Guru Angad (31 March 1504 – 29 March 1552;
[ ]Gurmukhi
Gurmukhī ( pa, ਗੁਰਮੁਖੀ, , Shahmukhi: ) is an abugida developed from the Laṇḍā scripts, standardized and used by the second Sikh guru, Guru Angad (1504–1552). It is used by Punjabi Sikhs to write the language, commonly ...
: ਗੁਰੂ ਅੰਗਦ, pronunciation: ) was the second of the ten Sikh gurus
The Sikh gurus (Punjabi: ਸਿੱਖ ਗੁਰੂ) are the spiritual masters of Sikhism, who established this religion over the course of about two and a half centuries, beginning in 1469. The year 1469 marks the birth of Guru Nanak, the founde ...
of Sikhism. After meeting Guru Nanak
Gurū Nānak (15 April 1469 – 22 September 1539; Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰੂ ਨਾਨਕ; pronunciation: , ), also referred to as ('father Nānak'), was the founder of Sikhism and is the first of the ten Sikh Gurus. His birth is celebrated w ...
, the founder of Sikhism
Sikhism (), also known as Sikhi ( pa, ਸਿੱਖੀ ', , from pa, ਸਿੱਖ, lit=disciple', 'seeker', or 'learner, translit=Sikh, label=none),''Sikhism'' (commonly known as ''Sikhī'') originated from the word ''Sikh'', which comes fro ...
, becoming a Sikh, and serving and working with Guru Nanak for many years, Guru Nanak gave Lehna the name Angad ("my own limb"), and chose Angad as the second Sikh Guru.
After the death of Guru Nanak in 1539, Guru Angad led the Sikh tradition. He is remembered in Sikhism for adopting and formalising the Gurmukhi alphabet
Gurmukhī ( pa, ਗੁਰਮੁਖੀ, , Shahmukhi: ) is an abugida developed from the Laṇḍā scripts, standardized and used by the second Sikh guru, Guru Angad (1504–1552). It is used by Punjabi Sikhs to write the language, commonly r ...
. He began the process of compiling the hymns of Guru Nanak and contributed 62 or 63 hymns of his own. Instead of his own son, he chose his disciple Amar Das as his successor and the third Guru of Sikhism.[
]
Biography
Early life
Guru Angad was born with birth name of Lehna (also transliterated as Lahina) in village of Harike (other sources state his birthplace as Khadur) in the Punjab
Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising a ...
region. He was the son of a small but successful trader named Pheru Mal. His mother's name was Mata Ramo (also known as Mata Sabhirai, Mansa Devi and Daya Kaur). Like all the Sikh Gurus, Lehna came from Khatri
Khatri is a caste of the Indian subcontinent that is predominantly found in India, but also in Pakistan and Afghanistan. In the subcontinent, they were mostly engaged in mercantilistic professions such as banking and trade, they were the d ...
caste and specifically the Trehan gotra (clan).
At age 16, Angad married a Khatri girl named Mata Khivi in January 1520. They had two sons (Dasu and Datu) and one or two daughters (Amro and Anokhi), depending on the primary sources.[ The entire family of his father had left their ancestral village in fear of the invasion of Babur's armies. After this the family settled at Khadur Sahib, a village by the ]River Beas
The Beas River (Sanskrit: ; Hyphasis in Ancient Greek) is a river in north India. The river rises in the Himalayas in central Himachal Pradesh, India, and flows for some to the Sutlej River in the Indian state of Punjab. Its total length is ...
near what is now Tarn Taran.
Before becoming a disciple of Guru Nanak and following the Sikh way of life as Angad, Lehna was a religious teacher of Khadur who followed goddess Durga.[ Bhai Lehna in his late 20s sought out Guru Nanak, became his disciple, and displayed deep and loyal service to his ]Guru
Guru ( sa, गुरु, IAST: ''guru;'' Pali'': garu'') is a Sanskrit term for a "mentor, guide, expert, or master" of certain knowledge or field. In pan-Indian traditions, a guru is more than a teacher: traditionally, the guru is a reverential ...
for about six to seven years in Kartarpur and renounced the Hindu way of life.[
]
Selection as successor
Several stories in the Sikh tradition describe reasons why Lehna was chosen by Guru Nanak over his own sons as his choice of successor. One of these stories is about a jug which fell into mud, and Guru Nanak asked his sons to pick it up. Guru Nanak's sons would not pick it up because it was too dirty or menial a task. Then he asked Bhai Lehna, who however picked it out of the mud, washed it clean, and presented it to Guru Nanak full of water. Guru Nanak touched him and renamed him Angad (from ''Ang'', or part of the body) and named him as his successor and the second Nanak on 7 September 1539.
