ÿþ<HTML><HEAD><TITLE>SR&#298 GUR&#362 GRANTH S&#256HIB </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="SR*,GURj,GRANTH,SHIB"> <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">&#65279SR&#298 GUR&#362 GRANTH S&#256HIB (Gur&#363=spiritual teacher; Granth = book or volume; S&#257hib, an honorific signifying master or lord) is the name by which the holy book of the Sikhs is commonly known. It is a voluminous anthology of the sacred verse by six of the ten Gur&#363s whose compositions it carries and of some of the contemporary saints and men of devotion. The book is treated by the followers as Word incarnate, the embodiment and presence manifest or the spirit of the ten historical Gur&#363s (Gur&#363 N&#257nak to Gur&#363 Gobind Si&#7749gh). The anthology was prepared by Gur&#363 Arjan (1563-1606), N&#257nak V. It was in the beginning referred to as <i>poth&#299, poth&#299 s&#257hib</i>, the revered book. It was treated with great veneration. The Gur&#363 himself described the <i>poth&#299</i> "as God's own repository" (GG, 1226). It was also called the Granth S&#257hib. The prefix "Gur&#363" came to be applied as Gur&#363 Gobind Si&#7749gh ended, before his passing, the line of personal Gur&#363s. "Granth S&#257hib" was designated as "Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib." The Gur&#363 had declared the Word to be the same as Gur&#363 (GG, 943). Gur&#363 Amar D&#257s, N&#257nak III, had announced that for the sake of liberation, contemplation of the Word was more efficacious than even the sight of the Gur&#363 (GG, 594). Over the years, the holy book has received the honours due to the living Gur&#363s. No Sikh assembly can properly speaking be so named unless the holy book be present in it. The holy volume in wraps or without wraps, which is but a rare occurrence, wherever located commands the reverence that was shown the living Gur&#363s. The Holy Book is the centre of all Sikh usage and ceremony.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib-- some of the variations on the title being &#256di Granth, Sr&#299 &#256di Granth or &#256di Sr&#299 Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib--- is today the living Gur&#363 for the Sikhs. The basic Word in the expressions listed is <i>granth</i> which means a book, S&#257hib and Sr&#299 being honorifics, <i>gur&#363</i> indicating its status as successor in the Gur&#363ship and <i>&#257di</i>, literally, original, first or primary, distinguishing it from the other sacred book of the Sikhs, the <i>Dasam Granth</i>, the book of the Tenth Master, which contains the compositions of the Tenth (Dasam) Gur&#363. A simpler form with a clear rural voice is Darb&#257r S&#257hib, the holy court. The contributors to the Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib came from a variety of class and creedal background--- there were among them Hindus as also Muslims, "low" castes as also "high" castes.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;There were as many different contributors as there were rhymes and rhythms. The entire text was cast in verse patterns of a wide variety. There were 31 different measures used. They were all set in <i>padas</i> (verses), <i>a&#7779&#7789pad&#299s</i> (8-stanza hymns) and <i>chhants</i> (lyrics usually of 4 stanzas each) and longer compositions such as <i>v&#257rs</i> in the order of the succession of the authors. In the 1430-page recension which is now the standard form and which carries the statutory approval of the Shiroma&#7751&#299 Gurdw&#257r&#257 Parbandhak Committee in the present-day Sikh complex the sequence of contents is : the liturgical part (1-13), Sir&#299 R&#257ga (14-93), M&#257jh (94-150), Gau&#7771&#299 (151-346), &#256s&#257 (347-488), G&#363jar&#299 (489-526), Devagandh&#257r&#299 (527-536), Bih&#257ga&#7771&#257 (537-556), Va&#7693aha&#7749sa (557-594), Sora&#7789hi (595-659), Dhan&#257sar&#299 (660-695), Jaitsar&#299 (696-710), &#7789o&#7692&#299 (711-718), Bair&#257&#7771&#299 (719-720), Tila&#7749g (721-727), S&#363h&#299 (728-794), Bil&#257val (795-858), Gau&#7751&#7693 (859-875), R&#257mkal&#299 (876-974), Na&#7789 N&#257r&#257i&#7751 (975-983), M&#257l&#299 Gau&#7771&#257 (984-988), M&#257r&#363 (989-1106), Tukh&#257r&#299 (1107-1117), Ked&#257r&#257 (1118-1124), Bhairau (1125-1167), Basant (1168-1196), S&#257ra&#7749g (1197-1253), Mal&#257r (1254-1293), K&#257na&#7771&#257 (1294-1318), Kali&#257n (1319-1326), Prabh&#257t&#299 (1327-1351), Jaij&#257vant&#299 (1352-1353), Salok Sahaskrit&#299 (1353-1360), G&#257th&#257, Phuneh and Chaubole (1360-1364), Salok Kab&#299r (1364-1377), Salok Far&#299d (1377-1384), Savaiyye (1385-1409), additional <i>salok</i> (1410-1429), Mund&#257van&#299, and R&#257gm&#257l&#257 (1429-1430).</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Even before the time of Gur&#363 Arjan, <i>poth&#299s</i> or books, in Gurmukh&#299 characters, existed containing the holy utterances of the Gur&#363s. A line in Bh&#257&#299 Gurd&#257s, <i>v&#257r</i> 1.32, suggests that Gur&#363 N&#257nak during his travels carried under his arm a book, evidently comprising his own compositions. According to the <i>Pur&#257tan Janam S&#257kh&#299</i> he handed over such a manuscript to Gur&#363 A&#7749gad as he passed on the spiritual office to him. Two of the collections of hymns or <i>poth&#299s</i> prior to the Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib are still extant. They are in the possession of the descendants of Gur&#363 Amar D&#257s. One of the families in the line used to live in Pa&#7789i&#257l&#257 and has only recently migrated to Piñjore, in the &#346iv&#257liks, and the <i>poth&#299</i> it has inherited is on view for the devotees in their home on the morning of the full-moon day every month. A collateral family which is in possession of the second <i>poth&#299</i> lives in the village of D&#257r&#257pur, in Hoshi&#257rpur district of the Punjab.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The <i>b&#257&#7751&#299</i>, or word revealed, was held in great veneration by the Sikhs even before the Holy Volume was compiled. It was equated with the Gur&#363 himself. "The <i>b&#257&#7751&#299</i> is the Gur&#363 and the Gur&#363 b&#257&#7751&#299," says Gur&#363 R&#257m D&#257s in R&#257ga Na&#7789 Nar&#257i&#7751 (GG, 982). The <i>b&#257&#7751&#299</i> echoed the Divine Truth; it was the voice of God--- "the Lord's own word," as said Gur&#363 N&#257nak in the Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib. Gur&#363 Amar D&#257s (GG, 515):</p> <blockquote class="C1"><p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<i>v&#257hu, v&#257hu, b&#257&#7751&#299 nira&#7749kar hai</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;tis jeva&#7693 avar n&#257 koe</i></p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Hail, hail, the word of the Gur&#363, which is the Lord Formless Himself;</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;There is none other, nothing else to be reckoned equal to it.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</blockquote></p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The compilation of the Holy Book, a momentous event in Sikh history, is generally described in the briefest terms. The Sacred Volume was prepared by Gur&#363 Arjan (1563-1606) and the first copy was calligraphed by Bh&#257&#299 Gurd&#257s (1551-1636) at his dictation--- this is all we learn from most of the sources. What amount of planning, minute attention to detail and diligent and meticulous work it involved is slurred over. An old text which gives some detailed information is the <i>Gurbil&#257s Chhev&#299&#7749 P&#257tsh&#257h&#299</i>. Written in 1718, this, in fact, is the oldest source. Although it does not go into the technical and literary minutiae, it broadly describes the process from the beginning of the transcription of the Holy Volume to its installation in the newly built Harimandar at Amritsar.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Why Gur&#363 Arjan undertook the task is variously explained. One commonly accepted assumption is that the codification of the Gur&#363s' compositions into an authorized volume was begun by him with a view to preserving them from garbling by schismatic groups and others. According to the <i>Mahim&#257 Prak&#257sh</i> (1776), he set to work with the announcement : "As the Panth (Community) has been revealed unto the world, so there must be the Granth (Book), too." By accumulating the canon, Gur&#363 Arjan wished to affix the seal on the sacred Word. It was also to be the perennial fountain of inspiration and the means of self-perpetuation for the community.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Gur&#363 Arjan called Bh&#257&#299 Gurd&#257s to his presence and expressed to him the wish that the sacred verse be collected. Messages were sent to the disciples to gather and transmit to him the hymns of his predecessors.