Marco rediscovered a historical Sikh scripture, which came to be known as the Anandpuri Bir.^[5] The manuscript was rediscovered in a highly-decayed condition in the home of Pandit Om Prakash in Anandpur Sahib.^[5] It was found lying amid other historical, handwritten texts.^[5] The manuscript was written in the calligraphic Anandpur Lipi font.^[5] Marco would later devise a key to decipher the glyphs of the calligraphic font and match each glyph to their modern-Gurmukhi counterpart.^[5] He accomplished this by separating each glyph individually.^[5] A pamphlet was published by the Delhi Gurdware Parbandak Committee to inform the Sikh congregation about the discovering of the manuscript and its deciphering.^[5] The manuscript used to decipher the script has since been conserved, restored, microfilmed, and digitized.^[5]

Notes

^ Alternatively transcribed as "shiksata".

References

^ "Styles of Gurumukhi script". Central Institute of Indian Languages.
^ ^a ^b ^c Singh, Kamalroop (2024). "Does this mean that Guru Gobind Singh was a worshipper of Chandi?: Invocations and nom de plume". Das Gur Kathā: 'A Narration of the Ten Gurus' by Kavi Kankan (PDF). p. 117.
^ "The Sikh Review". The Sikh Review. 58 (673–678). Sikh Cultural Centre: 36–38. 2010.
^ ^a ^b Mann, Gurinder Singh (2008). "Sources for the Study of Guru Gobind Singh's Life and Times" (PDF). Journal of Punjab Studies. 15 (1–2) – via Global Institute for Sikh Studies.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j Singh, Jasprit (10 October 2011). "To Give Our Past a Future". The Sikh Foundation International. Archived from the original on 10 May 2017.
^ ^a ^b Mann, Gurinder Singh (2008). "Sources for the Study of Guru Gobind Singh's Life and Times" (PDF). Journal of Punjab Studies. 15 (1–2): 240–242 – via Global Institute for Sikh Studies.
^ Fenech, Louis E.; McLeod, W. H. (2014). Historical Dictionary of Sikhism (3rd ed.). Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 9781442236011.