After Guru Nanak died on 22 September 1539, Guru Angad unable to bear the separation from Guru Nanak retired into a room in a disciple's house in a state of Vairagya
Vairāgya (वैराग्य) is a Sanskrit term used in Hindu as well as Eastern philosophy that roughly translates as dispassion, detachment, or renunciation, in particular renunciation from the pains and pleasures in the temporary materia ...
. Baba Buddha
Baba Buddha (Gurmukhi: ਬਾਬਾ ਬੁੱਢਾ; ''bābā buḍhā''; lit. meaning "wise old man") (6 October 1506 – 8 September 1631) was a prime figure in early Sikhism. He was born in 1506 in the village of Kathu Nangal, in Amritsar in ...
later discovered him after a long search and requested him to return for Guruship. The Gurbani
Gurbani ( pa, ਗੁਰਬਾਣੀ) is a Sikh term, very commonly used by Sikhs to refer to various compositions by the Sikh Gurus and other writers of Guru Granth Sahib. In general, hymns in the central text of the Sikhs, the Guru Granth Sahi ...
uttered at the time ''Die before the one whom you love, to live after he dies is to live a worthless life in this world.'' was the first hymn in Guru Granth Sahib
The Guru Granth Sahib ( pa, ਗੁਰੂ ਗ੍ਰੰਥ ਸਾਹਿਬ, ) is the central holy religious scripture of Sikhism, regarded by Sikhs as the final, sovereign and Guru Maneyo Granth, eternal Guru following the lineage of the Sikh gur ...
by Guru Angad and signifies the pain he felt at the separation from Guru Nanak
Gurū Nānak (15 April 1469 – 22 September 1539; Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰੂ ਨਾਨਕ; pronunciation: , ), also referred to as ('father Nānak'), was the founder of Sikhism and is the first of the ten Sikh Gurus. His birth is celebrated w ...
. Guru Angad later left Kartarpur for the village of Khadur Sahib (near Goindwal Sahib). Post succession, at one point, very few Sikhs accepted Guru Angad as their leader and while the sons of Guru Nanak claimed to be the successors. Guru Angad focused on the teachings of Nanak, and building the community through charitable works such as langar Langar may refer to:
Community eating
*Langar (Sikhism)
* Langar (Sufism)
Places
Afghanistan
*Langar, Badakhshan, Afghanistan
* Langar, Bamyan, Afghanistan
* Langar, Faryab, Afghanistan
* Langar, Herat, Afghanistan
* Langar, Wardak, Afghanis ...
.
Relationship with the Mughal Empire
The second Mughal Emperor of India Humayun
Nasir-ud-Din Muhammad ( fa, ) (; 6 March 1508 – 27 January 1556), better known by his regnal name, Humāyūn; (), was the second emperor of the Mughal Empire, who ruled over territory in what is now Eastern Afghanistan, Pakistan, Northe ...
visited Guru Angad at around 1540 after Humayun lost the Battle of Kannauj, and thereby the Mughal throne to Sher Shah Suri
Sher Shah Suri ( ps, شیرشاه سوری)
(1472, or 1486 – 22 May 1545), born Farīd Khān ( ps, فرید خان)
, was the founder of the Sur Empire in India, with its capital in Sasaram in modern-day Bihar. He standardized the silver coin ...
. According to Sikh hagiographies, when Humayun arrived in Gurdwara Mal Akhara Sahib at Khadur Sahib
Khadur Sahib is a town and a nagar panchayat in Tarn Taran district of Khadur Sahib tehsil of the Majha region of Indian state of Punjab. Khadur Sahib is a historical place in view of eight out of ten sikh gurus having visited this place. Th ...
Guru Angad was sitting and teaching children. The failure to greet the Emperor immediately angered Humayun. Humayun lashed out but the Guru reminded him that the time when you needed to fight when you lost your throne you ran away and did not fight and now you want to attack a person engaged in prayer. In the Sikh texts written more than a century after the event, Guru Angad is said to have blessed the emperor, and reassured him that someday he will regain the throne.
