Writers of the Guru Granth Sahib
The Guru Granth Sahib, is the central religious text of Sikhism, considered by Sikhs to be the final sovereign Guru of the religion. It contains 1430 Angs, containing 5,894 hymns of 36 saint mystics which includes Sikh gurus, Bhagats, Bhatts and 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 the Sikh gurus themselves.
Contributors of the scripture present Guru Arjan their writings, while Bhai Gurdas scribes the Adi Granth. Fresco from Gurdwara Baba Atal, Amritsar
Mural from Gurdwara Ramsar Sahib of Sri Chand meeting Guru Arjan and Bhai Gurdas at Amritsar. Likely a depiction of the tale of him contributing a verse during the composition of the Sukhmani Sahib
Image: Guru Nanak Dev by Raja Ravi Varma
Image: Guru Angad from a painting at the Lahore Museum
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)
