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Sikh scriptures

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Part of a series on
Sikh scriptures
From a 17th-century copy of the Guru Granth Sahib
Guru Granth Sahib
Dasam Granth
Sarbloh Granth
Varan Bhai Gurdas

Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji

The principal Sikh scripture is the Adi Granth (First Scripture), more commonly called the Guru Granth Sahib. The Sikhs do not regard this as their "holy book" but as their perpetual and current "guru", guide or master. It was called Adi Granth until Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth and final guru in human form, conferred on it the title of the guru in 1708, after which it was called Sri Guru Granth Sahib, or Guru Granth Sahib for short. The Granth has 1430 pages and is divided into 39 chapters. All copies are exactly alike. The Sikhs are forbidden from making any changes to the text within this scripture.

The Guru Granth Sahib was compiled by Guru Arjan Dev, the fifth guru of the Sikhs. The work of compilation was started in 1601 and finished in 1604. The Granth, called "Pothi Sahib" by Guru Arjan, was installed at Harmandir Sahib (House of God) with much celebration.

Languages

The following languages are found in this Granth:

The first published translation of the Guru Granth Sahib into Sindhi was done in 1959 by Jethanand B. Lalwani of Bharat Jivan Publications. He used his entire personal savings and produced 500 copies. Lalwani later took out loans to make a reprint in 1963.

Dasam Granth

Main article: Dasam Granth

This is regarded as the second holiest book of the Sikhs and is called the Dasam Granth – the book of the tenth guru. The Granth was compiled three years after the guru's death and it was Mata Sundri, the widow of the guru, who asked Bhai Mani Singh, a contemporary of the guru, to collect all the hymns composed by the guru and prepare a Granth of the Guru. It was completed in 1711. In its present form it contains 1428 pages and 16 chapters as listed below:

  • Jaap (meditation)
  • Bichitra Natak (autobiography of the Guru)
  • Akal Ustat (praises of God)
  • Chandi Charitar I & II (the character of goddess Chandi)
  • Chandi di Var (a ballad to describe goddess Durga)
  • Gian Prabodh (the awakening of knowledge)
  • Chaubis Avtar (24 incarnations of Vishnu ordered by Supreme God)
  • Brahm Avtar (incarnation of Brahma)
  • Rudar Avtar (incarnation of Shiva)
  • Shabad Hazare (ten shabads)
  • Swayyae (33 stanzas)
  • Khalsa Mehma (the praises of the Khalsa)
  • Shaster Nam Mala (a list of weapons)
  • Triya Charitar (the character of women)
  • Zafarnamah (epistle of victory, a letter written to Emperor Aurangzeb)
  • Hikayats (stories)

The following are the main banis regularly recited by Sikhs:

  1. Jaap Sahib
  2. Benti Chaupai
  3. Amrit Savaiye

The languages used in the Granth are:

Bhai Gurdas Varan

Varan Bhai Gurdas is the name given to the 40 varan (chapters) of writing by Bhai Gurdas ji. They have been referred to as the "Key to the Sri Guru Granth Sahib" by Guru Arjan Dev, the fifth Sikh guru. He was the first scribe of Guru Granth Sahib and a scholar of great repute.[according to whom?] From his work, it is clear[according to whom?] that he had mastery of various Indian languages and had studied many ancient Indian religious scriptures.

Other scriptures

Digitization of scriptures

Panjab Digital Library in collaboration with the Nanakshahi Trust took up digitization of Sikh scriptures in 2003. Thousands of manuscripts have been digitized and are available online at Panjab Digital Library.

References


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