Death and successor
Before his death, Guru Angad, following the example set by Guru Nanak
Gurū Nānak (15 April 1469 – 22 September 1539; Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰੂ ਨਾਨਕ; pronunciation: , ), also referred to as ('father Nānak'), was the founder of Sikhism and is the first of the ten Sikh Gurus. His birth is celebrated w ...
, nominated Guru Amar Das
Guru Amar Das (Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰੂ ਅਮਰ ਦਾਸ, pronunciation: ; 5 May 1479 – 1 September 1574), sometimes spelled as Guru Amardas, was the third of the Ten Gurus of Sikhism and became Sikh Guru on 26 March 1552 at age 73.
Befo ...
as his successor (The Third Nanak). Amar Das was born into a Hindu family and had been reputed to have gone on some twenty pilgrimages into the Himalayas
The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 10 ...
, to Haridwar
Haridwar (; ) is a city and municipal corporation in the Haridwar district of Uttarakhand, India. With a population of 228,832 in 2011, it is the second-largest city in the state and the largest in the district.
The city is situated on the ri ...
on river Ganges. About 1539, on one such Hindu pilgrimage, he met a ''sadhu'', or ascetic, who asked him why he did not have a guru
Guru ( sa, गुरु, IAST: ''guru;'' Pali'': garu'') is a Sanskrit term for a "mentor, guide, expert, or master" of certain knowledge or field. In pan-Indian traditions, a guru is more than a teacher: traditionally, the guru is a reverential ...
(teacher, spiritual counsellor) and Amar Das decided to get one.[ On his return, he heard Bibi Amro, the daughter of the Guru Angad who had married his brother's son, singing a hymn by ]Guru Nanak
Gurū Nānak (15 April 1469 – 22 September 1539; Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰੂ ਨਾਨਕ; pronunciation: , ), also referred to as ('father Nānak'), was the founder of Sikhism and is the first of the ten Sikh Gurus. His birth is celebrated w ...
. Amar Das learnt from her about Guru Angad, and with her help met the second Guru of Sikhism in 1539, adopting Guru Angad as his spiritual Guru, who was much younger than his own age.[
Amar Das displayed relentless devotion and service to Guru Angad. Sikh tradition states that he woke up in the early hours to fetch water for Guru Angad's bath, cleaned and cooked for the volunteers with the Guru, as well devoted much time to meditation and prayers in the morning and evening.][ Guru Angad named Amar Das as his successor in 1552.] Guru Angad died on 29 March 1552.[
]
Influence
Gurmukhi script
Guru Angad is credited in the Sikh tradition with the Gurmukhi
Gurmukhī ( pa, ਗੁਰਮੁਖੀ, , Shahmukhi: ) is an abugida developed from the Laṇḍā scripts, standardized and used by the second Sikh guru, Guru Angad (1504–1552). It is used by Punjabi Sikhs to write the language, commonly ...
script, which is now the standard writing script for Punjabi language in India, in contrast to Punjabi language in Pakistan where now a Perso-Arabic script called Shahmukhi
Shahmukhi (, ) is a Perso-Arabic alphabet script used historically by Punjabi Muslims (primarily in present-day Pakistani Punjab) to write the Punjabi language. It is generally written in the Nastaʿlīq calligraphic hand, which is also used ...
is the standard. The original Sikh scriptures and most of the historic Sikh literature have been written in the Gurmukhi script.
Guru Angad standardised and made improvements to the scripts of the region to create the Gurmukhi script. Examples of possible forerunners of the script including at least one hymn written in acrostic form by Guru Nanak, and its earlier history is yet to be fully determined.
He also wrote 62 or 63 Salok
Shloka or śloka ( sa, श्लोक , from the root , Macdonell, Arthur A., ''A Sanskrit Grammar for Students'', Appendix II, p. 232 (Oxford University Press, 3rd edition, 1927). in a broader sense, according to Monier-Williams's dictionary, is ...
s (compositions), which together constitute about one percent of the Guru Granth Sahib
The Guru Granth Sahib ( pa, ਗੁਰੂ ਗ੍ਰੰਥ ਸਾਹਿਬ, ) is the central holy religious scripture of Sikhism, regarded by Sikhs as the final, sovereign and Guru Maneyo Granth, eternal Guru following the lineage of the Sikh gur ...
