Writers of the Guru Granth Sahib

Guru Granth Sahib (Punjabi: ਗੁਰੂ ਗਰੰਥ ਸਾਹਿਬ; [ɡʊɾuː ɡɾəntʰᵊ saːhɪbᵊ]), is the central religious text of Sikhism, considered by Sikhs to be the final sovereign Guru of the religion. It contains 1430 Angs (limbs), containing 5,894 hymns of 36 saint mystics which includes Sikh guru sahiban (6 gurus), 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. It also contains teachings of Sikh gurus themselves and was written by Bhai Gurdas Ji (first version) and by Bhai Mani Singh Ji (second version).

Categorization of authors

Scholars categorize the authors of the Guru Granth Sahib into four groups:

1. Sikh Gurus
2. Bhagats
3. Bhatts
4. Gursikhs

Sikh gurus

Main article: Sikh gurus

Philosophically, Sikhs are bound to believe in Shabad Guru — the words written in the Guru Granth Sāhib — 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:

• Guru Nanak
• Guru Angad
• Guru Amar Das
• Guru Ram Das
• Guru Arjan
• Guru Tegh Bahadur

Bhagats

In the above list, the Bhagats (Punjabi: ਭਗਤ, from Sanskrit भक्त) were holy men of various sects whose teachings are included in the Sri Guru Granth Sahib ji. Their bani 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.

The 15 Bhagat authors were:

• Bhagat Kabir
• Bhagat Ravidas
• Bhagat Farid
• Bhagat Ramanand
• Bhagat Beni
• Bhagat Namdev
• Bhagat Sadhana
• Bhagat Bhikhan
• Bhagat Parmanand
• Bhagat Sain
• Bhagat Dhanna
• Bhagat Pipa
• Bhagat Surdas
• Bhagat Jaidev
• Bhagat Trilochan

Bhatts

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

• Bhatt Kalshar
• Bhatt Balh
• Bhatt Bhalh
• Bhatt Bhika
• Bhatt Gayand
• Bhatt Harbans
• Bhatt Jalap
• Bhatt Kirat
• Bhatt Mathura
• Bhatt Nalh
• Bhatt Salh

Individuals and their contributions

Background Details and No. of Hymns

Name	Timeline	No. of Hymns
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	116
Guru Gobind Singh	17th Century	1
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
Baba Sundar	15th Century	6
Satta and Balvand	15th Century	1 var
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	3

Controversial authors:Mardana and Tall

Two more writers of the present recension of 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 1 are said to be compositions of Bhai Mardana; however, others refute this claim, because the pen name Nanak is used inside the hymn, and because Mardana is a type of shalok.
• Similarly, there is a Swaiya under the name of Bhatt Tall, which according to some scholars is a Gurmukhi copyist's error for Kal i.e. Bhatt Kalshar.