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;B&#257b&#257 Mohan, son of Gur&#363 Amar D&#257s, N&#257nak III, had manuscript collections of the Gur&#363s' hymns inherited from his father. Bh&#257&#299 Gurd&#257s travelled to Goindv&#257l to bring these <i>poth&#299s</i>, but the owner refused to see him. Bh&#257&#299 Bu&#7693&#7693h&#257, one of the oldest and most revered Sikhs from Gur&#363 N&#257nak&#8217s days, was similarly turned away from the door. Then Gur&#363 Arjan went himself. He sat in the street below Mohan's attic serenading him on his <i>tamb&#363r&#257</i>. Mohan was disarmed to hear the hymn. He came downstairs with the <i>poth&#299s</i> and presented these to the Gur&#363. As says the <i>Gurbil&#257s</i>, the <i>poth&#299s</i> were placed on a palanquin bedecked with precious stones. The Sikhs carried it on their shoulders and Gur&#363 Arjan walked behind barefoot. He refused to ride his horse; saying that the <i>poth&#299s</i> were the very spirit, the very light of the four Gur&#363s---his predecessors.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The cavalcade broke journey at Kha&#7693&#363r S&#257hib to make obeisance at shrines sacred to Gur&#363 A&#7749gad. Two <i>kos</i> from Amritsar, it was received by Hargobind, Gur&#363 Arjan's young son, accompanied by a large number of Sikhs. He bowed at his father's feet and showered petals in front of the <i>poth&#299s</i>. Gur&#363 Arjan, Hargobind, Bh&#257&#299 Gurd&#257s and Bh&#257&#299 Bu&#7693&#7693h&#257 now bore the palanquin on their shoulders and marched towards Amritsar led by musicians, with flutes and drums. Reaching Amritsar, Gur&#363 Arjan first went to the Harimandar to offer <i>ka&#7771&#257h pras&#257d</i> in gratefulness.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;To quote the <i>Gurbil&#257s</i> again, an attractive spot in the thick of a forest on the outskirts of Amritsar was marked out by Gur&#363 Arjan. So dense was the foliage that not even a moonbeam could pry into it. It was like Pañchba&#7789&#299 itself, peaceful and picturesque. A tent was hoisted in this idyllic setting. Here Gur&#363 Arjan and Bh&#257&#299 Gurd&#257s started work on the sacred volume.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The making of the Granth was no easy task. It involved sustained labour and a rigorous intellectual discipline. Selections had to be made from a vast amount of material. Besides the compositions of the four preceding Gur&#363s and of Gur&#363 Arjan who himself was a poet with a rare spiritual insight, there were songs and hymns by saints, both Hindu and Muslim. What was genuine had to be sifted from what was counterfeit. Then the selected material had to be assigned to appropriate musical measures and transcribed in a minutely laid out order.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Gur&#363 Arjan carried out the work with extraordinary exactness. He arranged the hymns in thirty different <i>r&#257gas</i>, or musical patterns. A precise method was followed in setting down the compositions. First came <i>&#347abdas</i> by the Gur&#363s in the order of their succession. Then came <i>a&#7779&#7789pad&#299s, chhants, v&#257rs</i>, and other poetic forms in a set order. The compositions of the Gur&#363s in each <i>r&#257ga</i> were followed by those of the Bhaktas in the same format. Gurmukh&#299 was the script used for the transcription.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;According to Bh&#257&#299 Gurd&#257s' testimony, the text had been transcribed by Bh&#257do&#7749 <i>v&#257d&#299</i> Ekam 1661/1 August 1604. At the head of the index he recorded : <i>"Sammat 1661 mit&#299 Bh&#257do&#7749 vad&#299 ekam poth&#299 likh&#299 pahuche</i>, i.e. on Bh&#257do&#7749 Vad&#299 Ekam 1661 he had reached this spot where the index was to begin after completing the writing of the book." The index, giving the opening words of each <i>&#347abda</i> or hymn and pagination, is itself a marvel of scholarly fastidiousness. A genius, unique in spiritual intuition and not unconcerned with methodological design, had created a scripture with an exalted mystical tone and a high degree of organization. It was large in size---nearly 7,000 hymns, comprising compositions of the first five Sikh Gur&#363s and fifteen Bhaktas and S&#363f&#299s from different parts of India, including Shai<u>kh</u> Far&#299d, Kab&#299r and Ravid&#257s. The Sacred Volume consisted of 974 leaves, or 1948 pages, 12"x 8", with several blank ones at the end of a <i>r&#257ga</i> where there were not <i>&#347abdas</i> enough to fill the section assigned to it. The site of these marvellous labours is now marked by a shrine called R&#257msar.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The completion of the Granth S&#257hib was, says the <i>Gurbil&#257s</i>, celebrated with much jubilation. In thanksgiving, <i>ka&#7771&#257h pras&#257d</i> was prepared in huge quantities. Sikhs came in large numbers to see the Holy Book. They were rejoiced in their hearts by a sight of it and bowed before it to pay homage. Among the visitors was Bh&#257&#299 Banno who had led a group of Sikhs from M&#257&#7749gat, in western Punjab. Gur&#363 Arjan, who knew him as a devoted Sikh, instructed him to go to Lahore and have the Book bound. Banno sought the Gur&#363's permission to be allowed to take the Granth S&#257hib first to M&#257&#7749gat for the Sikhs there to see it. The Gur&#363 allowed this, but enjoined him not to tarry at M&#257&#7749gat, or at any other place, more than a night</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;As Banno left Amritsar with his sacred charge, it occurred to him to have a second copy transcribed. The first copy, he argued, would remain with the Gur&#363. There must be an additional one for the <i>sa&#7749gat</i>. The Gur&#363's direction was that he should not stay longer than one night at a place, but he had said nothing about the time to be spent on the journey. So he proceeded with his plans and sent a Sikh to purchase paper. He proposed to his companions that they should travel by easy marches of five miles a day. The time thus saved was utilized in transcribing the holy text. Sikhs wrote with love and devotion and nobody shirked his duty whether it was day or night. By the time they reached Lahore, the second copy was ready. But Banno had added to it some apocryphal texts. He had both volumes bound and returned to Amritsar as fast as he could.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;At Amritsar, he was received with due ceremony, though Gur&#363 Arjan was not a little surprised to see two volumes instead of one. Bh&#257&#299 Banno spoke truthfully : "Lord, there is nothing that is hidden from you. This second copy I have had made for the sake of the <i>sa&#7749gat</i>". But the Gur&#363 accepted only the volume written in Bh&#257&#299 Gurd&#257s' hand. He enjoined the Sikhs to own the Granth equal with the Gur&#363 and make no distinction between the two. "He who would wish to see the Gur&#363, let him see the Granth. He who would seek the Gur&#363's word, let him read the Granth with love and attention."</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Gur&#363 Arjan asked the Sikhs where the Granth S&#257hib be installed. Bh&#257&#299 Bu&#7693&#7693h&#257 spoke, "You are omniscient, Master : But there is no place more suitable than the Harimandar." The Gur&#363 was happy to hear these words, "like one who had sighted the new moon". He then recited the praise of the Harimandar: "There is nothing like it in all the three worlds. Harimandar is like the ship--- the means for the people to cross over the worldly ocean triumphantly. A new joy pervades here every day. A sight of it annuls all sins."</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;It was decided to spend the night at R&#257msar and return to Amritsar the next morning. The Granth S&#257hib rested on a seat under the canopy, whereas the Gur&#363 and the Sikhs slept on the ground.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;A disciple had to be chosen to take charge of the Granth S&#257hib. As says the <i>Gurbil&#257s</i>, Gur&#363 Arjan lay awake through the night reflecting on the question. His choice finally fell on Bh&#257&#299 Bu&#7693&#7693h&#257 whose devotion was universally applauded. As they awoke, the Gur&#363 and his Sikhs made ablutions in R&#257msar. The former thereupon practised his wonted meditation. At dawn, the entire <i>sa&#7749gat</i> marched towards Harimandar. Bh&#257&#299 Bu&#7693&#7693h&#257 carried the Holy Book on his head and Gur&#363 Arjan walked behind swinging the fly-whisk over it. Musicians sang <i>&#347abdas</i>. Thus they reached the Harimandar. The Granth S&#257hib was ceremonially installed in the centre of the inner sanctuary. The date was Bh&#257do&#7749 <i>sud&#299</i> 1, 1661 Bk/16 August 1604. Bh&#257&#299 Bu&#7693&#7693h&#257 opened it with reverence to obtain from it the divine command, as Gur&#363 Arjan stood in attendance behind. The following hymn was read as God's own pronouncement for the occasion :</p> <blockquote class="C1"><p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;He Himself has aided his sai&#7749ts in their task,</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;He Himself has come to see their task accomplished.