, the primary scripture of Sikhism. Rather than contribute hymns, Angad's importance was as a consolidator of Guru Nanak's hymns.[ Guru Angad would also supervise the writing down of Nanak's hymns by Bhai Paira Mokha and scrutinize the resulting compilation, preparing the way for a Sikh scripture, as well as the beginning of a vernacular Punjabi literature, as tradition holds that he may have also commissioned an account of Guru Nanak's life from earlier disciples.][ The collection of hymns would also be increasingly important for the expanding community.][
]
Langar and community work
Guru Angad is notable for systematising the institution of langar Langar may refer to:
Community eating
*Langar (Sikhism)
* Langar (Sufism)
Places
Afghanistan
*Langar, Badakhshan, Afghanistan
* Langar, Bamyan, Afghanistan
* Langar, Faryab, Afghanistan
* Langar, Herat, Afghanistan
* Langar, Wardak, Afghanis ...
in all Sikh temple premises, where visitors from near and far could get a free simple meal in a communal seating. He also set the rules and training method for volunteers (''sevadars'') who operated the kitchen, placing emphasis on treating it as a place of rest and refuge, being always polite and hospitable to all visitors.
Guru Angad visited other places and centres established by Guru Nanak for the preaching of Sikhism. He established new centres and thus strengthened its base.
''Mall Akhara''
The Guru, being a great patron of wrestling
Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...
, started a ''Mall Akhara
Akhara or Akhada ( Sanskrit and Hindi: अखाड़ा, shortened to ''khara'' Hindi: खाड़ा) is an Indian word for a place of practice with facilities for boarding, lodging and training, both in the context of Indian martial artist ...
'' (wrestling arena) system where physical exercises, martial arts, and wrestling was taught as well as health topics such as staying away from tobacco and other toxic substances. He placed emphasis on keeping the body healthy and exercising daily.
He founded many such ''Mall Akharas'' in many villages including a few in Khandur
Khandur is a village located in the Ludhiana West tehsil, of Ludhiana district, Punjab.
Administration
The village is administrated by a Sarpanch who is an elected representative of village as per constitution of India and Panchayati raj (Indi ...
. Typically the wrestling was done after daily prayers and also included games and light wrestling.
Gallery
File:Guru Nanak with Bhai Lehna, who is getting dirtied by carrying weeds overhead.jpg, Guru Nanak (left) with Bhai Lehna (right, who would later be known as Guru Angad).
File:Guru Angad taking-leave of Guru Nanak, painting from an 1830's Janamsakhi (life stories) 05.jpg, Guru Angad taking-leave of Guru Nanak, painting from an 1830's Janamsakhi.
File:Bhai Bala Recites the Life Story of Guru Nanak to Guru Angad and Onlookers.png, Bhai Bala
Bhai Bala ( pa, ਭਾਈ ਬਾਲਾ 1466–1544), born in Talwandi Rai Bhoi into a Sandhu Jat family (now called Nankana Sahib in Pakistan),McLeod, W.H., Guru Nanak and the Sikh Religion. Oxford, 1968. was a childhood friend and lifelong co ...
(left) recites the life story of Guru Nanak to Guru Angad amid onlookers. Janamsakhi painting.
File:Guru Angad painting.jpg, Miniature painting of Guru Angad.
File:Guru Angad drawing from early 19th century.jpg, Guru Angad drawing from early 19th century.
File:Guru Angad, the Second Sikh Guru (1504-52), Seated on a Terrace Beneath a Canopy With an Attendant.png, Guru Angad Seated on a Terrace Beneath a Canopy With an Attendant, Punjab Plains, circa 1830.
See also
*Guru Granth Sahib
The Guru Granth Sahib ( pa, ਗੁਰੂ ਗ੍ਰੰਥ ਸਾਹਿਬ, ) is the central holy religious scripture of Sikhism, regarded by Sikhs as the final, sovereign and Guru Maneyo Granth, eternal Guru following the lineage of the Sikh gur ...
* List of places named after Guru Angad Dev
References
Bibliography
* Harjinder Singh Dilgeer, SIKH HISTORY (in English) in 10 volumes, especially volume 1 (published by Singh Brothers Amritsar, 2009–2011).
* Sikh Gurus, Their Lives and Teachings, K.S. Duggal
External links
First Gurbani by Guru Angad
{{DEFAULTSORT:Guru Angad Dev
Creators of writing systems
Angad
1552 deaths
1504 births
Punjabi people
Punjab
People from Punjab, India