ÿþ<HTML><HEAD><TITLE>POTH&#298</TITLE> <style type="text/css"> .BODY { background-color: #EAF1F7; background-image: url('images/gtbh.jpg'); background-repeat: no-repeat; background-attachment: fixed; background-position: center; color: #0066CC;} .C1{text-align: justify;color: #0066CC;FONT-size: SMALL;FONT-family: Tahoma;} .BIB{text-align: center;color: #000099;FONT-size: SMALL;FONT-family: Tahoma;} .CONT{text-align: right;color: #FF0000;FONT-size: SMALL;FONT-family: Tahoma;} </style><META NAME="keywords" CONTENT="POTH*"> <META http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"></HEAD> <BODY class="BODY" oncontextmenu="return false" ondragstart="return false" onselectstart="return false"> <FONT ALIGN="JUSTIFY" FACE="Tahoma"> <p class="C1">&#65279POTH&#298, popular Punjabi form of the Sanskrit <i>pustaka</i> (book), derived from the root <i>pust</i> (to bind) via the P&#257l&#299 <i>potthaka</i> and Prakrit <i>puttha</i>. Besides Punjabi, the word <i>poth&#299</i> meaning a book is current in Maithil&#299, Bhojpur&#299 and Mar&#257&#7789h&#299 languages as well-Among the Sikhs, however, <i>poth&#299</i> signifies a sacred book, especially one containing <i>gurb&#257&#7751&#299</i> or scriptural texts and of a moderate size, generally larger than a <i>gu&#7789k&#257</i> but smaller than the &#256di Granth, although the word is used even for the latter in the index of the original recension prepared by Gur&#363 Arjan and preserved at Kart&#257rpur, near Jalandhar. In <i>Pur&#257tan Janam S&#257kh&#299</i>, the earliest known life story of Gur&#363 N&#257nak, the book of hymns which he gave to his successor, Gur&#363 A&#7749gad, is called <i>poth&#299</i>. Gur&#363 Arjan, N&#257nak V, probally alluding to the &#256di Granth pronounces <i>poth&#299</i> to be "the abode of God" for it contains "complete knowledge of God" (GG,1226). At several places in the Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib, <i>Poth&#299</i> refers to sacred books of the Hindus as distinguished from those of the Muslims for which the words used are <i>kateb</i> and <i>Qur'&#257n</i>.</p> </ol><p class="CONT">Balb&#299r Si&#7749gh Nand&#257<br></p><BR> </font><img src="counter.aspx" width="1px" height="1px" alt=""></HTML></BODY>