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Blessed is the earth, blessed the tank;</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Blessed is the tank with <i>amrit</i>, nectar, filled.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Nectar everfloweth the tank : He has had the task completed;</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Eternal is the Perfect Being,</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;His praises Vedas and Pur&#257&#7751as sing.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The Creator has bestowed on me the nine treasures, and all the charisms,</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; No lack do I suffer now.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Enjoying His largesse, bliss have I attained,</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Ever-expanding is the Lord's bounty.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</blockquote></p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Gur&#363 Arjan directed that during daytime the Holy Book should remain in the Harimandar and by night, after the <i>Sohil&#257</i> was read, it should be taken to the room he had built for himself in Gur&#363-k&#257-Mahal as evening advanced by two watches, Bh&#257&#299 Bu&#7693&#7693h&#257 recited the <i>Sohil&#257</i> and made the concluding <i>ard&#257s</i> or supplication. The Granth S&#257hib was closed and wrapped in silks. Bh&#257&#299 Bu&#7693&#7693h&#257 held it on his head and marched towards the chamber indicated by Gur&#363 Arjan. The Gur&#363 led the <i>sa&#7749gat</i> singing hymns. The Granth S&#257hib was placed on the appointed seat, and the Gur&#363 slept on the ground by its side. Daily in the small hours of the morning as the stars twinkle in the pool below, the Holy Book is taken out in state to the Harimandar and brought by night to rest---now, in a room at the Ak&#257l Ta<u>kh</u>t. The practice continues to this day. But the volume is not the same. That original copy was taken to Kart&#257rpur when Gur&#363 Arjan's successor, Gur&#363 Hargobind, left Amritsar in 1634. There it passed into the possession of his grandson, Dh&#299r Mall. It has since remained in that family.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;In the Sikh system, the word <i>Gur&#363</i> is used only for the ten prophet-preceptors, Gur&#363 N&#257nak to Gur&#363 Gobind Si&#7749gh, and for none other. Now this office of Gur&#363 is fulfilled by the Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib, the Sacred Book, which was so apothesized by the last Gur&#363, Gur&#363 Gobind Si&#7749gh, before he passed away in 1708. No living person, however holy or revered, can have the title or status of Gur&#363. For Sikhs, Gur&#363 is the holy teacher, the prophet under direct commission from God--- the ten who have been and the Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib which is their continuing visible manifestation.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Gur&#363 Gobind Si&#7749gh manifested the <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 in 1699. In 1708, he supplied another permanent ---and final--- feature in the evolution of the Sikh faith when he installed the Holy Scripture as Gur&#363. This is how the <i>Bha&#7789&#7789 Vah&#299 Talau&#7693&#257 Parganah J&#299nd</i> describes the event :</p> <blockquote class="C1"><p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<i>Gur&#363 Gobind Si&#7749gh mahal dasm&#257&#7749 be&#7789&#257 Gur&#363 Te<u>gh</u> Bah&#257dur k&#257 pot&#257 Gur&#363 Hargobind j&#299 k&#257 pa&#7771pot&#257 Gur&#363 Arjan j&#299 k&#257 ba&#7749s Gur&#363 R&#257m D&#257s j&#299 k&#299 S&#363rajba&#7749s&#299 Gosal gotra So&#7693h&#299 Khatr&#299 b&#257s&#299 Anandpur parganah Kahl&#363r muq&#257m N&#257n&#7693e&#7771 ta&#7789 God&#257var&#299 des dakkhan sammat satr&#257&#7749 sai painsa&#7789h k&#257rtik m&#257s k&#299' chauth shukla pakhe budhv&#257r ke dihu&#7749 Bh&#257&#299 Day&#257 Si&#7749gh se bachan hoy&#257 Sr&#299 Granth S&#257hib lai &#257o bachan p&#257i Day&#257 Si&#7749gh Sr&#299 Granth S&#257hib lai &#257ye gur&#363 j&#299 ne p&#257ñch paise n&#257rial &#257ge bhe&#7789&#257 r&#257kh&#257 m&#257th&#257 &#7789ek&#257 sarbatt sa&#7749gat se kah&#257 mer&#257 hukam hai mer&#299 jagah Sr&#299 Granthj&#299 ko j&#257na&#7751&#257 jo sikh ja&#7751eg&#257 tis k&#299 gh&#257l th&#257e&#7749 paeg&#299 gur&#363 tis k&#299 bahu&#7771&#299 kareg&#257 sat kar man&#257&#7751&#257</i>.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Gur&#363 Gobind Si&#7749gh, the Tenth Master, son of Gur&#363 Te<u>gh</u> Bah&#257dur, grandson of Gur&#363 Hargobind, great-grandson of Gur&#363 Arjan, of the family of Gur&#363 R&#257m D&#257s, S&#363rajba&#7749s&#299 Gosal clan, So&#7693h&#299 Khatr&#299, resident of Anandpur, parganah Kahl&#363r, now at N&#257nde&#7693, on the God&#257var&#299 bank in the Deccan, asked Bh&#257&#299 Day&#257 Si&#7749gh, on Wednesday, <i>shukla chauth</i> of the month of K&#257rtik, 1765 Bk (6 October 1708), to fetch the Sr&#299 Granth S&#257hib. The Gur&#363 placed before it five pice and a coconut and bowed his head before it. He said to the <i>sa&#7749gat</i>, "It is my commandment : Own Sr&#299 Granthj&#299 in my place. He who so acknowledges it will obtain his reward. The Gur&#363 will rescue him. Know this as the truth.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</blockquote></p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;According to Gi&#257n&#299 Garj&#257 Si&#7749gh, who discovered this entry, the author was Narbud Si&#7749gh Bha&#7789&#7789, who was with Gur&#363 Gobind Si&#7749gh at N&#257nde&#7693 at that time.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Bha&#7789&#7789 V&#257h&#299s are a new source of information discovered by Gi&#257n&#299 Garj&#257 Si&#7749gh (1904-77), a dogged searcher for materials on Sikh history. The Bha&#7789&#7789s were hereditary panegyrists, genealogists or family bards. (A group of them were introduced to Gur&#363 Arjan by Bha&#7789&#7789 Bhikh&#257, who himself had become a disciple in the time of Gur&#363 Amar D&#257s. According to Bh&#257&#299 Gurd&#257s, <i>V&#257r</i> XI. 2l, and Bh&#257&#299 Man&#299 Si&#7749gh <i>Sikh&#257&#7749 d&#299 Bhagat M&#257l&#257</i>, he had earlier visited Gur&#363 Arjan with the <i>sa&#7749gat</i> of Sult&#257npur Lodh&#299.) Those of them who came into the Sikh fold composed hymns in honour of the Gur&#363s which were entered in the Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib by Gur&#363 Arjan.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;These Bha&#7789&#7789s also recorded events of the lives of the Gur&#363s and of the members of their families in their scrolls called <i>vah&#299s</i>. Some of these <i>vah&#299s</i> are preserved to this day in the families, especially at the village of Karsindh&#363, in J&#299nd district of Hary&#257&#7751&#257. The script in which they are written is called <i>bhak&#7789&#257&#7779r&#299</i> ---a kind of family code like <i>la&#7751&#7693e</i> and <i>mah&#257jan&#299</i>. The only known scholar to have worked with these materials was Gi&#257n&#299 Garj&#257 Si&#7749gh.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Apart from this new testimony culled by Gi&#257n&#299 Garj&#257 Si&#7749gh from the Bha&#7789&#7789 V&#257h&#299s, another contemporary document which authenticates the fact of Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib having been invested with the final authority is a letter issued by reference of Gur&#363 Gobind Si&#7749gh's wife, M&#257t&#257 Sundar&#299j&#299. To quote from the original, which is now in the possession of Bh&#257&#299 Chet Si&#7749gh, of the village of Bh&#257&#299 R&#363p&#257, in present-day Ba&#7789hi&#7751&#7693&#257 district, to whose ancestors it was addressed :</p> <blockquote class="C1"><p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<i>Ik Oa&#7749k&#257r W&#257hgur&#363 j&#299 k&#299 fateh, Sr&#299 Ak&#257lpurkh j&#299 k&#257 <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 yak ra&#7749g jin&#257 di&#7789h&#299&#257 W&#257hgur&#363 j&#299 chit &#257vai. Bh&#257&#299 S&#257hib D&#257n Si&#7749ghj&#299 Bh&#257&#299 Dun&#299 Si&#7749ghj&#299 Bh&#257&#299 Jagat Si&#7749ghj&#299 Bh&#257&#299 Gurba<u>kh</u>sh Si&#7749ghj&#299 Ugar Si&#7749ghj&#299 Bh&#257&#299 R&#257m Si&#7749ghj&#299 sarbatt <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 W&#257hgur&#363 Ak&#257lpurkhj&#299 k&#257 p&#257se likhtam gul&#257m <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 j&#299 k&#257 K&#257hn Si&#7749gh Nival Si&#7749gh M&#363l Si&#7749ghj&#299 Suj&#257n Si&#7749gh Gaj&#257 Si&#7749gh Mah&#257 Si&#7749gh Sarbatt <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 W&#257hgur&#363 Ak&#257lpurkh k&#257 W&#257hgur&#363 j&#299 k&#299 fateh v&#257chan&#299 <u>kh</u>ush&#257 karn&#257 j&#299 W&#257hgur&#363 Ak&#257lpur<u>kh</u> j&#299 har dam chit &#257vai sukh hoe <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 j&#299 k&#257 bol b&#257l&#257 hoi ard&#257s tus&#257&#7693&#299 m&#257rfat Bh&#257&#299 Dulcha Si&#7749gh ke hath pahut&#299 pa&#7771hkai <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 j&#299 bahut <u>kh</u>ushwaqat hoy&#257 tus&#257&#7693i b&#257b <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 j&#299 day&#257l hoy&#257 hai hath jo&#7771e kai jo rakhy&#257 hove. Jo janu harik&#257 sevako hari tiske k&#257mi." Gur&#363 Gur&#363 japn&#257 W&#257hgur&#363 a&#7749g sa&#7749g hai fajal karkai rakhi&#257 hoveg&#299 <u>Kh</u>alsaj&#299 Bh&#257&#299 K&#257hn Si&#7749ghj&#299 kau M&#257t&#257 S&#257hibj&#299 ne gum&#257stg&#299r&#299 Amritsar j&#299 k&#299 mukarar k&#299t&#299 hai <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 j&#299 ne gurmat&#257 karke Harimandar ate b&#257gh d&#299 murammat im&#257rat k&#257 k&#257m shur&#363 k&#299t&#257 hai sr&#299 M&#257t&#257 S&#257hib j&#299 ne likh&#257 hai ki W&#257hgur&#363 Ak&#257lpurkh j&#299 k&#299 nagar&#299 hai la&#7749ger jar&#363r k&#257r&#7751&#257... <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 Sr&#299 W&#257hgur&#363 j&#299 k&#257 suchet bibek budh ch&#257h&#299e jo siv&#257i Ak&#257lpurkh d&#363je no j&#257nai n&#257h&#299 Dasam P&#257tsh&#257h&#299a&#7749 tak j&#257mai paidhe y&#257rv&#299&#7749 b&#257rv&#299&#7749 Band&#257 Chauband&#257 Ajit&#257 vagaire te aitk&#257d lei &#257va&#7751&#257 hatiy&#257 hai. Hor hatiy&#257 Gur&#363 japan n&#257l d&#363r hosan, par ih hatiy&#257 gunah baksh&#299aig&#257 nah&#299 jo manmukh ke j&#257me upar aitk&#257d kare&#7749ge, 'Mukh mohi pheriai mukh mohi j&#363tth&#257 hoi.' <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257j&#299 tus&#257&#7749 siv&#257i Ak&#257l d&#363je no m&#257na&#7751a n&#257hi. Sabad d&#257sv&#299&#7749 patsh&#257j&#299 tak khojn&#257, "Sabad khoji ihu gharu lahai N&#257nak t&#257 k&#257 d&#257su. "Gur&#363 k&#257 niv&#257s sabad vich hai. "Gur&#363 mahi &#257p samoi sabad vart&#257iy&#257." "J&#299&#257&#7749 andar j&#299u sabad hai jit sahu mil&#257v&#257 hoi." W&#257hgur&#363 j&#299 k&#299 fateh. Bh&#257&#299 Mehar Si&#7749gh &#7789ahl&#299&#257 Bh&#257&#299 B&#363le k&#257 pattar ke kham&#257ne vich rahi&#7751a Gur&#363 n&#257l gan&#7693h pais&#299</i>.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Ik Oa&#7749k&#257r W&#257higur&#363 j&#299 k&#299 Fateh.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257, of the timeless Himself, immersed in the One, and whose sight brings W&#257higur&#363 to mind. Addressed to Bh&#257&#299 S&#257hib D&#257n Si&#7749ghj&#299, Bh&#257&#299 D&#363n&#299 Si&#7749ghj&#299, Bh&#257&#299 Jagat Si&#7749ghj&#299, Bh&#257&#299 Gurba<u>kh</u>sh Si&#7749ghj&#299, Ugar Si&#7749ghj&#299, Bh&#257&#299 R&#257m Si&#7749ghj&#299, the entire <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 of W&#257higur&#363, the Timeless One. From the slaves of the <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257j&#299, K&#257hn Si&#7749ghj&#299, Nival Si&#7749gh, M&#363l Si&#7749ghj&#299, Suj&#257n Si&#7749gh, Gaj&#257 Si&#7749gh, Mah&#257 Si&#7749gh W&#257higur&#363 j&#299 k&#299 Fateh to the entire <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257. May you be rejoiced in constant remembrance of the Timeless W&#257higur&#363. May prosperity prevail; may supremacy belong to the <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257. Having received your missive through Bh&#257&#299 Dulch&#257 Si&#7749gh, <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257j&#299 is highly pleased. <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257j&#299 happily prays with folded hands for your security. "He who to Lord surrenders himself, his affairs the Lord will set to rights." Repeat always the name of Gur&#363. W&#257higur&#363 is by your side. He will extend to you His grace and protection. <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257j&#299, M&#257t&#257 S&#257hib j&#299 has appointed Bh&#257&#299 K&#257hn Si&#7749ghj&#299 to the superintendence of Amritsarj&#299. The <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257j&#299, through a <i>gurmat&#257</i>, has taken in hand the construction and repair of the Harimandar and the garden. Sr&#299 M&#257t&#257 S&#257hib j&#299 has written that <i>la&#7749gar</i> must be run in that place which is the abode of God Himself....W&#257higur&#363's <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 must always be alert, possessed of discriminating wisdom. The <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 must believe in none other than the Timeless One. There have been only Ten Masters in human form; to believe in the eleventh and twelfth, Band&#257 Si&#7749gh Bah&#257dur, Aj&#299t&#257 [Aj&#299t Si&#7749gh, adopted son of M&#257t&#257 Sundar&#299j&#299] etc. is a mortal sin. Every other sin can be had cancelled by repeating the Gur&#363's name, but this sin of believing in human forms will not be remitted. "The faces turned away from the Gur&#363 are faces perverted." <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257j&#299, you must believe in none other except the Timeless One. Go only to the Ten Gur&#363s in search of the Word. "N&#257nak is the slave of him who by seeking the Lord's Name obtains his goal." The Gur&#363 resides in <i>&#347abda</i>. "The Lord hath merged His own Self in the Gur&#363 through whom He has revealed His word." "The Word is the life of all life, for, through it, one experiences God." Victory to the Lord, Bh&#257&#299 Mehar Si&#7749gh, the messenger, son of Bh&#257&#299 B&#363l&#257 : keep the letter secure in your custody. You will gain the Gur&#363's favour.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</blockquote></p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;From this letter it is clear how the Sikhs after Gur&#363 Gobind Si&#7749gh believed that the Gur&#363ship had passed to the <i>&#347abda</i>, i.e. the Word as contained in the Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib. None in the human form after the Ten Gur&#363s was to be acknowledged by the Sikhs as Gur&#363. Those who, like some of Band&#257 Si&#7749gh's or Aj&#299t Si&#7749gh's followers, called their leaders Gur&#363s were committing a mortal sin. All other sins, says the letter, could be had forgiven by repeating the Gur&#363's name, but not the sin of believing in a living Gur&#363 after the Ten Masters of the Sikh faith.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Several other old Sikh documents also attest the fact of succession having been passed on by Gur&#363 Gobind Si&#7749gh to the Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib. For instance, the <i>Rahitn&#257m&#257</i> by Bh&#257&#299 Nand L&#257l, one of Gur&#363 Gobind Si&#7749gh's disciples remembered to this day for his elegant Persian poetry in honour of the Gur&#363s. In his <i>Rahitn&#257m&#257</i>, or code of conduct, Bh&#257&#299 N&#257nd L&#257l, who was at N&#257nde&#7693 in the camp of Emperor Bah&#257dur Sh&#257h as one of his ministers at the time of Gur&#363 Gobind Si&#7749gh's passing away, thus records his last words in his Punjabi verse :</p> <blockquote class="C1"><p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;He who would wish to see the Gur&#363,</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Let him come and see the Granth.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;He who would wish to speak with him,</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Let him read and reflect upon what says the Granth.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;He who would wish to hear his word,</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;He should with all his heart read the Granth, or listen to the Granth being read.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</blockquote></p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Another of Gur&#363 Gobind Si&#7749gh's disciples and associates, Bh&#257&#299 Prahl&#257d Si&#7749gh, records in his <i>Rahitn&#257m&#257</i>, the Gur&#363's commandment :</p> <blockquote class="C1"><p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;By the word of the Timeless One,</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Has the <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 been manifested.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;This is my commandment for all of my Sikhs :</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;You will acknowledge Granth as the Gur&#363.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</blockquote></p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;In <i>Gurbil&#257s P&#257tsh&#257h&#299 10</i> (author Kuir Si&#7749gh; the year of writing 1751), Gur&#363 Gobind Si&#7749gh is quoted as saying :</p> <blockquote class="C1"><p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;This is no more the age for a personal Gur&#363 to be anointed</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; I shall not place the mark on anyone's forehead.