Writers Of The Guru Granth Sahib

Shri Guru Granth Sahib Ji ( pa, ਸ਼੍ਰੀ ਗੁਰੂ ਗ੍ਰੰਥ ਸਾਹਿਬ ਜੀ; ), is the central religious text of Sikhism, considered by Sikhs to be the final sovereign Guru of the religion. It contains 1430 ''Angs'' (limbs), containing 5,894 hymns of 36 saint mystics which includes Sikh guru sahiban (6 gurus), ''Bhagats'' (15 '' bhagats''), ''Bhatts'' (11 '' bhatts'') and ''gursikhs'' (4 ''gursikhs''). It is notable among foundational religious scriptures for including hymns from writers of other religions, namely Hindus and Muslims. It also contains teachings of Sikh gurus themselves.

Categorization of authors

Scholars categorize the authors of the Guru Granth Sahib into four groups:
# Sikh Gurus
# Bhagats
# Bhatts
# Gursikhs

Sikh gurus

Philosophically, Sikhs are bound to believe in ''Shabad Guru'' — the words written in the Guru Granth Sāhib ji — 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:

Bhagats

In the below list, the ''Bhagats'' ( pa, ਭਗਤ, from Sanskrit भक्त) were holy men of various sects whose teachings are included in the Sri Guru Granth Sahib ji. Their ''bani'' 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:

Bhatts

Many Hindu Saraswat Brahmins who started to follow the word of Guru Nanak Dev were known as ''Bhatt''s, meaning bards. The 11 Bhatt authors were:

Gursikhs

Bhai Sundar Ji, Bhai Mardana Ji, Bhai Satta Ji, Bhai Balwand Ji

Individuals and their contributions

Controversial authors: Mardana and Tall

Two more writers of the present recension of Adi Granth are a matter of debate among scholars, namely Bhai Mardana and Bhatt Tall.

According to different scholars:
* Two hymns under the title Mardana 1 are said to be compositions of Bhai Mardana; however, others refute this claim, because the pen name Nanak is used inside the hymn, and because ''Mardana'' is a type of shalok.
* Similarly, there is a ''Swaiya'' under the name of ''Bhatt Tall'', which according to some scholars is a Gurmukhi copyist's error for ''Kal'' i.e. Bhatt Kalshar.''Page 1392: ਟਲ = ਹੇ ਟੱਲ! ਹੇ ਕਲ੍ਯ੍ਯ! ਹੇ ਕਲ੍ਯ੍ਯਸਹਾਰ!'': Teeka by Professor Sahib Singh, Adi Granth

Notes

References

{{Writers of Guru Granth Sahib

Guru Granth Sahib