Michael MacAuliffe, also known as Max Arthur MacAuliffe was a senior British administrator, prolific scholar and author. MacAuliffe is renowned for his partial translation of Sikh scripture Guru Granth Sahib and history into English.
Max Arthur Macauliffe
Photograph of Max Arthur Macauliffe wearing a turban
The Guru Granth Sahib is the central holy religious scripture of Sikhism, regarded by Sikhs as the final, sovereign and eternal Guru following the lineage of the ten human gurus of the religion. The Adi Granth, its first rendition, was compiled by the fifth guru, Guru Arjan (1564–1606). Its compilation was completed on 29 August 1604 and first installed inside the Golden Temple in Amritsar on 1 September 1604. Baba Buddha was appointed the first Granthi of the Golden Temple. Shortly afterwards Guru Hargobind added Ramkali Ki Vaar. Later, Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Sikh guru, added hymns of Guru Tegh Bahadur to the Adi Granth and affirmed the text as his successor. This second rendition became known as the Guru Granth Sahib and is also sometimes referred to as the Adi Granth.
Illuminated Guru Granth Sahib folio with nisan (Mul Mantar) in the penmanship of Guru Gobind Singh
Folio from the Jalandhar recension of the Goindwal Pothi, dated to the late 16th century
Photograph of the Kartarpur Bir kept at Kartarpur. This is the manuscript that was said to have been completed by Guru Arjan and his scribe, Bhai Gurdas, in 1604 and installed in the Golden Temple
A folio from an early 19th-century manuscript copy of the Guru Granth Sahib (Schoyen Collection Norway)