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;All <i>sa&#7749gat</i> is owned as <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 now, under the shelter of the Almighty Himself,</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;They are now to the Word attached.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;He who believes is the Sikh par excellence.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; * * *</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;On the Gur&#363 Granth should he put his reliance,</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;To none else should he direct his adoration.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;All his wishes the Gur&#363 will bring to fulfilment,</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;This he should believe,</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Casting away all dubiety.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</blockquote></p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Another authority that may relevantly be quoted is Devar&#257ja Sharm&#257's <i>N&#257nakacandrodayamah&#257k&#257vyam</i>, an old Sanskrit manuscript which has recently been published 'by Sanskrit University, V&#257r&#257&#7751as&#299. It records Gur&#363 Gobind Si&#7749gh's proclamation that the Scripture would be the Gur&#363 after him. "While the Master lay on his deathbed, Nand L&#257l (?) came forward and asked the following question : 'Who shall be the object of our discourses?' The Master replied, 'The Granth, which itself is the doctrine of the Gur&#363, shall be your teacher. This is what you should see ; this is what you should honour ; this is what should be the object of your discourses."</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;This point has been laboured somewhat lengthily for the reason that cavil is sometimes raised. Certain cults among Sikhs still owning personal Gur&#363s ask for authentic evidence to the effect that Gur&#363 Gobind Si&#7749gh had named Sr&#299 Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib his successor. No archival testimony can be presented, unless the Bha&#7789&#7789 V&#257h&#299 entry be included in that category. But evidence bequeathed through tradition-- written as well as oral ---supports this fact. This is what has come down through Sikh memory. Had there been the 11th Gur&#363, the name could not have been effaced from the pages of history. Gur&#363 Gobind Si&#7749gh brought to an end the line of personal Gur&#363s and declared the Holy Word Gur&#363 after him.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Along with the Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib, the <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 was now the person visible of the Gur&#363. The word <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 is derived from the Arabic <i><u>kh</u>&#257lis</i>, meaning pure or pious. Gur&#363 Gobind Si&#7749gh used the term in its symbolic and technical sense. In official terminology, <i><u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257</i> in Mu<u>gh</u>al days meant lands or territory directly under the king. Crown-land was known as <i><u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257</i> land. As says a contemporary poet, Bh&#257&#299 Gurd&#257s II, Gur&#363 Gobind Si&#7749gh converted the <i>sa&#7749gat</i> into <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257. Sikhs were the Gur&#363's <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257, i.e. directly his own, without any intermediary or local <i>sa&#7749gat</i> leaders. On that point, we have the evidence of <i>Sr&#299 Gur Sobh&#257</i> by Sai&#7749&#257pat, a contemporary of Gur&#363 Gobind Si&#7749gh and Gur&#363 Gobind Si&#7749gh's own <i>hukamn&#257m&#257s</i>. To quote from the former :</p> <blockquote class="C1"><p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;A day preceding the event, i.e. passing of Gur&#363 Gobind Si&#7749gh</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The Sikhs gathered together</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;And began to ask :</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"What body will the lord now take?"</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The Gur&#363 at that moment spoke :</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"In the <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 will you see me;</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "With the <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 is my sole concern;</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "My physical form have I bestowed upon the <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257."</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</blockquote></p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Gur&#363 Gobind Si&#7749gh, in his <i>hukamn&#257m&#257</i> issued on Ph&#257gun 4,1756 Bk/1 February 1700, to the <i>sa&#7749gat</i> of Pa&#7789&#7789an Far&#299d, modern P&#257kpa&#7789&#7789an, refers to the <i>sa&#7749gat</i> as "his own <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257." <i>Hukamn&#257m&#257s</i> are letters written by the Gur&#363s to <i>sa&#7749gats</i> in different parts of the country. Some of them have been traced in recent years and two collections were published in 1967-- one by Dr Ga&#7751&#7693&#257 Si&#7749gh (Punjabi University, Pa&#7789i&#257l&#257) and the second by Shamsher Si&#7749gh Ashok (Shiroma&#7751&#299 Gurdw&#257r&#257 Parbandhak Committee, Amritsar). Most of the <i>hukamn&#257m&#257s</i> are common to both anthologies. These <i>hukamn&#257m&#257s</i> are another valuable source of information on the lives of the Gur&#363s and on the Sikh communities forming in farflung places.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;That Sr&#299 Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib is Gur&#363 Eternal for it has been the understanding and conviction of the Sikh community since the passing of Gur&#363 Gobind Si&#7749gh. In their hard, exilic days soon afterwards when they were outlawed and had to seek the safety of the hills and jungles, the Sikhs' most precious possession which they cherished and defended at the cost of their lives was Sr&#299 Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib. The Holy Book was their sole religious reference, and they acknowledged none other. To quote the <i>Pr&#257ch&#299n Panth Prak&#257sh</i> : "Thou Gur&#363 Granth art the true Presence. Impart to the Sikh <i>sa&#7749gat</i> the true counsel." This is how the Sikhs address Sr&#299 Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib as they assemble at the Ak&#257l Ta<u>kh</u>t to seek its guidance before launching an attack on the Pa&#7789h&#257n citadel of Kas&#363r. In the time of Mah&#257r&#257j&#257 Ra&#7751j&#299t Si&#7749gh, who established sovereignty in the name of the <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257, personal piety and court ceremonial centred upon the Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib. As contemporary records testify, Ra&#7751j&#299t Si&#7749gh began his day by making obeisance to Sr&#299 Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib. On festive occasions, he made pilgrimage to Amritsar to bow before Sr&#299 Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib in the Harimandar. For the Sikhs in general Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib was the only focus of religious attachment.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;None other existed otherwise, either in human form or symbolically. In all Sikh literature after Gur&#363 Gobind Si&#7749gh, the Holy Book is uniformly referred to as <i>Gur&#363</i> Granth.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The personal Gur&#363ship was ended by Gur&#363 Gobind Si&#7749gh himself. Succession passed to the Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib in perpetuity. This was a most significant development in the history of the <i>panth</i>.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The finality of the Holy Book was a fact rich in religious and social implications. The Gur&#363 Granth became Gur&#363 and received divine honours. It was acknowledged the medium of the revelation descended through the Gur&#363s. It was for the Sikhs the perpetual authority, spiritual as well as historical. They lived their religion in response to it. Through it, they were able to observe their faith more fully, more vividly. It was central to all that subsequently happened in Sikh life. It was the source of their verbal tradition and it shaped their intellectual and cultural environment. It moulded the Sikh concept of life. From it the community's ideals, institutions and rituals derived their meaning. Its role in guaranteeing the community integration and permanence and in determining the course of its history has been crucial.