Writers of the Guru Granth Sahib

The Guru Granth Sahib (Punjabi: ਗੁਰੂ ਗ੍ਰੰਥ ਸਾਹਿਬ; [ɡʊɾuː ɡɾəntʰᵊ saːhɪbᵊ]), is the central religious text of Sikhism, considered by Sikhs to be the final sovereign Guru of the religion.^[1] It contains 1430 Angs (limbs, referring to pages of the scripture^[2]), containing 5,894^[3][4][5] hymns of 36 saint mystics which includes Sikh gurus (6 gurus, possibly as many as 7 or 8^[6][7][8][9]), Bhagats (15 bhagats), Bhatts (11 bhatts) and Gursikhs (4 gursikhs).^[10] It is notable among foundational religious scriptures for including hymns from writers of other religions, namely Hindus and Muslims. It also contains teachings of the Sikh gurus themselves.

Contributors of the scripture depicted with Guru Arjan, while Bhai Gurdas scribes the Adi Granth. Fresco from Gurdwara Baba Atal, Amritsar

Categorization of authors

Scholars categorize the authors of the Guru Granth Sahib into four groups:^[11][5]

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 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:^[5][10]

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

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.^[6][7][8][9] A Salok Mahalla Satvan (7) and Dohra Mahalla Dasvan (10) have been attributed by some to the seventh and tenth gurus, respectively.^[6][7][8][9]

Bhagats

In the below list, the Bhagats (Punjabi: ਭਗਤ, 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.

The 15 Bhagat authors were:^{[12][11][5][10]}

• 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 were known as Bhatts, meaning bards. The 11 Bhatt authors were:^[11][5][10]

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

Gursikhs

The four Gursikhs (devoted Sikhs) were:^{[11][13][5][10]}

• Bhai Sundar
• Bhai Mardana
• Bhai Satta Doom
• Bhai Balwand Rai

Individuals and their contributions

Background Details and No. of Hymns

Name	Timeline	No. of Hymns
Gurus
Guru Nanak	15th Century	974[14][5]
Guru Angad	16th Century	62[14][5]
Guru Amar Das	16th Century	907[14][5]
Guru Ram Das	16th Century	679[14][5]
Guru Arjan	16th Century	2218[14][5]
Guru Tegh Bahadur	17th Century	116[14][5]
Bhagats
Bhagat Jaidev	13th Century[4]	2[5]
Bhagat Farid	13th Century	134[3][note 1][note 2]
Bhagat Ramanand	14th Century	1[5]
Bhagat Namdev	14th Century	62[5]
Bhagat Trilochan	14th Century	5[5]
Bhagat Parmanand	14th Century	1[5]
Bhagat Dhanna	14th Century	4[5]
Bhagat Bhikhan	14th Century	2[5]
Bhagat Beni	14th Century	3[5]
Bhagat Pipa	14th Century	1[5]
Bhagat Sain	14th Century	1[5]
Bhagat Surdas	14th Century	2[5]
Bhagat Sadhana	14th Century	1[5]
Bhagat Ravidas	15th Century	41[5]
Bhagat Kabir	15th Century	541[14][5][note 3]
Bhatts
Bhatt Kalshar	15th Century	54[5]
Bhatt Balh	15th Century	[5]5
Bhatt Bhalh	15th Century	1[5]
Bhatt Bhika	15th Century	2[5]
Bhatt Gayand	15th Century	13[5]
Bhatt Harbans	15th Century	2[5]
Bhatt Jalap	15th Century	5[5]
Bhatt Kirat	15th Century	8[5]
Bhatt Mathura	15th Century	14[5]
Bhatt Nalh	15th Century	16[5]
Bhatt Salh	15th Century	3[5]
Gursikhs
Bhai Mardana	15th century	2[10]
Baba Sundar	15th Century	6[5]
Satta Doom	15th Century	1 var[4][5]
Balvand Rai	15th Century	1 var[4][5]

Controversial authors

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.^[10]

According to different scholars:

• Two hymns under the title Mardana 1^[17] are said to be compositions of Bhai Mardana; however, others refute this claim, because the pen name Nanak is used inside the hymn,^[18] and because Mardana is a type of shalok.
• Similarly, there is a Swaiya (poetical metre) under the name of Bhatt Tall,^[19] which according to some scholars is a Gurmukhi copyist's error for Kal i.e. Bhatt Kalshar.^[20]

Sri Chand

Mural from Gurdwara Ramsar Sahib of Sri Chand meeting Guru Arjan and Bhai Gurdas at Amritsar. Likely a depiction of the tale of him contributing a verse during the composition of the Sukhmani Sahib

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.^[21][22]

See also

• Bhat Vahis

Notes

1. including 130^[3][4][15] saloks, or short verses
2. Some of these may be by his successors, or by the Bhagat Farid of the 15th century, rather than Farid's own compositions.^[15]
3. 243^[3] of Kabir's hymns are saloks, or short verses.^[14] One hymn formerly believed to as that of Kabir was later attributed by Guru Arjan to Namdev.^[16]