Contributors present Guru Arjan their writings while Bhai Gurdas scribes the Adi Granth

Shri Guru Granth Sahib Ji Shri (; , ) is a Sanskrit term denoting resplendence, wealth and prosperity, primarily used as an honorific. The word is widely used in South and Southeast Asian languages such as Marathi, Malay (including Indonesian and Malaysian), Javanes ...

( pa, ਸ਼੍ਰੀ ਗੁਰੂ ਗ੍ਰੰਥ ਸਾਹਿਬ ਜੀ; ), is the central

religious text Religious texts, including scripture, are texts which various religions consider to be of central importance to their religious tradition. They differ from literature by being a compilation or discussion of beliefs, mythologies, ritual pr ...

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 ...

, 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 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 reverenti ...

), ''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 Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

and

Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

. 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 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 ...

# 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 Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

भक्त) were holy men of various sects whose teachings are included in the

Sri Guru Granth Sahib ji 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 ...

. 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 Kabir Das (1398–1518) was a 15th-century Indian mystic poet and saint. His writings influenced Hinduism's Bhakti movement, and his verses are found in Sikhism's scripture Guru Granth Sahib, the Satguru Granth Sahib of Saint Garib Das ...

's selecting the writings of the great Hindu Bhaktis and Sufi saints. The 15 Bhagat authors were:

Bhatts

Many Hindu

Saraswat Brahmin The Saraswat Brahmins are Hindu Brahmins, who are spread over widely separated regions spanning from Kashmir in North India to Konkan in West India to Kanara (coastal region of Karnataka) and Kerala in South India. The word ''Saraswat'' is de ...

s 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 Artwork from 'Gosht Janam Sakhi' showing the compilation of the Adi Granth

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 Bhai Mardana ( pa, ਭਾਈ ਮਰਦਾਨਾ; 6 February 1459 — 1534) was one of the first Sikhs and longtime companion of Guru Nanak Dev, first in the line of gurus noted in Sikhism. Bhai Mardana, a Muslim, accompanied Guru Nanak Dev on h ...

; however, others refute this claim, because the pen name

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 wor ...

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 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 ...

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