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The Word enshrined in the Holy Book was always revered by the Gur&#363s as well as by their disciples as of Divine origin. The Gur&#363 was the revealer of the Word. One day the Word was to take the place of the Gur&#363. The line of personal Gur&#363s could not have continued forever. The inevitable came to pass when Gur&#363 Gobind Si&#7749gh declared Sr&#299 Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib to be his successor. It was only through the Word that the Gur&#363ship could be made everlasting. This object Gur&#363 Gobind Si&#7749gh intuitively secured when he pronounced Granth S&#257hib to be Gur&#363 after him. The Granth S&#257hib was henceforth ---for all time to come---the Gur&#363 for the Sikhs.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Since the day Gur&#363 Gobind Si&#7749gh vested succession in it, the Gur&#363 Granth has commanded the same honour and reverence as would be due to the Gur&#363 himself. It is the focal point of Sikh devotion. The object of veneration in Sikh <i>gurdw&#257r&#257s</i> is Sr&#299 Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib; <i>gurdw&#257r&#257</i> is in fact that place of worship wherein Sr&#299 Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib is seated. No images or idols are permitted inside a <i>gurdw&#257r&#257</i>. The Holy Volume is opened ceremonially in the early hours of the morning after <i>ard&#257s</i> or supplication. It must be enthroned, draped in silk or other pieces of clean linen, on a high seat on a pedestal, under a canopy. The congregation takes place in the presence of Sr&#299 Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib, with the officiant, who could be anyone from among those present, sitting in attendance, with a <i>chavar</i> or whisk in his hand which he keeps swinging over it in veneration. The singing of hymns by a group of musicians will go on. All the time devotees have been coming and bowing low before the Holy Book to pay homage and taking their seats on the ground in front. The officiant or any other learned person who will take his seat behind Sr&#299 Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib will read out a hymn and expound it for the audience. At the end of the service, the audience will stand up in the presence of Sr&#299 Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib, with hands folded in front in reverence and one of them leading the <i>ard&#257s</i> or prayer. At the end of the evening service the Holy Book will be closed, again after a short prayer, and put to rest for the night. Sr&#299 Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib is similarly kept in some Sikh homes, where a separate room is set apart for it. It is opened in the morning and put to rest in the evening in the same style and manner. Before starting the day's work men and women will go into the room where Sr&#299 Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib has been ceremonially installed, say a prayer infront of it and open the book at random and read the first hymn which meets the eye to obtain what is called <i>v&#257k</i> or the day's lesson or order (<i>hukam</i>). Breviaries contain stipulated <i>b&#257&#7751&#299s</i> from Sr&#299 Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib which constitute the daily offices and prayers of a Sikh.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;A very beautiful custom is that of <i>akha&#7751&#7693 p&#257&#7789h</i> or uninterrupted recital of Sr&#299 Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib from beginning to end in a single service. Such a recital must be completed within 48 hours. The entire Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib, 1430 pages, is read through in a continuous ceremony. This reading must go on day and night, without a moment's intermission. The relay of reciters who take turns at saying Scripture must ensure that no break occurs. As they change place at given intervals, one picks the line from his predecessor's lips and continues. When and how the custom of reciting the canon in its entirety in one continuous service began is not known. Conjecture traces it to the turbulent days of the eighteenth century when persecution had scattered the Sikhs to far-off places. In those uncertain times, the practice of accomplishing a reading of the Holy Book by continuous recital is believed to have originated.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Important days on the Sikh calendar are marked by <i>akha&#7751&#7693 p&#257&#7789hs</i> in <i>gurdw&#257r&#257s</i>. Celebrations and ceremonies in Sikh families centre upon <i>akha&#7751&#7693 p&#257&#7789hs</i>. The homes are filled with holiness for those two days and nights as Sr&#299 Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib, installed with due ceremony in a room especially cleaned out for the occasion, is being recited. Apart from lending the air sanctity, such readings make available to listeners the entire text. The listeners come as they wish and depart at their will. Thus they keep picking up snatches of the <i>b&#257&#7751&#299</i> from different portions at different times. Without such ceremonial recitals, Sr&#299 Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib, a very large volume, would remain generally inaccessible to the laity except for <i>b&#257&#7751&#299s</i> which are recited by Sikhs as their daily prayers. In bereavement, families derive comfort from these <i>p&#257&#7789hs</i>. Obsequies in fact conclude with a completed readingi of Sr&#299 Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib and prayers are offered in its presence at the end for the departed soul.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;There are variations on <i>akha&#7751&#7693 p&#257&#7789h</i> as well. A common one is the <i>sapt&#257hik p&#257&#7789h</i> wherein the recital of the text is taken in parts and completed within one week. A <i>sahaj</i> or slow reading <i>p&#257&#7789h</i> may continue for a longer time, even for months. In <i>at&#299 akha&#7751&#7693 p&#257&#7789h</i>, the entire text will be read out by a single individual without any interruption for whatsoever purpose. For these <i>p&#257&#7789hs</i> the Holy Book is recited or intoned, not merely read. This brings out tellingly the poetic quality of the <i>b&#257&#7751&#299</i> and its power to move or grip the listener. But it must be heard in silence, sitting on the floor in front of it in a reverent posture.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The <i>b&#257&#7751&#299</i> of Sr&#299 Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib is all in the spiritual key. It is poetry of pure devotion, lyrical rather than philosophical, moral rather than cerebral. It prescribes no social code, yet Sr&#299 Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib is the basis of Sikh practice as well as of Sikh devotion. It is the living source of authority, the ultimate guide to the spiritual and moral path pointed by the Gur&#363s. Whatever is in harmony with its tenor will be acceptable; whatever not rejectible. Guidance is sought from it on doctrine, on the tenets of the faith.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The Sikh Panth as a whole will resort to Sr&#299 Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib as will the individual in moments of perplexity or crisis. Whether or not to attack Kas&#363r, the Pa&#7789h&#257n stronghold, to have the abducted wife of a helpless Br&#257hma&#7751 who had come to the Ak&#257l Ta<u>kh</u>t to appeal to the Sikhs for help, was the question before them in the year 1763. Finally, as records the <i>Pr&#257ch&#299n Panth Prak&#257sh</i>, it was decided to obtain the counsel of the Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib. Instance comes to mind also of the early days of the Gurdw&#257r&#257 movement aiming to reform the ritual in Sikh places of worship. On 12 October 1920, a meeting of Sikh backward castes, sponsored by the faculty and students of the <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 College at Amritsar, was held in the Jalli&#257&#7749v&#257l&#257 B&#257<u>gh</u>. The following morning some of them were taken to the Golden Temple, but the <i>granth&#299s</i> in control refused to accept <i>ka&#7771&#257h pras&#257d</i> or sacrament they had brought as an offering and to say the <i>ard&#257s</i> on their behalf. There was an outburst of protest against this discrimination towards the so-called low-caste Sikhs, totally contrary to the Sikh teaching. A compromise was at last reached and it was decided that the Gur&#363's direction be sought.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Sr&#299 Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib was, as is the custom, opened at random and the first verse on the page to be read was :</p> <blockquote class="C1"><p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;He receives the lowly into grace,</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;And puts them in the path of righteous service.