Guru Granth Sahib

History glossary

Also called: Adi Granth, Adi Granth Sahib · Topic: Regional Resistance: Rajputs, Ahoms, Sikhs · NCERT: Class 8, Ch 2 "Reshaping India's Political Map"; Class 12, Ch 2 "Bhakti-Sufi Traditions"

Meaning

The Guru Granth Sahib is the holy book of the Sikhs. Its first version, the Adi Granth ("the first book"), was put together by Guru Arjan, the fifth Guru, at Amritsar in 1603–04 [3]. It holds hymns by the early Gurus and by Hindu and Muslim saints such as Kabir [3]. Hymns of Guru Tegh Bahadur were added later, and the enlarged book is called the Guru Granth Sahib.

It matters because it gave a scattered following one fixed text to share. It also shows how the Bhakti and Sufi ideas of one God and equality came together in a single scripture.

Explanation

Background: why a holy book was needed

  • Guru Nanak (1469–1539) taught in 15th-century Punjab through shabads (devotional hymns) [2].
  • His central idea was Ik Onkar ("there is one God"). He taught that no one is high or low by birth.
  • His hymns teach mukti (release from the cycle of rebirth) through simran (remembering and repeating God's name) [2].
  • After Nanak died in 1539, nine more Gurus led the community one after another [2].
  • A growing community needed one shared text:
  • Hymns were spreading in many separate versions.
  • A fixed book would keep the teachings safe and the same for everyone.

Compilation: who put it together and what it holds

  • Guru Arjan (fifth Guru) made the first version at Amritsar in 1603–04 [3]. This version is the Adi Granth [3].
  • It has nearly 6,000 hymns [3]. They come from:
  • Guru Arjan himself
  • the four Gurus before him: Nanak, Angad, Amar Das and Ram Das [3]

  • Hindu and Muslim saints, most famously the poet Kabir [3]. The NCERT also names Baba Farid (a Sufi saint) and Ravidas.

  • It opens with the Mool Mantar ("root mantra"), the basic statement of Sikh belief, which is credited to Guru Nanak [2].

  • The modern printed edition runs to 1,430 pages [3].
  • Later addition: hymns of Guru Tegh Bahadur, the ninth Guru, were added after Guru Arjan's time. According to the NCERT, Guru Gobind Singh added them, and the enlarged book became known as the Guru Granth Sahib.

What the book teaches

  • One God for all. Every community has the same God, who "established the earth as a home for Dharma".
  • It asks believers to practise four values in daily life:
  • truthfulness
  • compassion
  • humility

  • self-control

  • Its best-known line is "Truth is high but higher still is truthful living." Knowing what is right is not enough. You must live by it.

  • It does not accept rank by birth, so it challenged the caste order.

Results: from book to community

  • One book and one shrine:
  • Guru Arjan also built the Harimandir (the Golden Temple) at Amritsar [3].
  • The temple was open to all Sikhs and became their spiritual capital [3].

  • A common scripture and a common shrine made the Sikhs a clear, separate community.

  • State violence changed the movement:

  • Jahangir learned that Guru Arjan had supported his rebellious son, and he had the Guru tortured to death.
  • Guru Arjan's son, Guru Hargobind (sixth Guru), began martial training (teaching Sikhs to fight) and formed the first Sikh army.
  • The shared identity built around the Granth now also became the basis for armed resistance to the Mughals.

Time, place and evidence

  • When: compiled in 1603–04 [3], in the reign of the Mughal emperor Akbar. Guru Tegh Bahadur's hymns were added later.
  • Where: Amritsar, Punjab. Punjab is a region now split between India and Pakistan.
  • Key people:
  • Guru Nanak, born at Rai Bhoi di Talvandi (now in Pakistan) [2]
  • Guru Angad, Guru Amar Das, Guru Ram Das
  • Guru Arjan, the compiler
  • Guru Tegh Bahadur, whose hymns were added later

  • Kabir and other saint-poets

  • How we know: the book itself survives and is printed in a standard 1,430-page edition [3]. The NCERT (Class 8 Ch 2; Class 12 "Bhakti-Sufi Traditions") is the main textbook source.

Don't confuse with

  • Adi Granth vs Guru Granth Sahib: the Adi Granth is Guru Arjan's first version (1603–04) [3]. The Guru Granth Sahib is the enlarged book that also has Guru Tegh Bahadur's hymns.
  • Mool Mantar: this is the opening statement of belief credited to Guru Nanak [2]. It is not the name of the whole book.
  • Bijak: a collection of Kabir's verses kept by the Kabirpanth (Kabir's followers). Some of Kabir's hymns are also in the Adi Granth, but the Bijak is a separate text.
  • Harimandir (Golden Temple): a temple built by Guru Arjan at Amritsar [3]. Do not mix up the shrine with the scripture, even though both are linked to Guru Arjan and Amritsar.

Prelims Hooks

  • Compiler: Guru Arjan (fifth Guru), not Guru Nanak and not Guru Gobind Singh. Compiled at Amritsar, 1603–04 [3].
  • Size: nearly 6,000 hymns; 1,430 pages in the printed edition [3].
  • Non-Sikh saints included: Kabir and other Hindu and Muslim saints [3]. The NCERT names Baba Farid and Ravidas.
  • Gurus whose hymns are in the Adi Granth: Nanak, Angad, Amar Das, Ram Das and Arjan [3]. Trap: Guru Tegh Bahadur's hymns came later, not in the 1603–04 version.
  • Chronology: Adi Granth compiled (Guru Arjan), then Guru Arjan executed on Jahangir's order, then Guru Hargobind raises the first Sikh army.
  • Same Guru, two works: Guru Arjan compiled the Adi Granth and built the Harimandir (Golden Temple) [3].

Mains Points

  • Scripture as a builder of identity. The Adi Granth gave a scattered following one fixed text, and the Harimandir gave it one sacred centre at Amritsar [3]. A common book and a common shrine built a strong group identity. That same identity later held up the armed resistance led by Guru Hargobind.
  • Meeting point of Bhakti and Sufi traditions. By placing hymns of Kabir and other Hindu and Muslim saints next to the Gurus' own [3], the book showed one God for all in practice. It is a good example of India's mixed devotional heritage for GS-I answers on Indian culture.
  • From a spiritual book to a political community. The book's teaching of equality denied rank by birth and drew wide support in Punjab. When Jahangir had Guru Arjan, its compiler, killed, the movement turned to arms. The Sikhs differ from the Rajputs and Ahoms because their resistance grew from a religious community, not from a ruling dynasty.

Related concepts

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Sources

  1. 1Class 8, Ch 2 "Reshaping India's Political Map"; Class 12, Ch 2 "Bhakti-Sufi Traditions" (primary)
  2. 2Guru Nanak | First Sikh Guru, Biography, Teachings, Factsbritannica.com · tier 3
  3. 3Adi Granth | Guru Granth Sahib, Sikhism, Sikh Scripturesbritannica.com · tier 3