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</blockquote></p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The Gur&#363's verdict was clearly in favour of those whom the <i>granth&#299s</i> had refused to accept as full members of the panth. This was triumph for reformist Sikhs. The <i>ka&#7771&#257h pras&#257d</i> brought was accepted and distributed among the <i>sa&#7749gat</i>.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Singly or in groups, in their homes or in congregations in their places of worship, Sikhs conclude their morning and evening prayer, or prayer said at any other time as part of personal piety or of a ceremony, with a supplication called <i>ard&#257s. Ard&#257s</i> is followed by the recitation of these verses ;</p> <blockquote class="C1"><p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&#256gy&#257 bh&#257&#299 Ak&#257l k&#299 tabh&#299 chal&#257yo Panth,</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Sabh sikkha&#7749 kau hukam hai Gur&#363 m&#257nio Granth.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Gur&#363 Granth j&#299 m&#257nio praga&#7789 Gur&#257&#7749 k&#299 dehi,</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Jo Prabhu ko milibo chahai khoj sabad main lehi.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;By the command of the Timeless Creator was the Panth promulgated;</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;All Sikhs are hereby charged to own the Granth as their Gur&#363.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Know the Gur&#363 Granth to be the person visible of the Gur&#363s.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;They who would seek to meet the Lord</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;In the Word as manifested in the Book shall they discover him.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;This is the status, the significance of the Holy Book in the Sikh way of life.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; * * *</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</blockquote></p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; In the Vedic hymns and chants lie the beginnings of the religious poetry of mankind. The Vedas are the oldest texts in the world. They are the repositories of ancient wisdom and of the earliest meditations of the human mind. The hymns of the <i>Rig Veda</i> will be as old as 1500-1000 B.C. The <i>S&#257m Veda</i>, another text of the same circuit, is a collection of metrical hymns. The ancient Vedic scholars developed a branch of Vedic learning called <i>chhants</i>, i.e, prosody, or science of metrical composition. Much of the old religious literature is in verse which is easier to memorize and recite. The tradition of memorizing holy texts was sedulously cultivated in ancient India. Like the Vedic priests, the Jain and Buddhist monk poets composed a great deal of religious poetry.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Those versed in Sanskrit poetics made classifications of poetry from various standpoints. Da&#7751&#7693in made a three-fold division into prose (<i>gadya</i>), verse (<i>padya</i>) and mixture of prose and verse (<i>mishra</i>). Experts in Sanskrit poetics held that versification was not a necessary condition of poetry. An epic poem <i>mah&#257k&#257vya</i> in the style of <i>muktak&#257</i>, a single verse formation, is an example of <i>padya</i>. A narrative tale <i>kath&#257</i> constitutes <i>mishra</i> variety. Ornate poetry was <i>k&#257vya</i> cultivated in Sanskrit, P&#257l&#299, Pr&#257krit and Apabhram&#775&#347a.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Several new trends appeared in the devotional literature of the saint poets of a later period. These new forms of poetry and poetical composition gained vogue in medieval India. This religious poetry was composed in a variety of languages-Apabhram&#775&#347a, Brajabh&#257sh&#257, Avadh&#299, Be&#7749g&#257l&#299, Gujar&#257t&#299, Mar&#257&#7789h&#299, Punjabi, etc. Its creators were poets and devotees rather than professionals trained in literary niceties of Sanskrit composition. Their main concern was to sing the glory of God and to strengthen moral qualities. Occasionally, they attacked current social and religious abuses. Their verse was addressed to the learned as well as to the illiterate, to men as well as to women. Their language was easily understood by all sections of the population.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The sai&#7749ts and the <i>bhaktas</i> threw off the shackles of <i>pi&#7749gal</i> of formal versification. They broke out into folk moulds of poetry giving them a musical turn. They chanted and sang their hymns or verses, and the community chanted, sang and danced with them. In their spontaneous outbursts, they conformed to the needs of the musical tunes, both classical and <i>des&#299</i>, of folk origin, wherein, while singing, lapse of a few <i>m&#257tr&#257s</i> (syllables, accented and unaccented) could be easily made up, and it was riot absolutely necessary strictly to observe the <i>m&#257tr&#257s</i> of various types of <i>chhands</i> of the Indian <i>pi&#7749gal</i>. The poetry of the <i>bhakt&#299</i> period was non-conformist, liberal and free. This was the poetry of <i>s&#257dh&#363s</i> and <i>fak&#299rs</i> who had had no scholarly training, but who had the spiritual and mystical experience. They had seen and realized the Supreme, were free and frank, truthful and blessed.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The divine poets of Sr&#299 Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib were conscious of their mission as well as of their capacity and dignity as poets. Kab&#299r says that people might regard his outpourings as songs only, but they are in reality meditations on the Supreme Being (GG,335). Gur&#363 N&#257nak calls himself a <i>&#7693h&#257&#7693&#299</i> (minstrel) and <i>sh&#257ir</i> poet (GG,150, 660). Gur&#363 Arjan and the other Gur&#363s, proclaim that they were called upon by the Creator Himself to proclaim their divine command and inspiration. Gur&#363 Arjan had proclaimed that the <i>b&#257&#7751&#299</i>, had originated in the transcendent realms, <i>dhur k&#299 b&#257&#7751&#299</i>. (GG, 628). Gur&#363 N&#257nak believed (<i>Japu</i>, 38) that the <i>shabad</i> (divine word) was coined in the mint of the mind filled with the nectar of continence, realization, knowledge, fear and love of the Lord. Ravid&#257s proclaimed himself to be a liberated soul and dweller of the city of joy (GG, 345). N&#257mdev spoke from the pedestal where it was impossible to discriminate between Allah and R&#257ma or between the Hindu temple and the mosque. These sai&#7749t-poets spoke naturally and spontaneously. Their singing and chanting gave the finishing to their songs. Adherence to the rules of prosody was not their forte, though they quite often composed also within the framework of rules and established forms.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Many aspects of the Indian tradition of poetry, <i>dhun&#299 r&#299ti ala&#7749k&#257r, rasa, chhand</i>, etc., are followed in the hymns of Sr&#299 Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib, yet no <i>pad</i> (stanza) or hymn exactly fits into any traditional mould or conforms to the set pattern of prosodic <i>m&#257tr&#257</i> (syllables) of the Indian <i>pi&#7749gal</i>. While the Indian milieu dominates the spiritual and emotional sentiment of these holy singers, their poetry was the spontaneous outflow of their inspiration: and they obviously did not toil over composition. Two considerations chiefly weighed with them : first, setting of the hymn in a given <i>r&#257ga</i> (musical measure) and, secondly, its setting in a <i>pada</i> (stanza) form; with the burden of the song lying in the couplet of <i>rah&#257u</i> (pause). The <i>&#347lokas</i> they composed are mostly couplets or groups of couplets. Determination of the <i>r&#257ga</i> affected all other poetic features such as the scheme of <i>ala&#7749k&#257rs, rasa</i>, atmosphere, diction, imagery. In a hymn, as in the Indian scheme of <i>r&#257gas</i>, each one has its peculiar <i>rasa</i> (mood), atmosphere, and time or season of singing. <i>Dupad&#257</i> (two stanza poems, <i>tipad&#257</i> (three stanza poem), <i>chaupad&#257</i> (four-stanza poem), <i>as&#7789pad&#299</i> (eight-stanza poem), <i>solah&#257</i> (sixteen stanza poem), <i>chhants</i>, lyrics, longer and shorter poems such as the <i>Japu, v&#257rs, Oa&#7749k&#257r, Sidhgos&#7789i</i>, Sukhman&#299 et. al. are all stanzaic arrangements. The stanzas in the Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib vary in length from one line compositions to eight-line structures. Lines in stanzas are, or can be, measured by the Indian system of <i>m&#257tr&#257s</i> (syllables) without their conforming exactly to any of the fixed <i>metric chhands; gan</i>, or <i>v&#257r&#7751ik</i> (word system) <i>chhands</i> being mainly ruled out in case of the hymns in Sr&#299 Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib. The length of a line or the number of the feet in it varies from a short utterance to a long undulating one, with a corresponding number of pauses, etc. Rhyme is invariably there. Alliteration and internal rhymes are often introduced.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The peculiar thematic or emotional nature of some of the extraordinary hymns of the Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib, mostly cast in the moulds of folk-poetry of the Punjab, is pointed out in the superimposition or the caption which, besides, indicates the <i>r&#257ga</i> and the pitch (<i>ghar</i>), in which the hymn is to be sung. Such peculiar descriptions in the titles are as follows:</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(1) <i>&#257rat&#299, añjal&#299, sohil&#257, swayy&#257s, japu, thitt&#299&#7749, pa&#7789&#7789&#299, phunhe, b&#257van-akhar&#299</i>, and <i>b&#257r&#257m&#257h&#257</i> are the titles which indicate the form of poetry; <i>pa&#7789&#7789&#299, b&#257v&#257n-akhar&#299</i> and <i>oa&#7749k&#257r</i> are in the form of acrostics, propounding philosophical and religious themes and doctrines: <i>thitt&#299&#7749</i> and <i>b&#257r&#257m&#257h&#257</i> are built around the lunar days and the twelve solar months; <i>swayy&#257s</i> are encomiums offered to the Gur&#363s.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(2) <i>alah&#7751&#299&#257&#7749</i> (dirges), <i>sadd, karhale, g&#257th&#257, gho&#7771&#299&#257&#7749, chhant, &#7693akhne, v&#257r, rutt&#299&#7749</i> and <i>v&#257r sat</i> (week days) are the moulds of the folk-poetry of Punjab.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;In the common life of the country, <i>al&#257h&#7749&#299&#257&#7749</i> are sung to mourn a death, <i>gho&#7771&#299&#257&#7749</i> are sung to celebrate a wedding; similarly <i>chhants</i> are recited at the time of marriage; <i>sadd</i> (call) is a dirge, pahare quarters of day or night, <i>rutt&#299&#7749</i> (seasons), <i>v&#257r sat</i> (week days), <i>d&#299n-r&#257in</i> (day and night) are the compositions stressing the importance of time which should be utilized in remembrance of the Lord.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;All the above titles of category 1 and 2 are stanzaic poems. These moulds, however, are not the innovations of the Gur&#363s.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Vedic hymns (<i>s&#363ktas</i>) are <i>padas</i> with varying number of <i>padas</i> (stanzas) called <i>mantras</i> in each ; later, with the rise of the bhak&#7789i movement, <i>padas</i> in praise of Vi&#7779&#7751u, called the <i>vishanpadas</i> were most common in the developing Indian vernaculars. The b&#257van-ak<u>kh</u>ar&#299, pa&#7789&#7789&#299 or acrostic forms are also traditional forms; <i>b&#257r&#257m&#257h&#257</i> was common mould for singing of the pangs of separation in love in the various Indian languages, including Sanskrit. K&#257l&#299d&#257s has composed a poem on the season: under varying names, poems of the themes and spirit of al&#257h&#7751&#299&#257&#7749, <i>sadd</i> and <i>gho&#7771&#299&#257&#7749</i> have been sung in all medieval literatures of India. <i>&#346loka</i> has been the most popular mould in Sanskrit and Hindi literatures. It is a couplet, piece with a serious philosophical theme. So <i>padas</i> (hymns based on <i>pad</i> or stanzaic arrangement) and <i>&#347loka</i>, the chief poetic forms used in the Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib have descended from the preceding Indian religious literature.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;A brief description of some of the poetic forms occurring in the Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib is given below. Each <i>r&#257ga</i> of Sr&#299 Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib--- there are thirty-one <i>r&#257gas</i> totally is arranged in a set order. First will come <i>pad&#257s</i> or the prosodic forms followed by longer snatches such as <i>a&#7779&#7789pad&#299s</i>. Then will come <i>chhants</i> and <i>v&#257rs</i>. And last of all, the compositions of <i>bhaktas</i>.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;A&#7778&#7788PAD&#298S. A&#7779&#7789pad&#299s, eight liners. Hymns in Sr&#299 Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib comprising eight (<i>a&#7779&#7789</i>) lines, besides the line containing pause of <i>rah&#257u</i>. This is the standard form, but the number of lines in an <i>a&#7779&#7789pad&#299</i> can vary. <i>A&#7779&#7789pad&#299s</i> occur in all the different <i>r&#257gas</i> in Sr&#299 Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib. Totally, there are 305 of them counted in the entire text.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;CHAUPAD&#256 is a four-stanza hymn, besides the line of <i>rah&#257u</i> or pause. With the exception of Baira&#7771&#299, Tukh&#257r&#299, Kali&#257n and Jaijaivant&#299, they occur in all <i>r&#257gas</i> of Sr&#299 Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib. Gau&#7771&#299 contains 210 of them, &#256s&#257 159 and Sora&#7789hi 81.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;CHHAK&#256. A sixer. It signifies a bunch of six <i>pad&#257s</i>.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;CHHEPAD&#256 is a hymn containing, besides the verse of <i>rah&#257u</i> (pause), six <i>pad&#257s</i> or stanzas. They are few in numbers and occur in <i>r&#257gas</i> Gau&#7771&#299, &#256s&#257, Va&#7693ha&#7749s, S&#363h&#299, R&#257mkal&#299, M&#257r&#363 and Bhairau.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;CHAUTUK&#256. A hymn containing <i>padas</i> of four lines each. <i>Chautuk&#257s</i> are interspersed in many different <i>r&#257gas</i> of Sr&#299 Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;DAKH&#7750&#256. A &#347alok in Lahnd&#299 dialect, western Punjabi, employed commonly in Gur&#363 Arjan's hymns.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;DUPAD&#256. A hymn containing, besides the <i>rah&#257u</i> lines, two stanzas.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;PAÑJPAD&#256. A <i>pañjpad&#257</i> is a hymn of five stanzas excluding the refrain (<i>rah&#257u</i>).</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;PAU&#7770&#298, lit. ladder, is stanza adopted for <i>v&#257rs</i>, balladic poetry. <i>Pau&#7771&#299s</i> of these v&#257rs generally consist of 6 to 8 lines each. Stanzas of <i>Japuj&#299</i> are also traditionally called <i>pau&#7771&#299s</i>.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;SHABAD represents 'Voice of the Master', or word revealed. All forms of verse included in Sr&#299 Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib, <i>pad&#257s</i>, <i>a&#7779&#7789pad&#299s</i> and <i>chhants</i> are <i>shabads</i>.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&#346ALOK. A two-liner classical prosodic form allowing a variety of metrical arrangement. Though a <i>&#347alok</i> may not unravel new strands of thought, it may well enlarge upon different aspects of an idea investing it with die freshness of an independent poem.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;SOLAH&#256. A sixteen-stanza hymn. R&#257ga M&#257r&#363 alone contains 62 Solah&#257s 22 by Gur&#363 N&#257nak, 24 by Gur&#363 Amar D&#257s, 2 by Gur&#363 R&#257m D&#257s and 14 by Gur&#363 Arjan.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;TIPAD&#256. A hymn made up of 3 <i>pad&#257s</i> or stanzas.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;TUK does not exist as a title or sub-title in Sr&#299 Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib. Any single line of the <i>b&#257&#7751&#299</i> is a <i>tuk</i> and is close to what is known as <i>s&#363tra</i> or aphorism in Sanskrit or in the orthodox system of philosophy.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;V&#256R. An old form of Punjabi narrative poetry highlighting the exploits and acts of heroism and chivalry. On the psychological plane the struggle is between the good and evil propensities in man.</p> </font> <p class="BIB"> BIBLIOGRAPHY<p class="C1"><ol class="C1"><li class="C1"> Talib, Gurbachan Si&#7749gh, <i>An Introduction to Sri Guru Granth Sahib</i>. Patiala,1991<BR> <li class="C1"> Kohli, Surindar Si&#7749gh, <i>A Critical Study of Adi Granth</i>. Delhi,1961<BR> <li class="C1"> Kapoor, S.S., "Guru Granth Sahib: The History, Arrangement and the Text" in <i>The Sikh Courier</i>. London, 1996<BR> <li class="C1"> Hark&#299rat Si&#7749gh and Indar Si&#7749gh <i>Gurb&#257&#7751&#299 d&#257 &#346uddh Uch&#257ran</i>. Amritsar,1995<BR> <li class="C1"><i>&#346abd&#257rath Sr&#299 Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib</i>. Amritsar, 1975<BR> <li class="C1"> S&#257hib Si&#7749gh, <i>Sr&#299 Gur&#363 Granth Darpan</i>. Jalandhar, 1962-64<BR> <li class="C1"> T&#257ran Si&#7749gh, <i>Sr&#299 Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib J&#299 da S&#257hitak Itih&#257s</i>. Amritsar, n.d<BR> </ol><p class="CONT">T&#257ran Si&#7749gh<br></p><BR> </font><img src="counter.aspx" width="1px" height="1px" alt=""></HTML></BODY>